Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · July 24, 1890

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 5, No. 29

ARCHBISHOP IRELAND, in his address before the National Educational Association at St. Paul, declared that, though he is a Catholic prelate, he would rather have Protestantism taught in the public schools than to have no religion taught there.

The utterance indicates a very liberal mind, but it is founded, as too much of the discussion of this subject is, upon a total misapprehension of the question. It is not a question of Protestantism or Catholicism. It is not in this country even a question whether or not the children would be the better for religious instruction. It is simply a question of the functions of the State and the rights of men.

Ours is a purely secular State, in which men of all religions and men of no religion are upon an exactly equal footing before the law. It has nothing whatever to do with creeds or with religion, except to protect all citizens alike in their perfect religious liberty. The public schools are maintained by the secular State for the secular education of the children; their religious education is a matter with which the State has no right to concern itself. That is a matter for parents and pastors.

The State has no more right to teach a religion which is held by the great majority of the people, than to teach one held by only one of all its citizens. It has no right to interfere with religion at all.—The World.