RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13093, 5 June 1913, Page 4

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS PROPAGANDA

SYSTEM EXPLAINED AND

CRITICS REPLIED TO

There Avas a good attendance at Whinray's Hall last night to hear ai lecture on the Bible-in-Schools question by the Rev.. .P. W. Clarkson, Vicar of Taihape, "who AA-as recently appointed assistant ' secretary of the Bible-in- 1 Schools League. His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. R. Kirk) presided, and there , were also on the platform Ven., Archdeacon H. W. Williams, Rev. L. D'y Thomas, and Mr A. Graham. Apologies were receiA'ed from the ReA-. F.; 'AV. -Cnatterton' and Rev. W. Grant.---v The chairman, in introducing the lee-: threr^'said Mr Clarkson Avas giving up. his time in the interests of the Bible-in-; Schools cause. The question had come; qp yery prominently before the electors,' andi.it , was right that they should hear all sides of such an important subject. Mr Clarkson had come to jpus the matter from the point of view of those who desired the Bible in State schools.: The chairman regretted there was not a: larger, attendance, but no doubt this was accounted for by the City Baud entertainment.

, The Rev. Mr Clarkson commenced by .■saying that lie supposed the greatest causes that liad ' ever conquered in the Avprld had been commenced by a feAv people, therefore this great cause would be, propagated throughout the country, first of all. by small meetings. The question before them was more or less cme of education, of the foremost importance to every elector. It Avas education that fitted them for the position in life which they desired to attain. The battle of life was not the simple thing it "used to be. Life was becoming more difficult, and in the twentieth century it Avas a complex question. The child mind, which was something most impressionable arid something most fluent, had apprehensions of its own, I and those apprehensions determined its •character. Education originally meant reading,, writing and arithmetic, but now it was a question of science, agriculture,, ethics, and the understanding of the various and multitudinous" things that went to make up the complex life. Education was divided into five sections, viz., science, literature, art, institutional life, and religious belief. Education was the- adaptation to the environments of life, or capacity to control the environments areund them. It was first a -matter of principle} and secondly a, matter of method. Environment was physical and spiritual, and they.Avere now dealing with the latter. They could not have education without touching the spirit of the man. After describing,, the functions- of science, literature, art, and institutional life, the, speaker; said the fifths section was the most important. . Without God there could tb ( e , no true education. Without a definite knowledge of the Creator and Christian beliefs much of education fell short of that which- they desired it to attain. In the middle ages, Avhen the Roman Catholic Church had sway ih England, education was confined almost" entirely to theological training. Then came the days of the Reformation, whej^jthe pendulum swung back and the ' r true.basjs" of education was practically abolished. Instead, of religion being the- main centre; secular and commercial' interests took its place, but religious; instruction was not altogether abolished. Following that change came the days of democracy, and it Avas those days that swept, away the remains of religious instruction retained during the P^efprmation. In New Zealand they had made rather a fetish about their secular education. Education in NeAV Zealand Avas exceedingly good and exceedingly varied, but it lacked the component part, the knowledge of and instruction hx.jGod the Creator. It was a strange thing that in "God's Own Country" everything was admitted into the. educational system except God's own Book. No single tribe had ever been known»to be entirely destitute -of religious forms, and religious beliefs, and right down in tlie inmost being of man there Avas a belief in God. Until 1877 the Bible was found in our schools, and the people Avero not asked if they desired it abolished, if they were not satisfied with; the instruction ; it Avas done by 1 Parliament, and the man responsible had been put out of public life by the- Ptago people. It was a fair thine then, after 36 year's, .that they should have an opportunity of a referendum oh the question as to whether religious instruction should be reinstated in the curriculum of the schools. They had a Bible-in-schools - system known as the Nelson .system, in which it was left to the sclibbl committees to give permission to ministers' to hold Bible classes. That system was working successfully; -but it was a voluntary system, and some children were out playipg Avhile others were receiving instruction. The children they most needed Aver_ those children they generally did not get. The system .proposed was the "Australian systpm," and it had \been operating in some States for' half a