Religion in the Independent School

by E. LAURENCE SPRINGER

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MODERN youth certainly needs and wants spiritual help and guidance. Great numbers of independent schools are meeting this challenge, and are determined as never before to equip their students spiritually, as well as mentally and physically, to face the problems of our time. Six years ago an encouraging experiment was begun at the Pingry School, Elizabeth, New Jersey, an independent, nonsectarian country day school for boys. The purpose was to quicken and stimulate the spiritual nature of adolescent youth through study and discussion groups that would give the boys an understanding of their spiritual heritage and help them develop a sound philosophy of life. Too often, a boy’s home and school training seem to dwindle when a boy goes to college or into some other channel of the world’s life. There is a need of greater stability, a more secure foundation, and better orientation for our young people as they leave their homes and schools.

For several years prior to 1942, I had been holding discussion groups with the older boys on current affairs. Valuable as this was, the coming of war, with its induction of eighteen-year-olds into the armed forces, seemed to call for something more vital to their needs, Boys who normally would have had four years of college to continue the molding of their characters were suddenly thrown into a totally different kind of world where values were distorted, ideals challenged, and life itself threatened. What could I, personally, and the school do to give these lads an anchor to windward, a faith to live by, a philosophy of life that would help them weather the storm ahead? Already letters from alumni in service were coming to me with their doubts and their problems, their questions about the crazy world they were facing. A deep conviction had been growing, and now I knew we must try to meet the need. Time in the curriculum must be devised, discussion groups set up for the older boys, and an ordered plan evolved. How to do it? Where to begin? Where to turn for concrete ideas for my talks with my boys? The instruction must be practical, it must be real, interesting, and vital — not theoretical, vague, or simply wishful.

In search of ideas for courses or outlines of study I wrote to many schools and youth leaders. I read a score of books during the summer of 1942 while on vacation in Maine. I was disappointed with the dearth of material for any planned course, but resolved to plan our own course. In so doing it was my idea to present to the boys the essential ethical and spiritual truths that have come down to us from inspired teachers, without becoming involved in matters of theology or dogma. As an indirect approach, I met with the seniors once a week during the fall term and together we read and discussed several books on the meaning and essence of democracy for which they were soon to light — and some of them die. Democracy, freedom, liberty: those ideas all so closely related to the dignity of the human being, the value of the individual, the equality of men’s rights —and duties. Because of the interest generated, an interschool forum on the subject of democracy was held, in which ten independent day schools participated.

This led naturally into a discussion of man’s spiritual nature, his relation to his fellow men—indeed, the elemental problem of people learning to get along with each other: with father, mother, brother, sister, and in the larger community of the nation and world. Other questions followed: How do we find true happiness? Can a belief in something bigger than ourselves help us to face the trials of war and peace? These and many other more down-to-earth questions were discussed. The writings of Harry Emerson Fosdick, Reinhold Niebuhr, George Buttrick, Fulton Sheen, Ernest Ligon, C. S. Lewis, and Joshua Loth Liebman went into our thinking.

Each successive year brought changes to meet the widening realization of the needs of the individual boys. One book that soon became a fixture was William De Witt Hyde’s Five Great Philosophies of Life. Beginning with the Epicurean way of life (perhaps alluring at first) the boys next consider the Stoic philosophy, then Plato with his emphasis on the subordinat ion of appetites and desires to reason, then Aristotle with his noble ideals that true happiness comes only from pursuing worthy social ends and that no one act or thing per se is either good or bad (for example, the sex instinct) but is rather to be judged in terms of its use. Finally the philosophy and ethic of love as taught by Jesus is fully studied and discussed. At this point, the Sermon on the Mount is carefully analyzed against a background of modern psychology.

