Some people are a little leery of sending their children to a Montessori preschool or early childhood centre because they think it might be associated with some church or religion that they aren’t part of. Two religious affiliations that often are thought of being associated with Montessori are Catholics and Theosophists. What’s the story here?

The truth is that neither of these belief systems is associated specifically with Montessori. Yes, you can find Catholic schools that use Montessori methods and you can find Rudolph Steiner (Theosophic) schools that use them, but you can also find Catholic schools that don’t and Rudolph Steiner schools that don’t. You can also find Protestant schools, Jewish Orthodox schools, Muslim schools and schools with no religious affiliation whatsoever using Montessori methods. It’s a method of running a classroom or learning environment – that’s all.

The confusion probably arose because of the background of the founder, Maria Montessori. As she was Italian, Dr Montessori was raised as a Catholic. Also, because she initially pioneered her methods of education with special needs children and later in a school in a poorer area of Rome, she would have encountered various other charitable organisations working with these people in these areas, and these organisations would most probably have been associated with the Catholic church. Later in life, Maria Montessori lived in the headquarters of the Theosophical Society, which why other people believe Montessori methods to be associated with this religious movement.

Montessori methods can be used by any early childhood centre or primary school that wants to, and each centre is different.