Evening star., 1941-08-23
The Week in Religion
Catholic Church in France
Resists Political Tie-up

sons for the Official announcement,
but it is interpreted in informed
circles in this country as part of
the relaxation of the Soviet cam
paign against religion and the de-
sire of Russian leaders TO show the
outside world that religion is still a
force in the U. S. S. R.
If so, church leaders are not i'm
pressed. A total of 1888 religious
Structures-if this figure is ac-
curate-in a total population of
183.267186, isn't impressive. The
United States has 244319 churches
in a tots population of 13l ,669,275.
England has some 81 900 churches.
While the comparison is not entirely
in order, it does give some idea of
the paucity of churches in Russia
in relation to the population.
The development carries added in
terest to churchmen in view OF the
lack of reference to religious free
dom in the Roosevelt Churchill
peace aims, an omission which has
come as distinct disappointment
to religious leaders in this country.
Indicative of this disappointment
is a statement made to Religious
News Service this week by Rabbi L.
Israel, executive secretary OF the
Union of American Hebrew Congre-
cations.
1T is regrettable." said Rabbi
Israel, That Russian complications
may have prevented a fortnight
declaration favoring religious free
dom, but our hope is that the Rus
sia saved from destruction by the
democracieS, recognizing Goodness
as fundamental to human progress.
will turn from its doctrinaire athe-
ism and recognize religion in the
democratic manner"
Education Bills Defeated.
The movement to provide public
school children with some form of
education, notably through the re-
leased time system, has made
great deal of headway during the
past year. Part of this movement
has been an attempt to get States
to officially provide for religious
education in their public school sys-
TENS. But Legislatures are appar-
emily not convinced that they ought
to take action in favor of religion
in the schools.
A survey made by Religious News
Service this week showed that meas
ures to provide religious educat ation
IN the schools met with defeat in
six of the seven State Legislatures
before which the issue was intro |
duced. The only State to leealize |
public school religious education this
year was Massachusetts,. bringing
the total number of States in which |
such education has been legalized |
to nine.
The six States in which religious i
education bills failed to become law
were California, New Mexico. Rhode
Island, Oklahoma, PENNSYLVANIA
and Colorado. Most of the bills
died in committee.
Williamstown Institute.
Keen interest is being shown bv
religious leaders of all faiths in the |
W1l1amstown Institute of Human |
Relations, which opens at Williams
College in Massachusetts tomorrow
evening. The institute this year
will be devoted to a consideration
of postwar society and will be at
tended by Protestants, Catholics |
and Jews from all parts of the |
country. For more than two wears |
religious leaders have been work.
ing, almost alone, in an effort to |
blueprint a postwar world. The |
churches have been divided in their
attitude toward involvement in the
war, but there has been a conspicu-
Gus unity on the subject of peace |
aims. Different church groups have |
offered different proposals, but there
has been an underlying thread of |
agreement upon the general prin-
ciples which should govern the
postwar social structure These
have been made clear by Pope Plus,
by leaders of the churches of Eng
land and by virtually every impor-
tant church body in the United
States.
At Williamstown the entire dis
cussion will be given an interfaith
aspect when leaders of the three
major faiths come together. One
of the features of the institute will
be an analysis of the various peace
proposals voiced by religious bodies
during the past two years, to be
given by Dr. Walter Van Kirk, sec
retary of the Commission to Study
the Bases of a Just and Durable
Peace of the Federal Council of
Churches.