The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1912. BIBLE IN SCHOOLS FROM A JEWISH STANDPOINT.

New Zealand Tablet, 26 December 1912, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1912. BIBLE IN SCHOOLS FROM A JEWISH STANDPOINT.

URING a recent campaign for the election of a Board of Public School Directors r for tMtiijlSr City of New Orleans, an organisation § TIRING a recent ' The' Junior Order" of of a Board of Public School Directors for the City of New Orleans, an organisation styling itself ‘ The Junior Order of Mechanics, McDonogh Council No. 1/ addressed circular letters to the various **lP\ candidates, putting certain questions, _• , among which was one asking ‘if the candidate believed in the Bible being read in the public schools, not as a book of sectarian religious teaching, but as a book of moral instruction.' The subject was taken up by the official organ of the Hebrew people of New Orleans city; and as the question put forward is on all fours with the proposal which is now being advocated in this country, the answer and attitude of the Jewish paper has a direct and practical interest for us. * . Under the caption, ‘Control of the Local Public Schools,’ the Jewish Ledger — paper referred toof August 23 speaks editorially as follows: •' ‘ A communication has recently , been sent to the various candidates for Directors of our Public Schools in New Orleans by a committee of an organisation styling itself “McDonogh Council No. 1, Junior Order of American Mechanics,” in which certain questions are asked of these candidates and the communication leaves to infer that no support will be given them by the organisation or its members unless these questions are answered in the affirmative. They state that their organisation is non-sectarian and non-political, but the questions they ask are not all of that nature. One of them, and the only one of which we want to treat here is: Do you believe in the Bible being read in the public schools, not as a book of sectarian . religious teaching, but as a book of moral instruction?" & The very query exhibits that it is founded in untruth and that the motif which underlies it is one of religion, 1 otherwise the question of whether a particular book be used in our public schools would not be asked on such an occasion.’ * , : V ‘We hope the gentlemen who will be elected’as Directors, of our Public Schools will not attempt to introduce the Bible in the Public Schools, whether as a sectarian book or for the purpose of teaching morals, classic literature or any other subject. The Bible is a strictly sectarian book, and its use in the public schools should on that ground be prohibited.. Among the Christians there are several versions of it and the adherents of one version are hostile to those of another. ' The Jews do not accept the New Testament and many of. our citizens do not believe in the Bible at all. Each and every one of the classes above enumerated has the right to demand that none but that version, of which he approves, shall behead to his child. Next to the

reading of a book ■comes explanations of ■ the parts 1 read. Children will ask questions and the teachers are expected to answer them. Now the corps of teachers in our public schools is composed of persons whose attainments are, we presume, sufficiently high to make them „ competent to teach the subjects assigned them" but none of them have graduated in theology and they are not Jt competent to interpret this work, which even ; theologians expound contradictory ;to : one another. Catholics-are; forbidden'by their Church authorities" 1 to read any Bible ; but a Catholic one, and here it is 'proposed to read one to them that may not be the only kind they are permitted to read.' ■ -~. ";." "■'■■:■■■ * '7'"' - ■ ..'■:/■■" "■■■■■. --,._. ... . ".-,'-•..-'•..■' .... - ..-■'.,-■ O" ■. t . • ' Now we will not occupy ourselves with the degree of reasonableness : of ; the Catholic prohibition. - The followers of that faith have the right to demand that their religious convictions . shall not be violated. All citizens have an equal right in our public schools and the i rights of the minority, no matter ; how small that minority may be, should not be infringed upon. The teaching of the Bible should be left to the home, the Church, and the religious school. But children must be ..taught right and wrong, morals, etc. Agreed. These can be taught without the use of sectarian books, and we : have no doubt that books on ethics can be found which will serve to teach these subjects. 'The Constitution i regards the conscience of the Jews as sacred as that of the Christian, and gives no more authority to adopt a measure affecting the conscience of a solitary individual than that of a whole community," says a report" to-the House of Representatives in 1830. The Board of Directors of . our Public Schools should "adopt no measure affecting the conscience of a solitary individual/' and to direct the reading of the Bible in our public schools would do violence to many parents whose children are pupils therein. It would have the effect that many of these would withdraw their; children and send them to parochial or private schools, or would tell them not to believe the teacher and not to mind her, which would certainly lessen the influence of the teacher over the child, or even destroy it altogether. Hands off, gentlemen! The public schools belong to all our people alike. They are the bulwarks of our liberty—liberty of conscience included.' 77 ■'- ' " v 7 """' * ■-.■■:■■'■•■' '" 7. fv"; ■;.- The point as to the sectarian character of the Bible is well taken; and ; in the statement that ; ' all citizens have an equal right in the public schools, and the rights of the minority, no" matter how small that minority may be, should not be infringed upon,' the Jewish paper endorses to the letter the attitude taken by Catholics on this question.