Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-05-17
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCA-


The school authorities of Washington. nv
JUdiciDus course for q series OF years. carefully
excluding anything like sectarianism from the
Public Schools. have WOE for our school sys-
TEN the confidence Of all denominations The
results OF this course have been so beneficent
here that we trust the heated efforts that are
now being made elsewhere by religious pa-tI-
cans TO turn the public schools of the country
lIto PROSECUTING institutions on this side or that
VIII have no echoes from this quarter.
In some o. the Northern States we see that
Protestant religionists are strenuously de-
nsnding that State Governments shall provide
for the reading OF the Bible in the Public
Schools On the other hand, the Catholic
Bishop Spalding. of Baltimore, seems disposed
40 make \ crusade against the secular education
OF our school system, and to desire that Catholic
children shall 20 only to schools where the
fenets of Catholicism are taught II is easy To
see that II either side carry their point the
unity and usefulness Of our national system of
public schools will be destroyed. That system
has great and peculiar mission of its own To
perform in maintaining our free institutions
The youth OF the country must he instructed
AZ our form Of government Is to be sus-
famed. Its only foundation is the inteIIi.
gence Of the mass of the people, The sys-
TEN OF education needed one that shall
be so free and tolerant as to bring all the
ehIldren Of the country under its influences.
The duty Of religious instruction to every
hid Is conceded by all. Bat this instruction
: properly the work of the parent, of the sun
day School, and Of the Church. The day
school Is not the proper place for instruction
Of this responsible and delicate nature. 1t
must necessarily be slurred over for want
OF time, even were the teacher otherwise
competent Tor The work and both the
reading of the scriptures and the religious
teaching must necessarily be degraded into a
monotonous and IrksOme task, well calculated
20 give the pupil a distaste for religious mat
tiers that he may not BE- able to overcome for
the remainder of hIs life.
The Rev. VIM Adams. Of New York in a
sermon recently preached on this subject,
nrges with clearness this point, that it is not
properly the business Of q public school TO
teach any form of religious belief Itmay, in.
deed. teach the existence Of G cd, and our gene
raj obligations TO Him, as the foundation of all
law and all morality, and as that which gives
sanction to an oath; but as to q specific creed
ne holds that il is not the business of such
school TO teach religion any more than il Is the
business Of a bank or railroad corporation
The public schools are established al public
expense For their support all are taxed alike,
and their doors are open to the children of
ali-Episcopalians and Presbyterlans, Catho-
lies and Protestant and Jew. Receiving chill
dren from such different sources, what is the
business OF the common school To teach
them the Cateehism, or any form of faIthl By
NO means, but 10 teach them 10 read, write, and
spell, and those rudiments OF knowledge which
Il Is Necessity for them to possess in order to
n; them 10 be Intelligent eitizens-ft to exercise
abe rights OF freemen.