Religious Instruction in Public Schools
EDUCATIONAL circles in Utah are greatly stirred over the question whether the Mormon Church shall be allowed to teach its doctrines in the public schools. A Salt Lake City dispatch says that “this practise prevails to a great extent in districts outside of Salt Lake City that are dominated by Mormon school trustees. Dismissing the classes early, and then forcing the children to remain and listen to instruction in Mormon doctrine, has aroused the ire of the non-Mormon people. The custom dates back to the time when the Saints were the only people in Utah, and has continued despite the influx of gentiles, and their protests. Many letters are being published by local newspapers from opponents of the system which is defended by the church organ.” In New York State, Roman Catholics are making a determined and apparently successful effort to use the public school system as a means for the propagation of Romanism. The principle involved is the same in the one State as in the other, but the situation in the Empire State is much more serious than that in the section dominated by Mormonism.