This paper argues that the 1980s and the 1990s are likely to be a positive period for Catholic and other forms of private education due to several societal factors: (1) economic trends which question the advisability of total or near-total government subsidy of education; (2) sociological trends which favor the "privatization" of American society, with stress on cultural differences and uniqueness; (3) political trends which move away from central government and toward more emphasis on local and private sector activity; and (4) educational trends including the growing quality and perceived quality of private education and the role of emotion in effective learning. (Author/APM)