Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 30.djvu/474

456 proper antidotes the sectarianism inculcated may not do much harm. It is a significant fact that in some of the American colleges, founded to train young men for the Christian ministry, a very small and continually decreasing number of graduates embrace that profession. Emotional revivals are growing less in favor and are of less influence. The strong tendency of public sentiment, at least among the patrons of colleges, is toward the abolition of compulsory worship, and this has been effected in the largest American university. Thus, it may be said that there has been in America a progressive secularisation of colleges, spite of the resistance offered by their boards of government. The university systems of Continental Europe already allow much greater freedom from coercive influences of religious creeds. The American college system must give way to the broader plan exemplified in Germany, and to some extent in England, and proceed still further in the direction of making religious instruction only a department on equal footing with other departments. Those who are interested in existing collegiate schools, and who esteem it to be a higher, nobler, more truly religious ideal of education, that truth, verified knowledge, be sought persistently, and be inculcated regardless of its consequences upon a religious system maintained by authority, should not rest until the narrower object of promoting any religion ceases to be the chief end and aim toward which all the teaching in the institution converges.

This result can scarcely be brought about so long as the government and instruction in such institutions is confided in a controlling degree to clergymen. Now in this class there are, of course, many learned, catholic, truth-loving men; but the trouble is, they are all under retainers and have necessarily a professional duty which they must first perform. Doubtless they have in each case espoused a cause in which they fully believe; but their opinion, upon any point which touches the interests of their churches or their church, is of no more value as regards truth than the statements before the court of counsel in a law case. It is to be hoped that falsehood will not be practiced or countenanced either by the clerical or the legal advocate; in both instances what is said is probably believed to be true; but the mind of each is necessarily shut to anything that militates against the party for whom he appears, except for the purpose of refutation. It would not be just to allow one of the attorneys in an action at law to decide the case. This is what we are doing, however, when we put clergymen in control of educational institutions. As judges of truth, they are not "fit" to pass upon any question which concerns the welfare of their respective religious systems. They are disqualified by reason of interest. But such judges we need in our schools and colleges. If it were not for religious bias and intolerance we might have them; if the scientific method of instruction in religion were adopted, we certainly should have them. But until such a happy day arrives, so long as we