Secular Education

Jehovah’s Witnesses consider education to be “vital.” Their official website explains:1

“Education is vital: Education helps a person to develop “practical wisdom and thinking ability,” qualities that the Bible praises highly. (Proverbs 2:10, 11; 3:21, 22) Further, Jesus told his followers to be teachers of the things he commanded. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Thus, we encourage and help those in our congregations to have a well-rounded education, including skills in reading, writing, and communicating, as well as knowledge about other religions and cultures.—1 Corinthians 9:20-22; 1 Timothy 4:13.

Governments also see the value of education and often require young people to receive primary and secondary schooling. We comply with such laws in harmony with the command: “Let every person be in subjection to the superior authorities,” or governments. (Romans 13:1) In addition, we encourage our children to apply themselves at school and to do their best, not being satisfied to do the bare minimum. As God’s Word says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.”—Colossians 3:23, Good News Translation.

Education helps us to provide for our families. According to the Bible, “if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith.” (1 Timothy 5:8) Secular education can help us fulfill the sacred obligation to support our families. As The World Book Encyclopedia states, a key purpose of education is to “enable people to become productive members of society . . . as workers in the economy.” A skillful, well-educated person can provide for his family more readily and reliably than one who is unskilled and lacks a basic education. —Proverbs 22:29.

Parents also provide for their children by equipping them for adult life, and formal schooling can be invaluable in that regard. (2 Corinthians 12:14) We encourage parents to provide a formal education for their children even if they live in areas where it is not free, is difficult to obtain, or goes against cultural norms. We also give practical suggestions on how parents can get involved in their children’s education.

We examine secular education options carefully. The Bible says: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.” (Proverbs 14:15) We apply this principle by carefully examining the range of options available for supplementary (postsecondary) education and the cost and value of each. For example, vocational training can often provide good value for a reasonable investment of time. … [M]any of Jehovah’s Witnesses have received advanced secular education, yet they believe that their spiritual education has greater value.”

Article 26 of the Constitution, together with Article 820 of the Civil Code and Article 16 of the School Education Law, places parents under an obligation to “receive ordinary education as provided for by law.” This means that parents must ensure their children attend school up to age 15 (for a discussion of this requirement, see the expert opinion of Professor Shibutani).

There is no legal obligation imposed on parents to ensure their children go to high school, college, or university.

It is obvious that Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan comply with all mandatory educational requirements set by the Japanese authorities. Indeed, they far exceed those requirements. The Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan—A Quantitative Study found that Jehovah’s Witnesses have higher education levels compared with those of the general population, including high school and postsecondary education.