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VOL. LXXXVII. RICHM
Religion an
In one of the most popular anion*? recent <
treatises (Ruediger's " Principles of Educa- 1
tioij," page 253), 011 tlie new science of Peda- J
gogy, this paragraph is found: '
A CHARACTERISTIC STATEMENT.
"In tracing the evolution of the school we
have also traced the evolution of the church.
Many essential details for even a brief outline J
have necessarily been omitted, but these need 1
not now be supplied. The church is the mother
of the sc1uk>1 and therefore has in the past played
a most fundamental part in formal education
ink ~ JLl?St ^ -
tut; uiuereuuauou ul Junction m society, how- 1
ever, lias removed the heart of formal education
from the church and placed it in the .school. 1
Hut this does not leave the church with no form- '
al educational functions to perform, at least not
for the present, and especially not in America. 1
Because the church and state are separate in
America, and because religion has not yet been
fully rationalized by the method and spirit of
science, religious instruction cannot be, or rather
is not, included in the public schools; and
since the Christian religion centers in the liter- (
ature of the Hebrews, the child is left ignorant
of this literature by the school. But this literature
forms one of the most precious sections ot'
cmr racial inheritance, and therefore it is too
(
valuable to be lost. The-task of transmitting it
to the child falls to the lot of the home and
church, especially to the church. The church
must make a systematic attempt to acquaint the
child with our religious history, literature, and
beliefs by means of the Sunday school. But before
the Sunday school can effectively discharge
tins function, it must be more generally recognized
as an educational agency, it must be taken
more seriously by society at large, and its work
must be more thoroughly graded, systematized,
and 'psychologized. By the last term is meant
that the work must be definitely adapted to fhe
needs and interests of the child, just as the
masterpieces of other literatures are adapted
to the needs and interests of tho ohibt in tlw?
public schools. In addition to the Bible, the history
and geography of Palestine and the history
of the church rthould also be studied in the
Sunday school."
A CRISIS IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.
The author elsewhere makes it perfectly plain,
though he does not in so many words say so. that .
there is no place for the denominational College 1
in America eventually, though now there may be \
an excuse for it in that science has not yet fully <
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. uuuuuiluigiuii. i iic tinriiegie rvunuftlioil ]
has set its face in the same direction and has
even made it to the pecuniary advantage of all l
colleges and of the professors in them, wlvich widl J
?ever their connection with the denominations
that gave them birth and become independent * 1
of religious control. And 33 colleges and universities,
founded and fostered by -the churches, <
last year bit at this monetary bait. Clearly the .
JLJ
OND, NEW ORLEANS, ATLANTA, i
j r -i._
a n,aucanoi
ilenominational colleges face a grave crisis and
the friends of Christian education need to be
alert for their interests, or they will materially
mffer.
AN UNPAKALELLED CONDITION.
The present status of affairs in the educabioiial
Life of America is unparalleled in the world's
History and has been brought upon us by a train
of shortsighted thiukiuir and blind action with
reference to the separation of church and state,
rhe separation of church and. state was desirable.
The state had demoralized the church and disestablishment
was imperative, if progress was to
t>e made in civilization and knowledge. We Shall
not see again the union of church and state in
ihis country, nor do we wish it. Such a reunion
would be disastrous both to the state and
to the church.
THE SUBTLETY OF ITS OIU6IN
The trouble oniue when the State Constitutions
declared it the duty of the state to educate its
citizens. Up to that time ail education lxad been
under the church, or under private individuals.
Certain free-thinkers conceived the idea of allowing
the youth of the land to be educated entirely
ipart front all sectarian influences, and so entirely
free from all church relations. It was de
ilared to be the duty of the state to furnish the
moans of education, but provision for the religious
li'e was to be left to the churches. Their
educational functions were to be allowed, but a
program was to be outlined with the express purnose
in view to eliminate the church entirely
from the educational realm, beginning in the
public school and ending in the State Universities
and Technical schools. To such an extent
has this program spread that the current books
on education, which are used in our denominational
colleges, allow the church no part necessarily
in formal education except the Sunday
school class: and when science has entirely
rationalized religion, perhaps the Sunday school
can oe aispensea with, "except for worship and
I he development of the social nature," as th"
nuthority previously quoted declares the church
has already become.
SHALL T)IK TAXING POWER OF STATE BE USED
AGAINST EDUCATION ?
Clearly we face a crisis. We have been
isleep, and while we slept an enemy has sown
tares in our wheat. We cannot pull the tares
up, but we can look after the wheat, and we must
:lo it. In the first r>hic#? wr? t/-? molm u
perfectly plain that it is the duty of the state
ro provide for decent. moral, Christian citizens as
much as it is its duty to provide for intellectual
utizens. I believe it is more its duty to do the
Former than it is to do the latter. We should certainly
insist that the state not use its taxing
power to provide indecent, immoral, and unchristian
citizens. If we do not po so far in our
lemauds as to take steps to have all the money
wal Presbyter/an "f
'trern Presbyterian
^IPRIL 9, 1913. NO. 14,/5
BY
n President W. A. Harper
ELON COLLEGE, N. C.
:ikw fU? ?? l:?u? J ?
..x-x?t?u; siaic xui uiguer euucauon
divided pro rata among the colleges of the state
according to their enrollment of the state's citizens,
as in the practice ot Maryland, we should
certainly insist, and with full confidence in our
rights so to insist, that the state institutions be
not allowed to purchase pupils from the denominational
colleges by free tuition scholarships.
LEGAL, REGULATION OB" STATE SCHOLARSHIPS
NEEDED.
I do not ask that state colleges be denied the
right to grant scholarships, but 1 do insist that
these scholarships De limited in number?one to
a county would seem to be ample, for no denominational
college is able to grant so many?
and that they be granted without favoritism and
lu open competition. A public examination in
each county under the county superintendent of
public instruction should be given to determine
to whom each county's scholarship should go.
This would work no hardship upon the state
schools and the denominational and private colleges
would not complain at such competition
with t llOlll !V?1? " Li
- - -? ^v> |/iuiuiia$c axiu. Lilt: KLailt; UUJJUl
act to permit a less fair and equal method of
granting its special favors. We have fought and
won the fight for civii service reform in granting
government positions, but the educational
department of the state still nurses the spoils
system of awarding its favors, and it is against
ihe operation of this system w*hen it is used to
induce would-be students from the denominational
college to the state schools that the Christian
forces of the day must protest, and not only protest,
but see that their protest is heeded.
NOT SO SKKIorS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
The real mischief of the absence of moral and
Christian training from education does not appear
in the primary and secondary schools, because
the children arc at home mornings, afternoons,
evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays, and
parents can correct by example and precept the
immoral irreligious tendencies of the schools
This is the theory underlying the practice ot
excluding such instruction from these conservatories
and seminaries of the niihlie intAllitrorw^o
but even hero, evil is done and most insidiously.
There are sad accounts current in every section
of the direful results (in the character of the
public school pupils, due to immoral and irreligious
teachers, and I should gladly welcome the
day when only moral and religious teachers
should be permitted to teach our youth in those
extremely plastic and impressionable days of the
primary and secondary school age, and wo
Ohrisfcian people can have it thus, if we will. The
nVolincnAr? Cl ?AA 11
?nvni?ivu m vwiiuurjii (mi mi? oiTi|uurvs imm me
public schools of many states, of the Bible and
religious services of whatever character from the
schools of others, and the admission to the teacher's
function of immoral and irreligious per
sons in these same schools, has given a combination
calculated to undermine the very found