New Church Education is a philosophy of education developed and practiced by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, one of the New Church or Swedenborgian sects. This philosophy is based on some of works of Emanuel Swedenborg, whose theological writings are considered by members of this church to be the revealed Word of God, equal in authority to the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Early in its history, the General Church of the New Jerusalem adopted distinctiveness as one of its central principles. Its members worked to clearly identify those things found in Swedenborg's theological writings that differentiated the New Church, as described there, from other churches and then to incorporate those distinctions into their institutions and actions.
Developing a distinctive theory and practice of education became important as compulsory education spread across the United States. Looking into their revelation, members of the General Church of the New Jerusalem pieced together a new idea of how a child's mind develops from birth into adulthood. This developmental process formed the basis of a distinctive educational philosophy designed to give children in formal educational settings the experiences and knowledge believed to provide a solid foundation for the lifelong process of spiritual regeneration and growth.
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