Throughout all this parl of the course, there is often frank and open discussion of sex, drinking, and related subjects. Instead of degenerating into an aimless “bull session,” our discussions proceed in the light of the best thinking of the world’s great teachers and of the experience of people in the world round about us. The daily newspapers constantly mirror all types of human behavior with their consequences; thus the boys can see that certain acts tend to bring happiness, contentment, and mental health, while others do not. In the opinion of the boys themselves this method of arriving at conclusions concerning right and wrong is far more reasonable and valuable than out-of-hand decrees issued by those in authority in the home, church, or school.

Quite apart from the values of the senior course, two closely related facts were soon noted. The first was that, with few exceptions, the boys had little understanding of the growth of religious or ethical thought. As we all know, our moral and ethical ideas come largely from religion. Any philosophy of life that ignores the spiritual forces in the universe is incomplete. We were obliged, therefore, to fill in this religious background, and we had to do it in a way that would be acceptable to boys of all denominations. The second fact which was obvious was the almost complete lack of knowledge of the literature and history of the Bible. Regardless of one’s religious convictions — or lack of them — one cannot ignore the influence of the Bible. Our Western civilization is deeply rooted in the HebrewChristian tradition and certainly a well-trained person should have a knowledge of this heritage. To teach science, mathematics, history, and literature and neglect our religious background is indeed a lopsided educational program.

One may ask at this point why the school should assume responsibility for teaching religion. Is this not the province of the church and the home? Argument on this subject could go on indefinitely, but one fact stands out: great numbers of our young people simply do not receive this basic instruction in either the church or the home. The maximum instruction that most Protestant children receive is about thirty minutes per week in a Sunday School which simply cannot maintain the same academic standards as a day school, public or independent. Little wonder, therefore, that many Americans today, educated in the public school where the teaching of religion is banned, are generally ignorant of the Bible.

Many boarding schools, of course, have long taught religion as part of their curricula, for they assume full responsibility for a boys total life for nine months of the year; church schools, too, have always taught “sacred studies,”but usually from the point of view of a particular denomination. Nonsectarian day schools have generally felt that religion was a matter for home and church to handle. However, with the increased interest in religion throughout the country and an increased desire on the part of parents for their children to have religious instruction, there has been a real trend in independent schools toward making religion a part of the warp and woof of the school. This is particularly true at the present time in the independent day schools. In the light of recent court decisions, which are making it increasingly difficult for parents of public school children to get any organized religious instruction through the schools, the independent schools are more than ever aware of the necessity of making religious training a part of their curricula.

To be specific as to how and why our courses developed at Pingry: our successful experience with the senior course demonstrated both the interest which boys have in religion and the need for much wider knowledge as a foundation on which to build upper-class courses. Inasmuch as our school is nonsectarian, we were determined to present the study of the Bible and religious discussions in such a way as to be acceptable to all students. Questions of theology, doctrine, and dogma are left out of our course, and the attempt is made to emphasize points of agreement on which men of good will can unite. When controversial questions arise, the teacher with the students participating develops the several points of view, explaining that the problem of interpreting Scripture is one of the causes of our having many sects, but that this need not bar us from agreeing on fundamental principles. This has led to greater tolerance and understanding of other religious viewpoints, and has decreased the tendency for each one to consider his own ideas exclusively right and the other fellow’s ideas wrong.

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IN 1944, two years after our experiment with the seniors began, we introduced into our English department curriculum a three-year sequence in the study of certain parts of the Bible. These courses, comprising about one fifth of the year’s work, were made a part of the second, third, and fourth forms, corresponding to the eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. In the second and third forms the Old Testament became the basis of study; in the fourth form, the life and teachings of Jesus.

The basic text in the second form (eighth grade) is Hendrik Willem Van Loon’s Story of the Bible. The chief purpose is to acquaint the boys with the main narratives and outstanding figures of the Old Testament. Purely from the cultural standpoint, this should be a part of anyone’s education. Since the boys are still young, not much can be done in the way of analyzing the religious content of the stories. But the point is made clear that the stories are not simply great literature but have a moral purpose. At the least, the gradual unfolding of the idea of a universal God and the increasing emphasis on ethical conduct are traced through the succession of stories.

