RELIGIOUS TEACHING

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 139, 15 June 1931, Page 11

RELIGIOUS TEACHING

RESULT OF PLEBISCITE

THE COMING BILL

(By TelegrnplL—Press Association.)

THAMES, This Day,

His Grace Archbishop Averill, preaching at St. George's, Thames, last night, on the Bible-in-sehools question, stated that in denying tho children religious instruction tho people wcre^ robbing God. A\ ro professed to.be a democratic coriiit'ry, also a Christian country, ,'yot in the educational system there' was no rccogiiitiou of God. This. was. calculated to bias tho minds of the.children, against the very thought of God. Surely tho object i and .purpose of education was the drawing out pi! the development of (he whole child. Education should be n- training-for life and worthy citizenship, -which' was-not complete without, the religious'side.

■ Opposition in" the-past to .such instruction: in schools had eo.me-from.the Roman Catholics ■ and teachers.- The opposition of the former was now w.ithr drawn,, "and - a Bill coming before -the House next session asked.for.the inclusion in school 'hours, of religious' instruction.' Any teacher'or parent could obtain, exemption,, but from a recent plebiscite- over.-80 per cent.- of, parents favoured the request. , : ■• ..•- ..

At fit.'"John's Church .yesterday, the ■pev. J. X.; Blanchard' briefly' referred to the proposed' Religious .Instruction in Schools Enabling". Bill.; Ho:- .said:' "For many years .opposition: has-been, growing to the purely seeula^nalut'e-Gf the system of national education iri New Zealand. mc conviction--haS been- gaining - ground that such., a -system .is incomplete in. that : it does ' not take ' into" account : the whole nature of the child, .and1 ■inadequate in that it does-not-prepare-the child for all the demand's' whichlater-.lifeVwill make upon him. In ■other.-wolI dsj::iio system ot. education which,.: loaves. - religion;: out or. account "-can-be; regarded.-as satisfactory. As ye are not a nation,.of atheists, our national "education" should give, duo-.- recognition -.to Godi- T.lia,t-principle as admitted and' that recognition., made in our ■secondary''education, but not'in oiw ■primary.- Why in the one"'and not -in- the other no one has yet bean abl& satisfactorily to say.; rTlie-'- anomaly.: is . .entirely .: without justification.. ':.■ :. ■. : '■' "■■■ ' "As things are,-the. present system oper-■aW-'unjustly, in -this matfer. . .Thousands of parents . whose...conviction it/.is. that religion -should .be .give;iv a. place..in. their 'children's; daily "education ' are penalised because- of fViose:'whV do not -share-that conviction. ■ Repeated plebiscites have de-monstrated'that-in this'matter the many are being'overborne by the-few.. Justice requires that this- state. o£ affairs be; remedied. • ■ -■■•■■'■. ■ •• '-. ,-■ "None bat prejudiced minds would question"the fact that 'the Bible is'the most majestic, thing" in'our literature, .and the most. spiritually, liviug. tiling, we, inherit. That .being, so, -.a grave injustice.is Jb.eing domrbiir cMJdreii ,in. denying .the;Tßible a •place-in-their db'ly education; Mr. John Buchanlias said':-'-For us, the.-British people, thu Bible is a' kind' of national testament, a-;kind" of national confession; of faith, for.it is.the key to.all that is worthy in our character and famous m our-history.' Yet in New Zealand, we exclude it from our primary, schools in our system of .national'education!- .Under such circumstances, our; educational, system cari-not-.'truly., be called 'national/: is'^ open .to the' grave charge of being" pagan in spirit, and deprives itse'li: of the', greatest .instrument in existence for.-combating tendencies towards ■ materialism in. thought and conduct.- : . ■ ■ . ' ■ • "Many elforts- have been made m the past to'introduce the Bible into our primary schools. These efforts Have not succeeded largely because, of the differences between: the various ■ churches. At last, however, a Bill has been dra-wn-up' which' has secured ■■' the;-:approval ot-' all - the thnrches- and- which does equal justice'to' those who desire the Bible in'our prim-' ary schools and those who do not.- By carefully worded clauses the Bill so. safeguards the position of all that no teacher, scholar, or parent .will', have cause to. complain that any principle-or-matter of conscience- which ' thejr' may hold is ■ being violated. .lE-the- Bill■-becomes law, a period of- long rand often'acute' agitation will come to. an. .end at last, and that, will be provided- in,,.our:.'system of: 'national education for.lack of-which it; basr.boeii defective for over.half a century." ■ ■