ACCS alumni defy categories as they retain orthodoxy & think for themselves.
This profile is unique because it combines different questions to see if alumni tend to think like everyone else, or if they tend to think for themselves. For example, we see that ACCS grads trust scientists like non-Christian school grads, yet they believe science and religion are compatible—more so than other Christians. Despite this, they believe more than any group that the Bible is true regarding science and history. They are able to accept the truth that scientists tell, without accepting everything they say.
Blue bars are actual data. The red bars reflect the school’s effect, isolated from other family factors.
We see similar departures from contemporary thought in the area of social engagement. ACCS alumni know more gay people than any other group. Yet, they also reject gay marriage. This defies the trends in the data and the common impression that if you know a gay person, you will be more accepting of gay marriage. (Note the arrows depict the normal trend, except for ACCS alumni).
More directly, we see that ACCS grads are the most likely to seek the tolerance of other religions, yet they do not believe Christianity is a private matter and they are quite willing to challenge religious views in public. Once again, this combination is unexpected. These and other indicators in the survey validate the claim long made by classical Christian educators that we teach students how to think for themselves.
