ERIC Number: EJ1463897
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-6200
EISSN: EISSN-1740-7931
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Weathering the Storm. Catholic Schools Facing the Church's Crisis in the Last Decade in Chile
Cristóbal Madero1; Andrea Horn2; Constanza Lobos3; Cristóbal Emilfork4
British Journal of Religious Education, v47 n2 p225-237 2025
Religious schools are facing cultural and social challenges at a time when secularisation processes are accelerating in Chile. This obstacle is particularly true for Catholic Schools (made up more than 90% of religious schools in the country) that, in the last decade, have had to function over an internal crisis due to sexual abuse by the clergy. Catholic education, specifically schooling, has had a long-standing importance in the country, which adds another layer of symbolic difficulties. In this article, we present the results of a study that aimed to describe the changes experienced by the Catholic school subsystem concerning the institutional affiliation of schools to the Church, their eligibility, and school enrolment in Chile from 2013-2022. Using a quantitative research design, we found no clear relationships between changes in key variables in Catholic Church-more linked schools and the crisis of this Church, except for the drop in eligibility in one of the five analysed Chile´s administrative regions. We discussed possible explanations for what we defined as an inelastic demand for Catholic schools in the country. We also propose ways to continue the research on the matter.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Catholic Schools, Churches, Church Role, Religious Education, Enrollment, School Funds, Educational Finance, School Support, School Community Relationship, Enrollment Trends, Sexual Abuse, Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Chile
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1School of Education, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile; 2School of Education, Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez, Santiago, Chile; 3School of Social Science, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile; 4Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, USA