BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS MOVEMENT

Evening Star, Issue 15343, 18 November 1913, Page 8

BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS MOVEMENT

The Rev. R. Wood, in tho course of an address in the Presbyterian Church, Warrington, on Sunday afternoon, called attention to the movement in the Government schools in India for the introduction of religious teaching. He said that he had a statement in writing from a prominent Indian missionary, who was recently in Dunedin, to the effect that in India the Government were realising that the non-religious character of the schools was a serious weakness to the educational system, and was a menace to the welfare of the country.; that the Government there were now seeking _to devise a system by which religious instruction should be given in all schools. In Government and municipal schools it was proposed to have a certain time set apart in which religious instruction might be given to the scholars by religious teachers recognised by the Educational Department. Hindu religious teachers would give religious instruction to Hindu boys, Mohammedan teachers to Mohammedan boys, and Christian teachers to Christian boys. The children, however, would be at liberty to attend, with the permission of their parents, any classes tor religious instruction; for instance, Hindu and Mohammedan boys might attend Christian classes. The' Government felt that, while Christian teaching was of supremo moment, religious instruction of some kind was . of ; paramount importance, that education separated from direct moral and religious teaching was not only defective, but was likely to become a menace to the welfare of the. country. Such was a recent a.nd local testimony with regard to India. In Japan the same condition of things' obtained. A prominent opponent of the Bible-in-Stato Schools League was constrained to write some years ago about tho failure of secularism in France, arid lie found the cause cf increased demoralisation in France in the secular cvstem of education. The Now Zealand" system needed to be strengthened by the 'introduction of more definite moral and religious instruction. The civil war seen in New Zealand through the waterside and other strikes showed the- moral impotence of the teaching of the so-called civil virtues in our schools, and was a reproach to the civilis-atiou of our land.