Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-06-12
RELfGION ~ THF SCHUuLS
Matthew ArDo,d's Views OF onc OF tue rururnl

Matthew Arnoids Views OF one at the Turning
Questions ot the Time
Matthew Arnold lectured before the tni-
versity OF pennsylvania in Philadelphia ON
Tuesday. His views OF religion in schools
are interesting:
hope You viii listen to me IN some points
in which the common schools " q ermauv and
France succeed better than those Or England
In training their pupils in what j. really hu-
man You may then judge whether your
schools III America are more like our schools
or more like those OF France and Germany
VIII take first what il certainly main
agent in teaching mans soul and feelings, re-
llslon. In England religion Is excluded from
the official programme nf tho popular school.
IL IL Is taught, II il taught outside of the Otli-
cial hours, aud subject to private and local
regulation. Religious liberty, il IL said. re
quires this. II religion il taught ut the public
expense what religion IL It to I've " II ii Is
the religion Oi the majority. the minority
would not be satisfied. Religion must not,
therefore,, he prescribed school matter at
all. In German countries-tOr German swift
Zerland is ust the same rs Germany in this
matter-religion stands as one Of the fore
most subjects of instruction in the public
schools. Instead of being, as in England, n
subject never introduced in official pro
grammes, subject which people are To avoid,
1t is laid out with the greatest care and exam
ined with special diligence and industry 10y
the inspectors. In religion one may say the
three large Chiet demonstrations are no longer
predominant i'll Germany-the Evangelical,
the Protestant and Catholic and the Jews Re.
tween the Protestauts aud the Catholics the
public deals both in theory and in practice
with absolute fairness. There is no persecu-
ton and no proseiytism. So tar as the action
oi the administration goes, so complete is the
confidence OF the people in itS fairness that
in the lower classes of Evangelicals or
Catholics, you can find not intrequently the
tathollcs taking religious Instructions with
the majority. In the upper classes the law
requires the minority in these mixed schools
To be separate and to receive instruction from
their own sect.
With us In England the diEiculty OF in
cluding religion in the school programme is
caused 10y sects of PrOtestansm. Through
out Protestant Germany the religious in.
struction in Protestant schools IL based on
the Lutheran profession, and all denomiua-
tiOns are expected to follow. With US with
individual churches, what is the result" pi.
verslty OF religion, rendering diversity of
instruction; IN Germany the law. | do not
think that in Germany, where the spirit Of
sect has been less cultivated than among
ouI selves, Protestants feel instruction in
the pubic schools in these matters to be dis
advantageous. could not hear of auy com.
plants on the subject, and was very curious
10 learn how the working classes in the Ger.
man cities who are said To be greatly estrang.
ell from the Christian religion, take
the obligatory religious instruction. In
' dlub4lC NANbnN, Int country which
ported To be the stronghold of socialism,
asked an inspector what proportion of the
working-classes he thou ht were sOCi,listir,
and were opposed to the established religion,
"At least two thirds" he answered. "Well,
then, sad /, show do they like this Iuth
eran religion for their children ?" "They
don't like 1t at ALL" he replied, "but they
have to submit to it" lie added that the re
ligious instruction did the children good
that the mothers in general can peceive this
N nf hn as,.ri.l H..
speaking of the same subject when | was il
Berlin, TO man whose name will be well re
ceived in every university, Professor Nun
| sen, the historian, l told him how surprised
| had been, after | had heard OF the decay o
| religion in Germany, to find how impOrtan
| place religion held in the programme OF tn.
| pubLc schools. lie agreed that 1t did So, anC
| he, too, thought that 1t was good thing anC
] he said that the actual religious instruction
given was dOgmatic, and it was a fault of tn,
| persons in authority that they made it strict,
| so; but In religion he thought the school in
| struction in general a good thing. He quote,
| words 10 me OF Goethe, which remem bered
| "He who has art and science has religion
| but he quoted them with au addition whicl
| | had forgotten ''Ie who has not art and sci
| ence let him have religion"
| In nation where the government il, a.
| Senator Hawley says, of, by and for the aver
| age man. we may imagine that religious in
structon should be imposed upon the schools
because the man, not having heard of science
requires religion. / doubt whether the re-,
llgious feeling of England would not be as
much shocked as the democratic feeling OF
America by the notion OF teaching religion
In the public schools which uncultivated peo.
pie require but cultivated people do not So
that, while there is feeling OF sect, the spirit
of religion makes it ImpractiCable to intro
duce religion in our public schools. The re.
llglous instruction in the public schools OF
German countries seems to mo one OF the
best and most effective parts OF the school