In the third form (ninth grade) the Old Testament itself is studied with three objectives in mind: (1) to gain knowledge of the stories and poetry; (2) to appreciate the Bible as great literature; (3) to understand how certain religious and ethical ideas developed from primitive to exalted forms. Of these three objectives, the last is considered most important. It is the underlying purpose of the course to make as clear as possible the exalted ideas and ethical concepts which were developed within the Old Testament. The long-range purpose thus may be said to be to help the student acquire satisfactory ideals and ethics for himself, the short-range purpose to give him information which he will need to understand the teachings of Jesus.

The text is The Short Bible, an American Translation, edited by Goodspeed and Smith, but the boys may use other translations if they prefer. Instead of taking the Old Testament from beginning to end, the assignments group the selections according to topics, such as the Great Stories (for example, Joseph, Samson, Moses); Poetry; Teachings of the Prophets; Basic Ideas of the Old Testament.

We have found the following the most helpful material for the teacher to include: Harry Emerson Fosdiek’s Guide to Understanding the Bible, Mary Ellen Chase’s The Bible and the Common Reader, George L. Chamberlin’s Making the Bible Live, and Graham Baldwin’s Drama of Our Religion.

In the fourth form (tenth grade), our course centers on the life and teachings of Jesus. No attempt is made to study the whole of the New Testament or to analyze or compare the four Gospels in detail; rather, the purpose is to present the life and teachings of Jesus against the background of the times in which he lived. Basil Mathews’s A Life of Jesus is used as a text for the course. This work is constructed like a novel presenting a dramatic tension between two opposing forces: on the one hand Jesus’ urgent desire to teach and spread abroad his idea of God as a loving Father and of the brotherhood of man; on the other, the misunderstanding of the people who desired only that he should heal them and be their King, the hostility of the Pharisees and Scribes, the opposition of political powers. It is made clear throughout that the teachings of Jesus arose out of the exigencies of the age; they were his answer to the great spiritual needs of his people and to the social and political problems of his times.

The interpretation of the parables as revealing eternal principles of conduct, man’s relation to his fellow man, and man’s relation to God forms an important part of the course. Boys are glad to see behind the scenes of a life they know only in its great and celebrated outlines. The validity of Jesus’ life and teachings becomes impressive in proportion to how clearly the boys see in them the answer to some of our contemporary personal, social, national, and international problems. On the whole, both boys and their parents note a striking gain in maturity and clarity of religious attitude.

In the fifth form (eleventh grade) the scene shifts to our contemporary world with a study of certain fundamental human problems viewed in the light of our religious inheritance. In other words, after a study of the origin and nature of our ethical ideas comes their practical application to today’s issues.

The objective is approached in two ways: directly, through the reading and discussion of certain pamphlets (from the Public Affairs Committee list) and articles (selected from current magazines or kept on hand in mimeographed form); indirectly, by pointing out and emphasizing in the literary works read by the class as part of its English course the individual or social behavior of the characters in the books where these principles apply. The direct approach covers such topics as race relations, labor and management problems, the causes of crime and juvenile delinquency and society’s responsibility, civil liberties as an example of the ideal of equality of opportunity for all. The indirect approach gives an opportunity for discussion of the same basic principles as they are applied to personal life, with emphasis on such topics as respect for the rights of others and the importance of giving versus getting, of doing as well as believing.

As an example of how this works out in practice, brief mention might be made of the use we make of Lincoln Steffens’s Autobiography. This book is studied primarily as a piece of literature (as part of the course in American literature) but its subject matter allows the discussion of such problems as the relative or absolute nature of morality, and social versus individual motives for action.

Boys respond well to this type of work, for it is immediate, contemporary, and related to their world. They discuss the various problems with a depth of interest ancr understanding that would astonish persons not in touch with modern youth.

