THE BIBLE IN THE STATE SCHOOLS.

Waiapu Church Times, Volume I, Issue 2, 1 August 1907, Page 14

THE BIBLE IN THE STATE SCHOOLS.

'1. At present teaching of the Bible m the State Schools is forbidden, except before or after school hoiirs, when, presumably, the children are not there. 2. The irreligious mam can say not only " My children shall not be taught the Bible m the State School " (This is a privilege we do not seek to take from him) ; 'but he can say to the religious man who wants to have his children taught his religion, " Your children shall not be taught religion m the State School either."

3. We maintain that this is monstrously unfair. It is a piece of irreligious bigotry unworthy of a free country. 4. We believe that the people of New Zealand, and especially; the parents m New Zealand, desire to be free to have their children taught their religion m the people's schools if they wish. 5. This libertj/ can be secured if New Zealand will adopt the plan which has been working smoothly and well m New South Wales for the last 25 years, and has more recently been adopted with excellent results by Tasmania and Western Australia. 6. In New South Wales (a) the plain historical and moral teaching of the Bible is taught during school hours by the teachers ; (b) the clergy of every denomination are allowed to enter the school during certain of the school hours to teach the children of their own denomination the Faith of their parents ; (c) no child is compelled to attend any religious class unless his parents desire it. .7 This system gives to every parent the liberty to have his children taught the religion he wants. 8. At present this is a privilege enjoyed only by the rich who can afford to send their children away to expensive boarding schools belonging to their own church. We want to secure this same liberty for the vast majority of parents who cannot afford to send their children to any but the State Schools. 9." All we are now asking is that the people shall be allowed to decide by a '■' referendum '.' whether they will have this plan adopted m New Zealand or no. 10. Our opponents must therefore believe (a) that they are m a minority (they would welcome a " referendum " if they thought they were m a majority) ; (b) they must wish to force the opinion of the minority upon the majority. 11. We. on the other band, stand for freedom and religious tolerance and the right of the people of New Zealand to decide such questions for themselves. 12. Moral— Only vote, for those candidates for Parliament who will give the people the right to decide this question for themselves by a " referendum."