Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1854-10-19
wednesday, october Is, 1881
Religion in school.

our learned and esteemed correspondents
yesterday. We will to-day briefly reply.
We apprehend that great many do
not fully comprehend the rights of teach
ers, pupils. parents, and the public in re-
lation to the Common School and that
one friend is among the number.
The Common School is designed to
disseminate as universallyias possible the
simple, rudimental branches of an English
Education among the trhote people. The
property Of the irhoie people is taxedto
support it, and it is to be free and open
to the youth of the whole people. ia
Therefore the Common School has
no right to instruct only in such branch
es Of learning, as is acceptable to and de-
sired by the lohole people, and obnoxious
or offensive to no part thereof III
AS illustrating the design of the Com
mon School, thelaw specifies what branch
es shall be taught in it, and enumerates
'Orthography, Reading, Writing, Gram
mar, and Arithmetic Religion, and re-
hgiotss morality form no part of these.
1t is palpable, that because our esteem
ed friend and ourselves are firm believers
in the Bible, the Divinity of Christ and
the Atonement of him Crucified, we have
not therefore a right to take the money
Of our neighbor, Adam Smith, Atheist,
Pantheist, Deist. Sp;ritualist, or whatev-
er he may be in religion to pay for the
teaching of or religion because we are
many and he is but one. He has as much
right to have Atheism, Mahometanisn
Paganism, or any other religious or anti
religious doctrine taught in the school,
as we to have Christianity taught in it.
We hare neither IF as any right uhat-
ererto hare any o or Speculative notions
Of religion taught in IL.
There are One thousand different sys-
tens of Religion taught in the world.
Hardly any two agree upon this subject.
But all agree, without the shadow of dis
sent, upon the sciences of Arithmetic,
Grammar, Chemistry, and what are des
ignated as the eract sciences, upon the
arts Of Reading and Writing. and upon
the facts of Geography. And all agree,
too, upon the necessity and importance
of knowledge of these branches of
learning to the happiness and welfare Of
the 1chole peopLe. Hence it is obvious
that the teaching of any form of religion
in school, is a violation of the rights of
the people, the supporters of the school,
while the teaching of the branches emu
merated, and any others under the same
rule, is in conformity with the wants of
the people, and the design of the system.
The teacher has a right to keep his
school in order, and to use all reasonable
means to do so. For this purpose he has
a right to protect the rights of one pu-
pill against the oppression of another.
All thieYing, lying, or other immoral con-
duct, done by one or more pupils, design
ed or adpatcd to injure the others, the
teacher has right to reprove, admomsh
against, or punish properly, if necessary,
for this same purpose. The pupils and
the parents Of pupils, have right to this
same care and protection of the teacher.
Moral and honest parents have right
to have their children protected against
the oppression, and the vicious habits Of
the evil and dishonest The public has
a right to have equal rights and justice
maintained in the school.
Further than this the teacher has no
more right to teach Morality than he
has to teach Religion. Every pare Mt ha
the right to the religious and moral train
ing of his child, and this right he does
not delegate to the school teacher, and it
is great oppression for the teacher to
usurp it. 1t is sacred and holy right,
commensurate with the responsibilities
of parentage, and not to be wrested away
from the individual
We send our children to the Common
School to learn to read, write, cypher, &c,
because it is necessary they should learn
these things, because there is no differ
cnce of opinion among people about their
Importance, becauSeexperience has taught
that in congregated classes they can be
learned much more effectually and rap
idly, and because the Common School is
the only system which will enable the
childreniof the ,chote people to learn them.
But we do not send them there to learn
the peculiar religion or morals of the
teacher. These things we have a right
to be protected against.
The law requires that the teacher shall
have good moral character" not that
he shall teach morals, for this is not one
Of the branches to be taught according
70 Jaw but chat the public may know
that he is an honest man, and will pro-
tect the rights Of all his pupils, aid will
faithfully perform the dnties assigned
him. .t .s ~.
We could dwell on this subject, for it
I is one that we feel public opinion is far
from being right upon, and one worthy
the attention of all; but it is theme per-
! hans distasteful to MANY. and we wish