There are approximately 1,250 Waldorf schools in the world today. Proponents of Waldorf education boast that theirs is the fastest-growing independent school movement in the world. Great numbers of children attend Waldorf schools — where they are often subjected to covert religious indoctrination.
The underlying purpose of Waldorf schools is to spread the religion created by Rudolf Steiner: Anthroposophy. [See the entry for “Anthroposophy” in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]
Despite the religious nature of Waldorf education, efforts are increasing — in the United States and elsewhere — to secure taxpayer support for Waldorf schools.
Humanity faces bigger problems than the proliferation of Waldorf schools and the spread of Rudolf Steiner’s mystical doctrines. Nonetheless, the Waldorf movement should alarm anyone who prizes rationality and abhors the clandestine indoctrination of children.
Waldorf schools often claim to pursue high, even noble, objectives. We educate the whole child, they claim; we respect the individuality of each child; we prepare students for lives as free, self-directing adults.
When Waldorf representatves speak in such terms, they are likely quite sincere. Rudolf Steiner meant for Waldorf schools to embody all that is best in human life, and Steiner’s followers are often highly idealistic.
But the Waldorf sheen disguises many disquieting realities. In a sense, the rest of this website is devoted to revealing these realities in detail.
But for now, for starters, here is a glimpse:
The belief system underlying Waldorf schools is an occult religion that involves doctrines of evolution and reincarnation. Human beings evolve upward as they gain “knowledge of higher worlds” — that is, knowledge of the spiritual worlds above the ordinary plane of existence. To gain this knowledge firsthand, people must develop clairvoyance. Preparation for clairvoyance involves such things as heightened imagination and dream consciousness.
Waldorf schools aim to assist children on the path toward knowledge of the higher worlds. To this end, Waldorf teachers serve as missionaries or priests. [1] However, they generally do so secretively, believing that they possess “mystery wisdom” that other people cannot appreciate. Consequently, the indoctrination Waldorf students receive is subtle and indirect. Little is spelled out openly, either to the students or to their parents. Yet the cumulative effect of involvement in a Waldorf community can be deeply harmful and difficult to undo.
The Waldorf/Anthroposophical view of childhood is intricate. Anthroposophical doctrine teaches that humans are born and reborn on Earth many times as they reincarnate. Moreover, each person is born multiple times during each earthly life, as her/his various invisible bodies emerge (the etheric body, the astral body, and the ego body). [2] Waldorf teachers try to help their students to incarnate properly, so that the children may fulfill their karmas and evolve to higher levels of spiritual consciousness. Humans who evolve properly will stay abreast of the entire solar system as it evolves and reincarnates in ever loftier forms (Future Jupiter, Future Venus, and Future Vulcan). [3]
For Steiner’s devoted followers, there is just one truly correct path to take in life: It is the spiritual-evolutionary path laid out by Steiner. [4] Individuals are encouraged to move upward on this path as “free human beings.” According to Steiner, freedom is the birthright of all real human beings (things are different for “abnormal” people who are not really human). According to Steiner, true freedom means willingly submitting to the “divine cosmic plan” overseen by the many good gods who stand above mankind. Of course, we also need to resist the evil gods, Steiner said. In practice, becoming truly free means giving up your liberty and accepting Steiner’s religious teachings. [5]
That’s it, in brief. I know it sounds bizarre, but that’s what Waldorf schools are ultimately about, behind the tantalizing sheen: They promote the mystical doctrines of Anthroposophy.
As for the strange reference, above, to people who aren’t really human — you should know that for every Steiner doctrine that sounds attractive, there are others that are the reverse. Here’s one: Telling Waldorf teachers to conceal his doctrines from outsiders, Steiner said, “Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings.” [6] Some people, Steiner said, are actually demons in disguise, while others stand at a virtually subhuman level of development. A world of sorrow can be found in such doctrines.
Don’t take my word for any of this. To penetrate to the truth about Waldorf education, scrutinize the quotations I provide throughout this website — the words spoken and written by Rudolf Steiner and his followers. Read as much of this material as you wish; buy and read some Anthroposophical publications; visit other websites; and then draw your own conclusions.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/welcome?authuser=0
