Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-04-15

| future citizens TO understand the principles of
religious liberty upon which our free stats is
built. theoretically, and with proper lmita.
tions, should say yes to this que-tion but
practically the Bible could hardly be made a
textbook for such study with either safety or
success. Besides, il is not necessary to make
any extensive study of religions claiming Bib
lical authority in order to teach the essential
| principles of religious liberty. Whatever is
necessary in this respect may be much better
inculcated in the regular study of history. 1t
is only necessary in this connection to insist
| that the Bible may be used in such instruction
| just as any other book would be used-for
whatever it is worth in the judgment of those
| who teach and learn.
3. Shall the Bible be used in the public
schools as a textbook in morals?. 1t is agreed
by all that regard for moral law is the very
foundation of good citizenship. The state
must teach morality, directly and indirectly,
in itsschools. 1t cannot maintain schools with
utteachngit. 1t cannot teach at all il tdots
not teach morals. The state is also most certain
ly competent-and for the very reason that it
must teach morals-to decide what in morals
1t will teach, and in what forms of statement
it will teach what it teaches. But in this con-
Dection several things must be borne in mind
II the state select its forms of statement for
the moral precepts which it decides 10 teach
from the Bible, it must make a careful dis
tinction between teaching them as expressing
self-evident moral truth and teaching them as
authoritative upon any human theory of Bib
lcal authority, or any professedly authorita-
tive human Interpretation of Biblical teach
ing. Besides the Biblical statements of moral
principles were never intended for use in their
original form for purposes of purely ethical
instruction. Hence every church, Protestant
or ROmanist, makes its catechisms for ethical
in CfrurliOu With itq unlimited roO of
educational privilege when teaching its volun-
tary catechumens. How much better, then,
must it be, on every account, for the state to
make its textbook in morals with the largest
liberty of expression, drawing both substance
and form from every available source, and
commencing its work to the universal moral
sense of the citizens whom it serves. So do
ing, it can no more fail to teach Biblical NOR
ality than men who build greenhouses can
fail to feed the plants they cultivate on sun
light. Just because the Bible has been and
is such power in forming and guiding our
civilization, it will vitalize and fashion the
training in our public schools in time to come
as in the past.
4. Thus come to the conclusion indicated
above. The proper use of the Bible in the
public schools is in moulding and controlling,
indirectly, the entire training given therein.
l firmly believe, that, even if there we're no
hintItubeh VI ODlulOu hluOuR lub ClllLtLs US
TO the Interpretation of the Bible, and no OBJ
lection to its use from the sectarian bias of
teachers, it would still be undesirable that the
Bible should. be used in the schools as a text
book for religious devotions or instruction in
morals. do not think that the interests of
religion or civil liberty require it. Rather,
they positively forbid it. The Bible is vol
ume Of sacred writings. As such, it belongs
to us all. 1t should be in every mans hands.
1t is every mans right to have it and to study
it. But it is no book to be forced by state
authority upon the attention and use of men.
1t should be used religiously, as from God
and parents should teach their children so to
use it. But it is not book to be put into
the hands of teachers without regard to their
religious faith, to be used perfunctorily for
the purposes of school drill under the color
and pretense of religious worship. Nothing
can be gained for civil or religious freedom
by such use of the Bible 1t tends to culti-
vate either hypocrisy or an unintelligent bib
liolatry, both of which Christianity abhors,
and to trample ON the very principles of civil
liberty which the Bible inculcates.
As have already said, the Bible has indi-
rectly created our public school system by its
powerful influence in moulding our civiliza-
ton and inculcating the principles of liberty
and religion out of which it has grown. Let
it then continue to hold its place in our hearts
and our homes, and its power will be felt still
legitimately and truly in maintaining and
forming our schools. Only let the state ad-
here strictly to its own province in education
and We have nothing to fear. The state can
properly teach only the elements of the uni
versal education of the citizens, that educa-
tion which practically the time and mental
development of all the citizens will allow
them TO take. Everything in education be-
yond this is essentially professional 1t is
only for the few, and the state cannot legiti-
mately lay a burden of taxation upon the
many for the special advantage of the al
ready more favored few. But this universal
education the state must give, and it should
include besides the arithmetic, geography and
grammar, also as much as possible of those
| studies which are necessary to train the free
citizen in the political constitution of our free
state Just here it is, in the realm of well
established political principles on which our
free government is built, that the state has
creed. That creed should be carefully taught
in the public schools The history of our
country, the constitution of the nation and
the states, at least in every school of the
state in which it is located, the theory of our
local self government in states, counties,
towns village corporations and school dis
tricts, the history of the struggle of free gov
| ernment with medieval tyranny in church
and state all these should be carefully and
thoroughly taught in our state schools from
our national standpoint. The elementary
and universally acknowledged principles and
rules of good morals and manners should also
be taught with suitable textbooks and con-
| slant application in the daily conduct of the
pupils. The high school training should be
largely of this special character, aiming to
train the true, liberty loving American eiti-
zen. Let the state carefully adhere to its
own work in education, leaving to the family,
| the church and the individual all that is per-
sonal and professional; let it give itself en-
ergetically to its own work of training free
citizens who will know their rights and du-
ties as citizens and love liberty better than
life, and we shall have no need of the monk
cry of daily repetitions in school sessions of
scripture texts and formal prayers Let this
be the character of our public school train
ing let the Bible stand on the school library
shelf with the dictionary and the encyclop@-
dia for use whenever the legitimate studies
of the school refer to it. Then let us all
incorporate the religion of the Bible into our
daily lives and our home instruction and we
need have no fear that Bible ideas and inhu-
enoes will be driven from our schools. Then
we shall stand on high ground which no as
saults can reach. Lovers of liberty, we shall
not be violators of liberty ourselves Then
with no trespass upon the rights of any citi-
zen. the God of the Bible, Bible morality and
Bible principles of civil and religious liberty
will completely dominate our public school
instruction. Then if any party in the state
should be so ignorant of the nature of our
free government, or so hostile to its existence
and our liberties as to repeat in this country
the demand of his holiness, Pope Plus TX,
to the recalcitrant nations of Europe, that the
control of popular education must be entrust-
ed to the church, we shall occupy an impreg-
nable position from which resolutely to re-
fuse the demand and resist any assault which
human madness can bring against u.s.
wRIrrEN ron THE VERMONT PHGsu.
To an Absent y rtend.
ny MRS. NJ j. EATON