Evening star., 1926-09-18
ASSERT MILLIONS
LACK GUIDANCE"
Unitarian Laymen's League
Speakers See Failure in
: Traditional Christianity.

ftanity l. failing. leaving millions
without ANY religious guidance. was
eSpree' Cd by speakers today before
the Cnit&-.An Laymen's League. in
annual sea SION At M Souls Church.
Sixteenth and Harvard streets.
The deiegateS We're urged TO stress
Unitariani>m With it's complete ac-
ceptanco, OF scientific advances. as
religion which these millions might
embrace viAhout strdining their skep
ftcisrn ara which did not demand Of
its folloWe;s acceptance Of anything
which would not accord with their
own reasoning.
THE foundations upon which the
church fJr 200 year. has been built
are passing away. said Rev. freder-
ick r. Gl1ft1n OF Philadelphia. rresi
dent of the Unitarian Ministerial
League. Some nov living ma SEC
them gone entirely. so far as Protes-
tantism is concerned. This setting
aside OF the old theology is giving to
millions new sense Of freedom from
prejudices.
Cites Tragic Aspect.
But it is having its tragic aspect
also. Thousands also are falling away
from the fundamental values of re-
Igion-respect for truth and respect
for justice. This lost respect of re-
llsio1s values is the cause Of much of
the present distress in the world"
DR.. Griffin said persons who have
revolted from the old faiths might be
brought back to a sense Of religious
values through Cnitarianism but he
warned that even the liberal churches.
in order 10 take advantage of this
opportunity. must broaden their lib
eralism so as to attract people on
other than theological grounds.
Our Unitarian people are prosper
GUS, he SAID. prosperity tends to
make Us conservative. We have a lib
eral tradition. but there are many en-
ticements. The young people of today
are interested not so much in theology
as in economic welfare. and it is on
tins ground that we must continue to
keep open fsfirds
Regarded Open Questions.
Unitarian ministers do not ask
their congregations 10 agree with
them on such questions AS world
peace an0 disarmament These are
open questions. But we must keep
our churches open. remembering that
10 thousands of the new liberals
these are the most fundamental
questions. DO not close your churches
to peace speakers on the suspicion
that they may be tools OF some for
eign propaganda"
DIR. Griffin reminded the delegates
that October will mark the 300th
anniversary Of the death Of st.
Francis. which will be observed by
the Catholic Church throughout the
world. He urged that Unitarians on
this date turn TO a contamp alton OF
the life of St. Francis with it's three
principles of industry. SELF denial aud
In their own lives.
THE Bible. the book that once
inspired men to struggle for freedom
and fight for liberty. is now being
made the weapon in the hands Of
reactionaries for. the destruction OF
our liberties. and being used as an
anvil on which to forge chains that
fAtter the mind Rev. Or. Horace
Westwood Of Toledo. Ohio, told the
delegates last night.
DR.. Nestwood has been on
preaching mission in England this
Summer. He said that the spiritual
life of England IS in confusion com
parable to that in America.
Two Extremes Noted.
"On the opposite side to fundamen.
talism" he said. lies that large and
unfortunately growing section of
Rion has no message for the modern
world. that il is out of harmony with
the scientific spirit. that 1t fetterS
intellectual development and that It
Is inimical to all that is best in
American progress. Great numbers
of those now being graduated from
American colleges are outside the
pale Of the church. feeling that reli,
sion can have no place in modern
life. Between these two extremes Is
still another group. probably the
largest. which feels the foundations
Of faith slipping away under the i'm
pact Of historical criticism.
THE situation presents an unpar
alleled opportunity for the liberal
churches OF America. Fundamental
ism owes it's strength to the fact that
II is united and that ii has the con-
Niction that il is the custodian OF
spiritual values. The tragedy Of lib
eralism is that it is disunited.
The situation is such. however.
that ] believe the liberal churches we
represent should capture the heart of
America. Liberalism is about to find
tts soul and to become conscious Of
the fact that it has a great evangel.
Stresses Spiritual Liberty.
Rev. DIR. Curtis w Reese OF Chi
cago. secretary OF the Western Uni
tartan Conference. urged laymen to
remain firm for the principles OF spir
itual liberty. social progress and the
scredness of individual opinions.
1T requires a high degree Of civi-
lization." he said. for man to fight
and die for the right Of persons to
hold opinions with which he does not
agree. The obligation to preserve lib
;e u-h MO 10 COL
upon to defend the right Of liberal
70 challenge the authority of the Bible
or that OF a Catholic TO pray to the
t-irgin Mary. The sacredness inheres
rot in the content of the opinion. but
n the right 10 hold it.
We have stood and we now stand
for evolution To this we must add in
'elligent control Of the evolutionary
processes We cannot shift the re-
sponsibility for human progress and
we'll being onto the shoulders of evolu-
tion. or of natural law. or Of God. 1t
10 by the application of human intel
ligence TO the processes of life that we
achieve human ends.
Scientific knowledge a Right.
while we respect all who have
confidence In their own convictions.
sAid Percy W. Gardner of Providence.
president of the Laymens League,
we can adopt no halfway measures
In dealing with that type of so-called
religious fundamentalist who seeks to
rob the children of our public schools
of scientific knowledge. The idea that
our young people should be deprived
Of the BENEFITS OF scientific investiea-
ton and that teachers in our state
supported institutions should be
hampered in their taching arouses the
lighting spirit OF every liberal-minded