Protestantism still has a big influence on secondary school education across the world, a new study suggests.

The finding comes from research by Dr Horst Feldmann, of the University of Bath, who looked at data from 147 developed and developing countries from 1975 to 2010.

He argues that Protestantism’s original influence on education and schooling has become part of national culture in traditionally Protestant countries and in several former British colonies, such as Australia and the United States.

His statistical analysis shows that countries with a larger share of Protestants in their population in 1900 had higher secondary school enrolment rates between 1975 to 2010.

For example, the Nordic countries have both the highest historical Protestant population shares and some of the highest contemporary enrolment rates.

“In contrast to what many might expect, the Protestant legacy has an enduring effect on secondary schooling - in spite of almost 200 years of secularisation,” he said.

“This study is the first to show that the historically positive effect of Protestantism on schooling is still noticeable today.

Protestant effect on schools ‘now diminishing’

“It also shows that this is not only the case in a few traditionally Protestant countries. Rather, the historically positive effect of Protestantism on schooling is a global phenomenon.”

Dr Feldmann’s study, however, suggests that the effect is diminishing.

It indicates that Protestantism’s traditional influence on schooling has diminished over time and that contemporary Protestantism, in contrast with historical Protestantism, does not affect schooling.

At the start of the Reformation in 1517, initiated by Martin Luther, Protestantism made strenuous efforts to expand schooling.

Luther demanded compulsory elementary education for boys and girls from all social classes.

Other German Protestants soon developed a comprehensive system of schooling, including a system of secondary education.

The German reforms quickly became a blueprint for education across many other countries in western and northern Europe.

Britain later exported Protestantism to its colonies around the globe, which profoundly shaped their educational systems as well.

The Protestant missionaries in the British colonies were also the first to provide post-primary education.

As a result of these reforms, school enrolment rates were substantially higher than in colonies of, for example, Spain and France.

However, from the 19th century onwards, Protestantism’s influence on schooling waned - first in traditionally Protestant countries and then, due to decolonisation, in Britain’s former colonies.

School systems were secularised and almost completely taken over by the state.

The paper, Still Influential: the Protestant emphasis on schooling, is published in the International Journal of Comparative Sociology.