Religion and the Mind (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ... THE PLACE OF RELIGION IN EDUCATION IT is clearly evident that education and religion are the foremost interests of human life. They have to do with personal character, with business, and with all the institutions of society. While this statement would be generally accepted, there is in the popular mind the haziest idea of the relation of religion and education. Historically, the connection between education and religion has been close. During the mediaeval centuries learning was kept alive by the monks in the monasteries. The first American colleges were founded and nurtured by churchmen. The seals of the oldest colleges and universities were stamped with the insignia of the Christian faith. The early colonists laid at one and the same time the foundations of the church and the school. Religious instruction was an important part of the curricula of all the schools. But when the population of America became religiously so diverse, religious instruction in the schools of the state ceased. With the complete separation of church and state, and the disappearance of all religious teaching in the public schools, there has developed an increased interest in the question of the relation between education and religion. More than ever before both education and religion are being defined in terms of life. Whatever the method of education may be, its aim is to fit men and women for life. The most popular appeal that can be made for learning is that it issues in larger life. A half dozen leading American educators writing recently have set forth the purpose of education in the following striking phrases: "education for efficiency," "to fit men to deal with the affairs of life," "to assert individual capacity in terms of rational activity," "to equip the...