The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-05-06
TT. ZEE SCHOOL FIGHT,
Nv, i

State Scho0tSs
Dear Sir,-The third obiechon to educa-
zion by the State Is, IL possible, more con-
elusive still. 1t Is one which looms up
already In such insuperable dimensions tnat
we freely acknowledge the hope that the
whole system may be wrecked by 1t at an
early day. TiSs is the difficulty, especially
for American Commonwealths, OF the rcli-
gious question. What religion shaii oe
taught to the children bs she states teachers
as the necessary part 81 the edueatioh oi
reasonable and moral beings? We have
only 10 sacntion the vell-kuown facts that
the citizens OF these American states are
conscientiously divided among many and
rival sccts OF religion, and that our forms OF
poyernsent tolerate no union OF Church
and State, and guarantees quail rights to all
men irrespective OF their religious opln-
ions, to show to any fair mind how impos-
sib,e il is for the advocates OF universal
State education 70 do more than evade the
point of the difficulty. 1t has been made
familiar to every reader OF the news
papers in America by recent events IN TINS
country--in New York, in Cincinnati, ana
elsewhere. The teaching OF King jamess
version OF the Christian Scriptures even mas
led to violent'Hrotest and even TO actual f!ot
and combat. The most numerous and de-
termined complainants are, OF course, Ko-
man Catholics; butthc Jews, now becoming
Increasingly numerous and influential, and
the JJnitarians and Deists, must claim SINH
iar grounds Of protest. Their argument Is
that this version Of the Scriptures IL, IN their
sincere Judgment, erroneous; and therefore
they cannot conScientiously permit 1t 10 De
taught to their children. But as they are
taxed to support these schools they cannot
he Justly perverted to teach their chliureh
an obnoxious creed without virtual es-
Establishment OF the Protestant relSlon III
public expense; which is an outrage against
the fundamental principles and laws OF the
State. The special advocates OF the COM
mon schools, who are usually also zeal0os
Protestants, try hard 10 hout .t9,s
objection as captious. But While
we are yerv far from being Roman
lists in religion, we feel that this difficulty
cannot be Justly disposed OF in this way.
II the State, through its teachers, taught the
children OF us ProteStants that version Of
the Bible which makes the Redeemer say :
~Except We do penance yc shall all likewise
perish, y we should make a determined re-
sistance. No power on earth would force
lis to acquiesce in such incubation OF what
we devoutly believe to be religious error.
And we should feel that it was an neXcusa.
BILE injustice to tax us for the purpose OF
teaching to our beloved children what we
could not, at the peril Of our souls, permit
them to learn. Now, the common-schooi
advocates of New York and OF Ohio would
say our objection is just, because the Latin
yulpate is really an erroneous transla-
ton: the objection OF the Romanists is I'M
. Just because King James's is substantially
correct version OF Gods word. AS thcolc-
gians, and in an ecclesiastical arena, we as
sert that this is true; and are confident that
we can establish it. But this is not the
point. We have covenanted that III our po-
iitical relations as citizens OF the Common
wealth all shall have equal rights irrespective
of their religion. In that sphere we are
bound to be impartial: "our word is out"
The very point OF the covenant Is, that so
far as civic rights and privileges go, our
Romanist iellow-citizens' opinions (errone-
GUS though we deem them, in our religious
iudgment) shall be respected precisely as
they are required to respect ours. The
weight OF the Romanist protest, then, cam
not be consistently evaded by American re-
publicans.
This difficulty is not limited to our demo-
cratic land. In Great Britain and Ireland,
where the Government is moving for ma
tional education, all the denominations OF
Christians are hopelessly involved in it. For
the settlement OF this matter, there are, II
the State educates, but three possible alter
natives. One is to force the religion OF the
majority on the children OF the minority OF
the people. The injustice OF this has already
been proved. A second solution Is what
the British call the plan of concurrent en-
,<lowment.' 1t consists in aiding the cltl-
zens OF different religions to gather their
children in separate schools, in which reli-
pious instruction may be given suited to
the views OF the parents, and all paid for by
the State alike. The clamors of the Roman
lists in New York have been partially
appeased by acts falling virtually under
this plan. The city government, in
view of the fact that Romanists can
not conscientiously send their children to
schools which they are taxed to support,
make appropriations OF public money to
some OF their schools, which are in every
respect managed after their own religious
ideas. This concurrent endowment" is
Justly as odious to the great Protestant body,
both in this country and Great Britain, as
any plan could be. 1t offers its seeming So
luton only in places populous enough in
the several rival religions to furnish mate
rails for school to each. In all other
places it makes no provision for the diff
Guilty. 1t is dereliction from principle in
State prevalently Protestant in its popu-
lation thus to place contradictory systems
OF belief upon complete legislative
equality, teaching both alike, when the
truth OF the one inevitably implies the false
hood Of the other. 1t outrages the rights Of
Protestants by expanding part Of the
money they pay i'll propagating opinions
which they regard as false and destructive,
and it gives to erroneous creeds pecuniary
and moral support beyond that which they
draw from the zeal and free gifts OF their
own votaries. For these reasons the plan
OF concurrent endowment" is reprobated
by all the stronger denominations on both
sides Of the Atlantic. The Irish and Ameri-
can Catholics profess to approve it, because
they expect to gain something by it, but
most inconsistency. Who dreams that if
they held the power, and were In the ma
iority in either the British or Yankee empire
las in the French), they would be willing to
see "good Catholic money" appropriated
by the State to teach 70 Protestant heresies p"
The third alternative proposed is, to limit
the teaching OF the State schools in every
case to secular learning, leaving the parents
to supply such religious instruction as they
see fit in their own way and time, or to ne
glect it wholly. OF this solution no Christian
of any name can be an advocate. We have
seen how utterly the Pope and his prelates
reprobate it. All other denominations in
Europe regard it us monstrous; and indeed
no adherent Of any religion can be found in
any other age or country than America who
would not pronounce it wicked and absurd
TOR any agency undertaking the education
OF youth to leave their religious culture an
absolute blank. Testimonies might be cited
II