Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-03-28
RELIGION AND THE pup.
SCHOOLS,

ehorts OF misguided uarrowness to
unite church and State IN th;. land 80
ehe Tree. Blair's so-called educa.
tlonal bill proposes to compel the
teaching of the Bible in the nubl;o
schools. A great many people have
an idea of religious liberty like this:
You have perfect right to believe
Just as you please, SO long as you be-
lleve Just as | do. A disbeliever in
the inspiration of the Scriptures would
nave just as good right to insist that
text books combating the theory Of
the divine origin of the Bible and in.
slstlng that it is book of sunersti.
tlons, be read in the public schools. as
Mr.. Blair and his followers have to
insist that the Bible be read. and it
goes without saying that Blair's gang
would howl loudly against this. If
Mormons should insist that their Bi-
BILE be read, or the Jews that the old
testament be accepted and the new
rejected, etc, it would not at all ac-
cord with the liberal(?) views of
Blair u Go. Religion, in whatever
form, must be kept out of the insti-
tutlons OF this country, or our boasted
liberties will fade away. Church
and government, when combined, are
the parents of tyranny, oppression,
indescribable cruelties, and are the
murderers of liberty and freedom of
conscience, as history proves.
Judge Anderson, of Wisconsin, who
is either bigoted idiot or a consum-
mate knave who cares nothing for the
liberties guaranteed by the Consti-
tuition, has disgraced and dishonored
himself and the position he holds by
deciding that the Bible shall be
taught in the public schools. He
says: "Suppose the Board of Edu-
cation in this school district, and the
great body of the patrons of the
school, conscientiously believe the
Bible should be read in the public
school, as strongly and fully as the
plaintiffs believe it should not be?
Whose conscientious scruples should
yield?'' Those of the MAORI
ty, of course, as the Constitution
contemplated neither minorlties nor
majorities in separating religion and
the institutions of the government,
. and the Bible teaches religion and
, embodies religion. But Judge An
derson did not answer thus. Sup
pose in the adjoining district the ma
jority should insist that books deny
ing the inspiration of the Bible should
be read in the public school, Fol.
lowing Anderson's logic consistently
"Whose Conscientious scruples mus
yield?" We answer again-those O
y the majority-the conscientious scru
q Piles of those who insist that tex
. books shall be read in the public
j. schools advocating and upholding th
, idea that the Bible is founded on su
perstition and is not the work ant
words of Divine Being, as it claim
to be-those who insist that sue
: books be read III the public schools
i although they be in the majority, w
: say emphatlcally, they must yield
0 Judge Anderson, to be CONSISTENT
n logical, must give the same answer Il
d the first instance that he would in tn
@ last. In the first he would answer
and has, that the minority mus
yield, but in the latter he would an
: swer emphatically that the majorlt
e must Weld. To be consistently log
y cal he must answer that the minorit
g must Weld in both cases, and eve
: then he would be opposing the mos
IT sacred provision of the Constitution
'e This is Judge Anderson's stand;
D. the conscientious scruples of the m
is nority are not my conscientious scr'
pies, they must yield. If the conso
!, entious scruples of the minority a
= nv conscientious scruples, they mu
u not yield, but come under II
y strong protecting arm OF the Co'
v stitution. Judge Anderson's dep
1e is easily sounded. He doesn't ca
t. so much for majorities as he does +
n, the particular brand of serupl
or with which he is endowed. When
. comes to his brand, it is hands o
ST But as to the opposite brand of scr
IL. ples-hands on. The only way,
respect the conscientious scrupie
Nv of all is to allow neither religious n
anti-religious books to be read IN o
to public schools, nor to permit any
= iigious or anti-religious doctrines
49, be taught in such schools. In usl'
ne the word ssreligion" we do not me