The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-10-23
Balfour on Religious Training

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that kind of religious training, if any,
which they desire in the schools to
which you compel them to send their
children. And, as a matter of abstract
argument, / am quite unable to
understand how any human being can
be found to controvert that PROPOSE
ton. 1t seems to me to follow with
an irresistible logic from premises
universally or almost universally
accepted. Why, then, is not this sim
pie piece of logic embodied in actual
legislation? Why is it not given
practical effect too in all the schools
of the country? The difficulties, as
we all know, are practical difficulties.
They are not theoretical. 1t is very
hard to arrange matters, if the State,
and so long as the State, thinks it
out of it's power to help this or that
sively difficult to arrange a system
which shall give the parents exactly
what they require. All you can do
is to approximate on historical
basis, as far as you can to that idea,
gradually to mould your system,
which has grown up-as things in
this country do grow up under the
pressure of different forces-which
has never been symmetrically ar
ranged from the beginning, and is
not now symmetrical system, logi-
cally defensible in every part. All
you can do is to mould that system
gradually as far as possible to the
two ideals-frst, that religious educa-
ton should not be separated from
secular; and, secondly, that the religi-
Gus education should be the religious
education desired by the parents Of
the child for the child. f
Educational Madness.
If, per impossible, the whole sys-
tenn of voluntary schools and demon
national teaching in this country
were to break down, then who can
doubt that a blow of the deadliest
kind would have been levelled at the
educational ideal which commends
itself not merely to the inhabitants
of this room and people. like-minded
with themselves, but to the great
body of opinion throughout the coun-
try which believes that it is madness
to bring up the rising generation with
out some worship and belief in the
thing out of the past which no efforts
in the present or the future could give
back to you. If the Church of Eng
land and others interested in religious
education, UNCONVENTIONAL or unde
nominational-I make no exception in
this matter-fail to keep religious
teaching in the schools, no subsequent
lamentations will help in the small
est degree to give you back that
which your carelessness has thrown
away do H6t deny that quite
apart from thu difficulty of meeting
the great and the growing strain
necessarily thrown upon the liberal1ty
of Churchmen by the expansion of the
needs, sometimes real, sometimes
rather fanciful, as conceived by the
responsible authorities of elementary
education-apart, 1 say, from that
great and growing strain, l do not in
the least deny. that there are great
difficulties in carrying out our ideal
of providing religious education in
conformity with the wishes of the
parent.
The Secular Ideal.
Of course, there are such difficulties
And yet we are, think, more hope
fully situated for their solution thar
we were when l first entered public
life. To begin with, l am convinced
that those who lead thought in tht
country are far less enamored of {
secular ideal than they were thirt.
years ago. l notice the same feelins
of uneasiness growing in other coun
! tries over the loss which any. com
munity must suffer which permit
itself to lapse into the slough
of mere materialism, speculative O
practical You will find thinkers no
very we'll disposed towards Chris
tianity-certainly with no specia
claims to orthodoxy-you will fin,
them looking uneasily in many coun
tries at the result which the secular
! iZatiOn of education has produced an,