parochial school

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

Hasn't it occurred to anyone that "catholic parochial" (note the lower-case) is an oxymoron?

Here in Atlantic County, New Jersey, there is a "Parochial League".  There are a number of very small religious schools, many of them Protestant, and the Parochial League exists so that they can play interscholastic basketball and soccer.  Trocki Jewish Community Day School is the only Jewish school to belong.  Incidentally at least one such parochial school is mostly or entirely black, so around here "parochial school" does NOT mean "white".

Now for a (probably) nonce usage: one of the "schools" in the Parochial League is for a team consisting of home-schooled Christians.

A reason for using "parochial school":  if you said "religious school" your listener might think of Sunday School, Jewish "Hebrew schools" which meet in the afternoon or evening to give one or two classes in Hebrew and Judaica, vacation Bible Schools, etc.  Hence "parochial school" has the more specific meaning "a full-time school, equivalent to a public primary or secondary school, which is sponsored by a religous organization and teaches religious in additional to secular subjects".  You could not say "religious day school" because a parochial school might be a boarding school. (the above-mentioned Trocki school is now taking in boarding students).

Another oddity: many Jewish parochial schools have a separate department for the teaching of secular subjects known as the "English department" even though it teaches math, history, etc.

    - Jim Landau

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