The Columbia evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-26
"UNCODLlNESSn
OF SCHOOLSB
PROVED EALSE,
Figures Gathered in Southern
States Show 9o Per Cent
Of Teachers Are
Churchmen.
MOST PUPILS MEMBERS
Educator Admits Occasional
Failure of Instructors but
Believes 1t Not
General.

Public schools are not so ungodly a
some would have us believe, says ih,
Literary Digest, il we may take Certain
facts recently gathered in the South ic
be indicative of the country as a whole
Not lcng ago, We learn from the Presby
terian Advance, statement was pub
lished by some Southern papers thai
''over 50 per cent of the professors in
American universities do not believe in
God and only a small per cent of the
graduates come from such institutions
with their faith in God mistaken" To
test the truth Of this assertion as it con.
cerned the South. the editor of a high.
school paper in Georgia, We are inform.
ed, took religious census of the State
institutions in eleven Southern states.
Among fourteen such institutions he
learned that 95 per cent of the members
Of the faculties and rs per cent of the
students are church members. Not a
single atheist was found among the
faculties. Tennessee was not included
in the survey, and inquiry in thai state
was undertaken by Prof. B. o. Dugcan.
state high school inspector. He sent a
QUESTIONABLE TO the five-state institu.
tons and to l45 firsi-class high schools.
His findings are accepted by the Ad.
vance as typical of conditions over this
southern section Of the country, and we
give this summary:
Ninety-eight responded with com.
pleie reports. In the five state institu.
tons there are l6l members of the fac.
ulties Of whom .l59 arc members of
churches, while there are 2.295 students
OF whom 1911 claim membership in
some church. OF the ninety-eight hirb
schools reporting from fifty-firc counties
the members Of the faculties number 575
with SOB OF them church members. There
are lo.074 students enrolled and Of
them 1-346 belong to a church. Everv
one OF these ninety-eight schools report
the nature of chapel and religious exer.
cises they have In two schools every
teacher and every student is said 10 be
a church member That means tha, in
The higher institutions supported by
public funds about 90 per cent Of the
teachers are protesting Christians and a
little more than SO per cent of the en-,
rolled students. And in the high schools
almost 99 per cent of the teachers are
members OF churches and almost 73 per
cent OF the pupils enrolled.
Now, taking for granted tha, Ten.
nessee figures are fairly representative
OF the conditions in the Southland. sure.
iy there need not be the alarm that Is
sometimes raised over this matter. II
is, however, TO be recognized that in
some centers Of population the teacher
may not stress religion as many would !
ike 10 have it stresi and as it should he
to strengthen the faith of the pupil.
because OF certain conditions The ,,
Christian teacher is greatly handicapped
That. however, does moi prevent The |
earnest teacher from cxertinr the sor,
OF influence that tells mightiIy on the
lmpressionabie youth before him. II is
moi always necessary 10 speak openly
about the great truths of the gospel, but
when language and history, science and
art are taught with the background of
The truth as it is set forth in the Bible.
and when these facts are brough, forth
from mind that has recognized tha.
The earth is the Lords and the fulncss
thereof; the world and they that dwell
therein, the student will perceive the
trend oil the teaching and respond