Toward a Liberal Conception of School Communities

This article addresses the question of whether schools that are communities erode autonomy, by being grounded in a religion or comprehensive doctrine. I argue, first, that religions and comprehensive doctrines are not to be identified with ways of life. They provide criteria for judging choices, but admit diversity both in membership and in what may be chosen. Second, I claim that autonomy requires that children be provided with some evaluative framework and that the question of whether a school that gives a privileged place to some religion or comprehensive doctrine promotes or inhibits autonomy has more to do with the character of the doctrine and of the virtues it encourages than it has to do with the mere fact that a doctrine is privileged. Finally, I argue that it is unlikely that public schools will encourage the virtues required by autonomy.