BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 149, 12 March 1923, Page 4

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

PLEA FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION POWER IN HANDS OF WOMEN

by Telegraph—press association. Invercargill, March 10. At the Women’s Christian Tenrpebanco Union Conference, to-day, the Superintendent of Bible-in-S<Shools, Mrs. Driver, spoke strongly. in regard to the want of Bible instruction in schools, and stated that Dunedin was the only large town in the Dominion, where religious instruction was regularly given. She said fhat Mr. Massey promised to introduce legislation dealing with the subject. Mrs. Perryman said the power was in the hands of women to remedy the defect, and Miss Atkinson stat-0 that 98 per cent, of the Nelson children received religious instruction in school hours.

Miss Henderson said that many of the large schools in Christchurch received religious instruction. Mrs. Williams said the.unions should not be satisfied until religious instruction was given in school hours. . In Punedin, ministers of the association, Jeaconesses, and Mrs. Driver gave Bible teaching fropi 9 Zo 9.30, and if this was allowed in Dunedin it should he allowed in every school in the Dominion. Mrs. Perryman said tKaT where the boards laid down the principle that schools must be. open 2", hours, there was no opportunity for Bible teaching, but where no hours were fixed, op it the board allow 24 nr 24J hours. for the school work, then the Ministers Association and deaconesses were allowed to use the other hour or halfhour for religious instruction