456 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



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 con- 

 tinually decreasing numher 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 exempli- 

 fied in Germany, and to some extent in England, and proceed still 

 further in the direction of making religious instruction only a depart- 

 ment on equal footing with other departments. Those who are inter- 

 ested 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 insti- 

 tution converges. 



This result can scarcely be brought about so long as the govern- 

 ment 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 in- 

 stances 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 inter- 

 est. 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 sci- 

 entific method of instruction in religion were adopted, we certainly 

 should have them. But until such a happy day arrives, so long as we 



