Thread by @AWWritesStories

I'm back for Part 3 on what #ShinyHappyPeople has to do with Adventism, and in this part I'll talk specifically about how Adventists, Bill Gothard, and homeschooling intersect. If you missed the first two parts, here you go: 1/20

First we need to talk about Raymond Moore and his wife Dorothy Moore, a Seventh-day Adventist couple whose interest in homeschooling began as they were raising their 9 children. Dorothy felt children were sent to school too young and Raymond agreed. 2/20 curate.nd.edu/downloads/7h14…

Raymond Moore was working for the U.S. Department of Education but resigned in 1967 to pursue research to support his theory that "schooling of any sort was patently detrimental to young children." 3/20

They had created the Moore Foundation in 1961 and Raymond also co-founded the Hewitt Research Foundation in 1963 with Carl Hewitt, but after Raymond's resignation from the government, things really started moving. 4/20 greathomeschoolconventions.com/blog/homeschoo…

By 1972, Raymond Moore's teachings had been picked up by Harper's and a book deal with Reader's Digest soon followed. His book is credited with launching the modern homeschooling movement in the United States. 5/20 mooreacademy.org/about/dr_raymo…

According to this 1974 Gleaner article, the Hewitt Research Foundation was an Adventist organization "organized primarily to help the Church be effective and efficient" before it became a worldwide influence. 6/20 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/NP…

The Gleaner article quotes Moore: "It is not that we are so scholarly or bright," remarks Raymond Moore, the Foundation president. "We simply enjoy a great advantage by basing much of our research on God's Word; and He blesses." 7/20

Though "legally independent" from the Adventist Church, the Hewitt Research Foundation trustees were "leading Adventist laymen and several General and Union Conference officers" including Neal Wilson (Ted Wilson's father) who, at the time, was a GC VP. 8/20

The article concludes by remarking that "More than 50 Hewitt articles and monographs have been published by popular and professional presses such as Reader's Digest, Harpers, Childhood Education and the Phi Delta Kappan carrying Bible-based messages." 9/20

In 1984, Raymond Moore did an interview w/ Ministry Magazine. The article is lengthy, but I'll highlight a few parts. To start, the interviewer points out that "James Dobson, Bill Gothard, and Tim LaHaye promote your books in their religious arenas." 10/20 documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/MI…

Moore told the interviewer: "Our goal is to restore the family and create fertile soil for the gospel. And we are trying to keep good parents out of jail!" 11/20

He then added: "There are occasional attempts by school or social department officials and teacher unions to harass parents who teach their children in home schools." But, "we are winning nearly all of the few [cases] that get to court." 12/20

He states that he came to the realization that humanism "has burned the nation and virtually cauterized God out of the schools." 13/20

He adds: "Mothers today seek jobs because of the emptiness in their homes when children have gone to school early." But when they learn the "myth" of school, they dedicate themselves to managing finances more carefully so they can stay home. 🙃 14/20

Moore states several purported benefits of homeschooling then adds, "This is the main reason, Bill Gothard tells me, that he has set out to make home education the center of his ministry." 👀 15/20

When asked if he sees a large movement toward homeschooling, Moore replied, "Yes, in two areas: First, Bill Gothard observes that home education is already the educational movement of the decade, with thousands of new home schoolers a year." 👀 16/20

The whole of this interview is a JOURNEY & worth the read, but the takeaway of this thread is Moore laid the groundwork for a massive homeschooling movement that was largely untouchable by government oversight and he had a profound impact on James Dobson and Bill Gothard. 17/20

In 1984, the same year as Raymond Moore's interview, and decades after he had launched the American homeschool movement, Bill Gothard started his own "Christian home education program." 18/20 atii.org

Considering Moore's own views on education, the home, and a mother's place, combined w/ his relationships w/ Dobson & Gothard, it's clear Gothard's own homeschooling program was based on the foundation Moore built and benefited from Moore's legal advocacy for homeschoolers. 19/20

And there you have it. A few reasons why #ShinyHappyPeople might resonate if you grew up conservative Adventist like I did. 20/20