Other Religious Groups Critical of Higher Education

by Wild_Thing 17 Replies latest jw friends

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  blondie

  Amish don't go to school past the 8th grade.

  Hutterites
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  Beth Sarim

  There will always be high control groups to keep members stupid to squash their ability to develop ''critical thinking'' skills. Nuff said.
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  Wild_Thing

  Thanks for your thoughts. I forgot about the Amish, and I am surprised there are even any Pentecostal groups against education! I wonder if they are against it for everybody or just women?

  Here is the link to the article about JWs and education: http://www.religioustolerance.org/anon03.htm It's an old article and does not offer any new information on the topic, but the "Webmaster's Note" caught my eye. It made me wonder if the webmaster was a JW!

  Webmaster's note:
  This essay is critical of the Watchtower Society's policy towards higher education among its membership. This policy is seen in other conservative Protestant faith groups as well.
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  joe134cd

  This is just a guess but I would say the closed brethren would also have a similar approach to higher education. Hell they arnt even allowed cell phones or computers.
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  careful

  Right on, joe134cd! But I don't know about puters and cells.
  

  When I was active in the ministry, I had some conversations with members of the Plymouth Brethren. They are divided into two groups, Open and Exclusive, and the latter group is pretty much anti-education. In some ways they are like JWs but doctrinally there are some big differences, like hellfire and the trinity. As for their view toward higher education, this chap's article from the University of Worcester is informative:
  

  https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/241/1/EXCLUSIVES.pdf
  

  Hope this helps. Cheers.

  BTW, the Christadelphians go back to before Russell's day and thus cannot be an offshoot of the Russellites.
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  Beth Sarim

  Any developed thinking skills which can make a person think contrary to what is taught, is outright discouraged. Or just plain demonized to make it dangerous.
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  under the radar

  While there are undoubtedly some groups who discourage higher education and modern technology out of a sincere fear of its "corrupting influence" on their spirituality, I don't think that's actually the case with the Society.

  I've never heard about Russell's view of educated people before, but I'm convinced the rest of WireRider's comment shows the real reason the Society rails against higher education so much. It's all about control.
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  Beth Sarim

  Education induces one to think independently. That's why the Borg hates higher education so much. There are so many accounts of JW's who go to University/College and becoming Atheists or Evolutionists. Teachings which are contrary to Borg teachings.