PERILS. — KELIGIOX X:SD THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. lOl 



are in every part — legislative, judicial, and executive- 

 Christian in nature, form, and purpose." ^ In his 

 "Institutes of International Law," Judge Story saj^s, 

 '■ One of the beautiful traits of our municipal jurispru- 

 dence is that Christianity is part of the common law 

 from which it seeks the sanction of its rights, and by 

 which it endeavors to regulate its doctrine.'' Says the 

 great interpreter of the Constitution, Webster : ' ' There 

 is nothing we look for with more certainty than the gen- 

 eral principle, that Christianity is part of the law of the 



land general, tolerant Christianity, independent 



of sects and parties." ^ Many other authorities to the 

 same effect might be cited. 



When the fathers added to the Constitution the princi- 

 ple of strict separation of Church and State, they did 

 not intend ta divorce the State from all religion. Says 

 Judge Story, speaking of the time when the Constitution 

 was adopted, "The attempt to level all religions, and 

 make it a matter of State policy to hold all in utter 

 indifference, would have created universal disapproba- 

 tion, if not universal indignation." ^ The principle of 

 the separation of Church and State undoubtedly forbids 

 sectarian instruction in the State schools ; but we have 

 the highest legal and judicial authority for saying that 

 it does not forbid undenominational religious teaching. 

 "But," it will be asked, " does not the teaching of relig- 

 ious doctrine which is undenominational violate the 

 rights of agnostics quite as much as inculcating the dog- 

 mas of one sect wrongs the adherents of others? " By no 

 means; because the teaching of the three great funda- 

 mental doctrines which are common to all monotheistic 

 religions is essential to the perpetuity of free institutions, 

 while the inculcation of sectarian dogmas is not. 

 These three doctrines are that of the existence of God, 



1 Nature and Form of the American Government, p. 35. 



2 Webster's Works, VI. p. 176. 



3 Conmientavies on the Constitution of the United States, Boston, 1833 

 Subject discussed at length pp. 680 sq. 



