American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-01-30
Religious Instruction anfI
Worship.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

l. 1t is the right of these orphans a.
it is of every child, separated from home
training, to receive ,ssaud it is the duty oi
the teachcr to impart, regular Instruction
in the principles Of Religion, as an in'
dispensablc element in a proper Educa-
ton. And in this State in which Chris,
.ianity is a part of the law of the land =
the laws themselves being based upon
and conformcd to its principles, - the
Christian religion is to be made part Of
the course of instruction.
By this it is not meant merely that
these children are to be taught those
great PRINCIPLES of morality which are
found to conform to the Christion ,sys>
ten but that the Christian system it.
self MS tourd in the Scriptures. is to oe
taught, accompanied with knowledge Of
the origin of that system and due revcr-
ence for its Divine Author.
IL. As there is no rcli sious belief or
OBJ ervance without preference for some
one or o'her of tho creeds and forms cf
worship prevailing amongst the various
Christians sects, that creed is to be
taught and that form of worship prefer,
red for each of these orphans, os far as
practicable, which the father himself
would have designated were he alive, or
which the mother in his stead shall indi.
cate
This principle cannot. from the nature
of the case, be fullyI observed inI every
instance. For, though the schools have
been placed in charge of religious men
and care has been taken to have oil the
prominent sects represented In the corps
Of Principals, yet, as the institutions
are so scattered over the whole State that
in most cases it would remove the child
too far from the mother to send it to a
school of its own denomination ,-Secta.
rian religious training must therefore be
mainly provided tor otherwise; There
fore
Iii. The assistance of the Christian
clergy, resident in the vicinity, is relied
on, in this part of the training of the
children of their respective denomina>
tions, in the schools.
To effect this object. list of the Or
phans whose parents were of his church,
is sent to each clergyman, with request
that, subject to the rules of the school,
he will supervise and guide their relig-
ious trimming, aud, as far as convenient,
have them attend public worship at his
church. But, as there are several schools
having no churches or clergy of some of
the denominations near them, this rem
ders it unavoidable, that
lV. In all cases 10 which there is
neither clergyman nor church Of the par
ents denomination near the school. the
orphan thus circumstanced shall, for the
time, attend the church of the Principal,
and be instructed in religious matters
with the body of tho school due res
pect being always had to the known re.
lg'ous preference of the deceased father
and no attempts made to proselyte his
child.
No other .expedient than this is gener-
ally practicable in such cases. 1t is true
there may be, in the variety Of teachers
in school, some one agreeing with pu-
pills thus removed from church privileges
OF their own denominations These, of
course, may and ought to take charge Of
such pupils, as catechumens Of their own
church; but in the absence of such in
straction, this class of pupils are to ac-
company the Principal
RULES Eqs RfI1GIoUs WORSHIP AND IN.
sTRUoTIoN m m
> l. There shall be. morning and eve