Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-03-06
NOT IRRELNGIOUS.

Carrlck, pastor of the Pfesbyter-
ian church, gave an instructive
and interesting discourse chiefly |
devoted to the religious element
in education. The separation OF
church and state was commented
upon and its justice and wisdom
approved. The church, however,
furnished and virtually controlled
the educational agencies until
abou 1884, when our system OF
public schools-schools main
tanned by public taxation-had
its incipiency.
"These schools are irrel1g
ious;" hence the necessity for
the church to support her
own schools, in which TIE relig-
ious element is rightly recogniz-
ed as an essential educational
factor.
The charge that Our public
schools are t'irreligious, Cod
less" ETC., is frequently made,
1t IS maliciously made by the en-
emies of the school and inadvert-
emily by those whom we know to
be its friends, among whom Mr..
Carrick is no less staunch than
ourself.
The charge is groundless. The
schools are not irreligious. The
system does not create irreligious
schools, nor would the American
people anywhere long tolerate,
much less support, such schools.
Our people are essentially a
christian people. They accept
the ethical code taught by the
founder of christianity. The
mass of them have no acquaint-
ance with any other moral code.
The mass of our school officers
and teachers are believers in
christianity, while large numbers
of them are devout, active and
sincere members of some branch
of the christian church. These
officers and teachers fully under
stand that all desirable and right
education is essentially religious,
and they would be the last. per
sons to divest it of that element.
Besides this, the schools coule
not compass the ends for which
the state maintains them if they
were irreligious and Goddess
The prime interest Of the state i!
to create and perpetuate citi
zenship of virtuous, intelligent
moral, industrious, free, fearless
and patriotic men and women
Through the agency of the pub
lie school she seeks to prepare
the youth of the land so that they
may enter upon the race of life
under conditions which are fav
orable to usefulness, prosperity
contentment and good citizen
ship. Here her interests termin
ate. She has no interest in per.
petuating any sect or creed as
such; no instrumentalities to
teach ec1esiasticism nor eclesias.
teal dogma.
Just here is where we fall into
error. We hold to a creed and
believe that an acceptance OF
some portion of it is essential to
human happiness here and here
after. It is a vital part of OUT
religion, and we desire to incul-
cate it upon Our children, and
would not oppose it being i'm
pressed upon Our neighbor's
children. In Our zeal for OUT
creed, our sect, we quite forget
that our neighbor, who is just as
religious as we are holds to a diff
ferent creed. We have mistaken
our creed for religion in spite OF
the fact that no creed embraces
all that intelligent, conscientious
men accept as religious truth.
It is the duty of the christian
parent to train his child in those
religious tenents and truths which
he believes to be essential to its
happiness. He cannot honestly
evade this duty nor relegate it to
some other agency.
The various branches of the
church are privileged to found
and support schools to teach their
peculiar views. Indeed, it is
their duty to do SO, since all 9TH
er educational agencies must, in
the very nature of things, fail to
impart the amount and quality OF
religious instruction which the
church holds to be necessary to
right education.