The log cabin Democrat., 1921-07-30
CONDUCTS SURVEY OF!STATE SCHOOLS NOT FOUND IRRELICIOUS State Normal Given Concise Facts on Religions Place in South's
 State Schools.

To refute widely circulated charges
 that state owned and controlled in-
 stitutions of learning are centers of
 irreligion and infidelity, the extension
 department of the the Arkansas State
 Normal has circularized such instltu- tions in the south and southwest to
 determine the extent of religious actl- vities and the attitude of school facul- 1 ties toward the spiritual as well as the intellectual development of stu- dents committed to them. All told, the convictions of l ,232 faculty mem bers and 23,814 students in regard to religion are summarized in the tabuia- ports received from 32 institutions owned and operated by states. Dues tionnaires were mailed out by H. l.. McAlister and the returns classified and tabulated by Dean D. McBrlen. It is revealed by the reports that 1 JAS faculty members or 93 per cent of the entire number are members Of evangelical churches of the Protestant
 aith. Further, that 260 of the number are stewards, deacons or elders in Protestant churches. Others engaged in active church work bring the per |centage of state school faculty mem- bers who are positive and aggressive Protestants, up to 72.6 per cent of the whole number questioned. There are 30 Catholics, four Jews, and three Christian Scientists classified in the number remaining, and four who are members of churches not designated in their replies. The State Normal points out the outstanding fact that not single atheist was found in the entire personnel of faculty members serving 32 state schools. Only 3.3 per cent are non-church members. Approximately the same percentage was found when the student bodies of the institutions were surveyed for their church affiliations or preferences. Seventy-two per cent of the 23,81i lnterrogated are members of Protes- tant churches and an additional 16 2-3 per cent have a definite Protestant preference. It is readily concluded that fully 90 per cent of the students enrolled have definite religious con- victions. Only two students are class ed as having lost their religious con- victions while in college To offset this, one school in Texas reported the conversion of 75 of its students to the Christian faith.
 Another point stressed by the State Normal in defense of state institu- tions is that 20 per cent of the num- Der of new matriculants, having no religious conviction at the time of en- try, were converted during their at- tendance at school. This per cent ob- tains at six schools reporting to the State Normal. Others did not give definite statements as to the number of entrants whose conversions follow ed their entry, but did report general strengthening of faith due to religious activities. With one ex- ception, every one of the 32 schools has active I. M. C. 4. or '. W. C. A. work, or both. All the 32 have some type of church organization for stu dents. In North Carolina, graduates from its institutions are presented with Bible, and the University of Florida added with pride to it's repor. that Q member of the faculty was re gently selected as president of EnorI University, the Southern Methodist in- stltuton at Atlanta.
 Schools answering the general ques. tionnaire sent out by the State Normal were: Arkansas agricultural schools at Russelville, Jonesooro and Monti- cello; normal schools and teachers colleges at Troy and Jacksonville in Alabama, Cape Girardeau, Warrens- burg, Springfield and Kirksyille in Missouri, Canyon and San Marcos in Texas, Ava and Weatherford in Okla homa, Johnson City in Tennessee, Hays in Kansas, Hattiesburg in Miss issippi, Cullowhee in North Carolina, Fredericksburg in Virginia, and Con- way; The Citadel, Charleston, s. C.; Mississippi State College for Women, Columbus; A. X M College of Texas {; A. X NJ. College of North Carolina {; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacks burg; Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn; and the state universities of Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ta~ac and