Evening star., 1927-10-13
UNITARIAN CHARGES
.DOGMATIc TYRANNY
FundamentaIist Movement
Treason, Rev. A. c. Dieffen-
bach Tells Conference.

"The fundamentalist movement is
betrayal of the religion of Jesus
Christ and treason against the United
States" Rev. Albert c. Dieffenbach,
editor of the Christian Register, de.
clared today. The fundamentalsts'
he said, 'have deliberately made the
church an instrumentality to dominate
the state"
| DR.. Dieffenbach, who is credited
with preclpitating the fundamentalist'
modernist controversy in 1922. is at
tending the biennial conference of the
American Unitarian Association. He Is
we'll known as an author and lecturer
and leader of the modernist camp.
There has never been such dogmatic
tyranny in this country as there Is
TODAY, he declared, as result of the
activity of the World Christian Fun
damental Association, organized by
William Jennings Bryan and now LED
by w. b. Riley. This organization, he
said. which declares that science Is
form Of irreligion." has outlawed the
teachings of science in many states
and is seeking to put the seal OF igno-
rance on the entire country.
THE Bible belt extends all over the
nation" he declared. The Fundamen-
talist churches dominate the religion
of the country"
Dogma Written Into Law.
DR.. Dieffenbach contends that the
Fundamentalists have betrayed the
principles of democracy by writing
dogmas into statutes" and setting up
a monarchy founded on the Bible.
President Coolidge's words. law ana
order" are 1.-The words of monarchy,
he declared. The words of democracy
are freedom and service"
This monarchical rule is illustrated
by prohibition, anti.evolution laws and
other examples. of 1.-The dogmatic at
titude of letting the ma jority dominate
ALL" he said. They hold that the
voice of the majority is the voice OF
God"
In the candidacy of Gov. Smith for
President, DIR. Dieffenbach said, there
would be as great a menace to free.
dom. The Fundamentalists would
fight Smith, he thinks, but they
would be inconsistent because the re-
ligion of Fundamentalism is as
dangerous as that of Rome" DIR.
Dieffenbach praised Gov. Smith as an
exponent of democracy in his admins
tration in New York, but declared
that his Catholicism would keep him
from being satisfactory President.
The conference of Unitarian publi-
cations today recommended passage
of a resolution to make survey with
the object of staging publicity cam
paign. At other conferences child
problems, parish management and
reaching the multitude" were dis
cussed.
Materialism Assailed.
The growth of materialism, IL it
prevails, will become a blight upon
society, Chief Justice Taft declared at
the meeting last night at which he
presided. The new discoveries OF sci
ence furnish no basis for disbelief in
God, he said, asserting that belief In
evolution Of man from lower form
involves the noblest conception Of
man.
A liberal faith based on modern sci.
ence has brought comfort to many
whom fundamentalism has failed to
satisfy" he declared. expressing the
hope that experimental religion may
furnish real hope where fundamen.
talism has failed, -
Speaking of the reported spread of
aJHGlSIH III COHeScS, lHG (HtcI justice
declared: For those OF us who are
familiar with the cocksure conclu
sions of our young hopefuls in college
communities the statistics are not as
alarming as they are to those who do
not understand the nature and devel.
opment Of our academic youth" The
beliefs of the present college men and
women are likely to change when
they grow older, he said.
Urges Part in Problems.
World problems, such as the out
lawing of war and disarmament, are
mot the sort OF politics from which
the churches should refrain" George
w. Wickersham of New York told the
delegates. 'If the church has no opin-
ions on subjects such as these, she
must renounce all claims to moral
leadership" he added.
He praised the work of the League
Of Nations, which he described in some
detail, and disparaged the apathy"
of the State Department in the move.
ment for world peace.
Rev. Owen r. Lovejoy Of st. Peters
burg. Fla. spoke on Religion in the
Social Order"