century. Tlie system, was' for the imparting of Scripture, lessons to the children, not at the wi}l, )r pf phe children, but of. parents, as decided by the referendum they were asking for., ( Bishop Cleary opposed the scheme, aid he had' spoken in. opposition, from that same platform. For 36 years, the speaker said*., the Roman Church opposed a the, present, system of education.. . , They, .stated , r dennitely • that they jbeeded religion in; the schools. The Bible-in-Schools * - movement had come, to. introduce that religious instruction,. and now tl;-_._.; Roman Church put ' themselves on the side, of direct opposition.' Their objection was to State 'aid, and to the compelling of the parents of Roman' Catholio children, which represented^ .13. per -cent, of the school children in the Dominion, to. pay taxes towards, the instruction of the 87 per cent;. But after all the minority always had ,to suffer a little. The majority Tule was always recognised in all, social apd political life. The objective x>f the .movement Avas in the simplest form, .leaving .'the responsibiltiy of children receiving instruction to the parents. _ A simple Scripture lesson Avas read during school hours, and it was the duty ofthe teachers to. see. that the children understood the lesson ' as . well as any other lesson. A teacher did not : in any: way. give dogmatic teaching, and^he wished to impress that upon th^ni. A teacher was only asked to supervise the reading of the Scripture lesson that Avas carefully selected. The result of .the system was that every child, .would .hayo an, opportunity of. gaining a knowledge of - the Bible., After relating instances which showed the ignorance of some children of re- ' ligiouj knoweldge, the lecturer said the system . s also. provided. an opportunity for the'lnihister of religion ,to instnuct j their ' r <iwfi t ' children in the schools. Wherever. ' adopted the system had worked most successfully. Tlie majority of sects in New Zealand were unanimous in their .support, of national education, so, long as it included religious instruction. The people who opposed the system objected that it Avas futile to place, in the hands of a child a mutilated 1- Bible.' ,No sane person, knowing that c tlie Bible contained some of the greatest truths of life, would think of placing the Bible "as it stood" without any "restrictions, . < in; 4,he"[ hands .of a child. I, The lessons selected Avere the simpler stories ' and t^e fuller ; instruction' %as left to ."the representatives of the. Various denomination's. Since the days of thje Reformation the -State had •been aiding the parents in. providing secular education,, so they should not object to the State'pfoviding instruction in the greatest of text books. They had testimonies from teachers as to the successful and harmonious ; working of '.the scheme in -the four Australian States and.- New. Zealand — NeAV South , Wales since 1 r i_£6', Tasmania since .1868, Western Australia since 1893. Norfolk Island since 1904-1. <ls_eensland since 1910. BISHOP CLEARY',S CHARGE. Cbhtipuing. the lecturer referred to the report /of Bishop Cleary's lecture in Gistfifrne, in which he stated that the testi-ibhy 'given by the Director of Education in. Tasmania to the effect that "so far as I can ascertain no difficulty, arose from the system adopted in 1868.' The system existing in Tasmania is regarded by all denominations as a happy solution to\ the religious difficulty" was grossly "untrue, find that he (the.. Bishop) intended asking the leaders of the League to cease its publication."- Mr Clarkson dealt trenchantly

\yith the matter, reading the Director's oavii statement and other documents to shoAv that the statement .Avas perfectly true, and that it Avould continue to be widely circulated. . Proceeding, the speaker said the movement Avas not a moA-ement of the English Church, although it had been fostered largely by the English Church. Jt had the sanction and support of the various denominations in the country. Those Avho desired the continuance of the Nelson 3ystem were really Avorking in opposition to the Bible-in-Schools movement. There Avere no half-way measures ; they were either folloAving their own churches or supporting the Roman ' Church, and atheism. In addition to j expert .testimony, Ministers of the j 'Crown, ■ politicians, ' and teachers had! testified to the successful Avorking of the scheme in Australia. He referred to a .circular received that morning, giving fresh .reports from school inspectors in NeAV, South Wales as to the success of the scheme in Australia; A number of questions Avere- asked and duly ansAA-ered and on the motion of the Ven. Archdeacon Williams, seconded by. Mr A. Graham, and supported by the Rev. L. D. Thomas, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer. It Ayas suggested that a further meeting should be held in Gisborne, and Mr Clarkson' said he Avould be pleased to hold another meeting if it could be arranged, and Avould also prefer to have an open-air meeting. A vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding concluded the meeting.