156 MORAL CONDITION OF THE CHILD 



Roman Catholic Church a scientific basis for the 

 teaching of religion. Our objection to that 

 Church can not be so much because of their meth-. 

 ods of instruction as to the subject matter of their 

 teaching. In method they are able to teach us 

 very much. Their adherents, even without the 

 strong religious passion that a personal yielding 

 to Christ gives, are very tenacious to the faith 

 and practices of their Church. 



The evangelistic method can not be called 

 scientific ; nor can it be called ideal. It is greatly 

 to be commended as a method to be used with 

 adults who have lost their opportunity of scientific 

 instruction. But its continuance under present 

 conditions is losing to the Protestant Church two- 

 thirds of its children, and presents the most 

 alarming and discouraging view of Christianity 

 in the world. The greatest discouragement that 

 we face is not in China, with its unknown num- 

 ber of millions to be evangelized, indoctrinated, 

 and converted; but rather the fact that here in 

 America from our Christian homes and Sunday 

 schools sixty per cent of our children never be- 

 come Christian. When we look at the means nec- 

 essary to hold them, the neglect that we observe 

 is as significant as the result which we deplore. 

 They are not receiving the instruction, during this 

 ideal period when they might be won, which is in 

 any degree sufficient to insure that they will be- 

 come Christians. They are allowed first to be 

 lost, and then, when character's choice has been 