The courses of the preceding years provide an excellent foundation for the senior year and make it possible for this course to become the logical and worth-while climax that it is for boys about to go out on their own. That the influence of class discussions on religion and human relationships has spread beyond the classroom walls there can be no doubt. All of us feel that throughout school life generally, there is greater support than ever for our honor system, student government, school and community service. It is gratifying to observe how boys who sit on the Student Council apply the fundamental principles of Christian behavior and thinking in discussing their problems. The school spirit has always been strong, with an easy friendliness among the boys and between boys and teachers. This spirit gave momentum to our experiment in its trial period and at the same time is strengthened year by year as the work goes on and develops.

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THE program has become an outstanding success through the cooperation of many persons. First of all, it has had the support of the members of the English department, whose keen interest made possible the whole project. These men teach the courses that I have described (with the exception of the senior course, which I gratefully undertake) and have reorganized them so as to provide the equivalent of at least six weeks out of the school year in each class for the study of religion and human relations. The faculty as a whole have taken a real interest and, in daily contacts with the boys, carry out the purposes and ideals of these studies in practical application throughout the school.

The reaction of parents has been very interesting. At first there were some questionings, doubts, and misgivings, but as the plan has developed, enthusiasm and support have been strong. Most remarkable in this connection is the fact that approval is voiced not only by parents who are regular churchgoers, but by those who might be classed as generally uninterested in religion. One mother told me recently that she was amazed that her son was so interested in religion, and she was grateful to the school because it was giving him what she longed for him to have, but could not herself supply.

Many parents read the books which their boys are reading in the various courses and discuss them at home. This has often stirred a parent’s latent interest in religion, created an even better working relationship between home and school, and best of all has often brought a boy and his parents much closer in thought and understanding. Many parents have told me they felt that the spiritual benefits derived at Pingry, the helpful discussions both in class and privately, were among the greatest influences in their boys’ lives.

Needless to say, our plan is neither perfect nor complete — each year it is revised in the light of our experience and we are constantly searching for new materials and ideas. In pursuit of objective opinion from the boys themselves, I prepared last May a comprehensive questionnaire on our courses, chapel, and other related topics. A copy was given each senior (sixty boys in all) with the request that answers be filled out thoughtfully and sincerely and returned without signatures if desired.

The great majority of the seniors stated that Pingry had been much more influential than the church or the home in forming their religious outlook, and the large majority stated that their faith or interest in religion had been increased by the work done in Pingry. Not one reported that his faith had been weakened. There was a call for greater emphasis on religion all along the line in school, both in the courses and in chapel exercises. A majority of the boys asked specifically for greater emphasis on the following topics: information on the similarities and differences of various Christian denominations, study of other leading religions of the world, application of Christian principles to present-day problems, marriage, the nature of God and man’s relation to God. Not one of the fifteen topics covered in our courses received more than a scattering of votes (averaging five) for reduced emphasis — the call was for more emphasis or continuance of the present emphasis. The majority wanted chapel to have more religious feeling, favored a student choir, ministers, priests, and rabbis from the community to speak occasionally, more explanation of Bible readings, more inspirational talks by masters and older boys.

Here are some direct quotations taken from responses on the questionnaire: —

“This year’s course has helped to mature me in a great many ways. I feel more certain and sure of myself. This is the most interesting course I have ever taken. In this course you learn something that will stick with you for life. It teaches you how to understand your fellow man and live with him.” “This was the best course of its sort that I’ve had so far. The discussions helped greatly. I formed new opinions and, I think, a better outlook on life.” “I learned how to deal with others and get along better generally.” “It has helped mature my thinking. Most of my prejudices have been done away with by having this course.” “I believe this course was the most valuable I have ever taken. I find many practical applications of it in daily life. It raises the standard of the boy.”

These responses from the boys are encouraging. They show that our efforts are not in vain.