Religious schools are private schools, and may be Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. Within those designations, the school may be parochial, typically meaning it's owned and operated by the church; or it might be independent, usually run by clergy members, but with no legal ties to the church. You don't have to be of that religion, to attend the school. However, religious involvement can range from a daily non-denominational service, to intensive teachings in that faith. You'll want to know their policy beforehand, as few schools will excuse children from religious instruction, just because they belong to a different religion. Advantages offered by religious schools include greater safety, discipline and moral training. In terms of education, most religious schools are better than public schools. However, the average religious school is inferior to regular private schools, because they have smaller budgets. Be aware that certain fundamentalist schools may change educational materials to reflect their religious beliefs, for example, teaching creation science instead of anthropology. Often, these type of schools will not be accredited, another good reason to check for accreditation by a regional association.
