The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume] (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1939-1992, 1940-10-18
Religion and the
Public Schools
CONTINUED from Page Three)

ASOAAS-AA~-ON@
Are the alternatives, then, Ell
Their sectarian education, which Is
unthinkabIe, or goddess" educa-
ton, which is equally objection
able? Professor F. Ernest john
son, writing in the current issue
of the Contemporary Jewish Rec
ord, proposes tn at children be
taught general principles OF reli-
giOn, "brOad and basic asSump-
TONS" In this way, he believes, we
can avoid gOdlessneSS; and, at
the same time, sectarianism.
What is wrong with his propo-
sal? Reconstructionism helps to
understand why Prof. Johnson's
proposal is not valid; in fact, it
enables us to see the whole prob
lem in the light of the relationship
of religion to the life of any peo-
pie. From the Reconstructionist
viewpoint, there is no such thing
as religion as such: there are re-
ligiOnS. A religion must be a GER
tain religion, the religion of par
ticular group, or nation, or civili-
cation. Broad and basic assump-
lions" constitute what might be
called religious philosophy. They
deal with abstract concepts, and
these concepts can be applied to-
all religions. But because they are
abstract, and philosophic, and diff
ficult, they can not be taught to
children; in fact, many adults
would find religious philosophy too
heavy to digest. Besides, religious
philosophy is not religion; it be-
comes religion when it is applied.
Now, the moment we try to ap-
ply the broad concepts to particu-
lar situations, we hit upon sectar-
ian differences: and we are back
where we started.
The RecOnStructiOniSt viewpoint
insists that if people are to have
religion in common, they must
have other things in common be-
sides religion. The question then
arises: which religion could all
American children have in COM
mon? The answer is: AMERICAN
RELIGION. Yes, American relig-
ion, which would consist in apply
ing the broad and basic aSsump-
lions of DEMOCRACY to Ameri-
can life. This would make vital
religion: the Holy Scriptures
would be the Constitution of the
United States; the Declaration of
Independence, the Gettysburg Ad-
dress, and other documents sacred
to the memory of Americans. The
heroes and saints would be Wash
ingtOn, Lincoln, Wilson, and other
immOrtalS of American history.
The festivals and hOlydays would
be the Fourth of July, Thanksgiv-
ing Day, Memorial Day, and other
days that commemorate signifi-
cant events in American history.
The riligiOn of Democracy is the
religion that all American children
ShOuld-and can-share. This re-
ligiOn would be supplemented by
their ancestral religion, which they
should learn-and ObServe-during
those hours and days when they
are not engaged in studies at the
public schools.
All that remains in order to
work out this plan is to have
Americans make up their minds
that they believe enough in de-
mocracy to make a religion out
of it, to attach to it the name of
God, to work for it, fight for it,
if necessary, die for it, as they
would be given educations which
are not goddess, Church and State
would remain separate and apart,
and religious freedom would still
be preserved for the various relig-
ious groups within the framework