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of Edinburgh^ Session 1870 - 71 . 
In Prussia the so-called “ religious difficulty ” has never existed. 
The schools of every kind are religious and denominational. The 
religious difficulty arises from a multiplicity of sects, and from 
antagonism between established and non-established churches. 
But in Prussia there are three leading confessions, all endowed 
respectively in different localities, which cover almost the entire 
population, — the Lutheran, the Keformed, and the Catholic. The 
two first are conjoined for school purposes ; and thus we have the 
denominational proportions of population stated some little time 
ago, as follows : — 
Protestant . . 64*64 per cent. 
Catholic . . 32*71 „ 
Other creeds . . 2*65 „ 
Of these other creeds five-sixths were Jews, the remainder 
Dissenters — such as Baptists, Mennonites, Irvingites, &c. This 
phenomenon of more than ninety-seven per cent, of the population 
belonging to established churches may remind us of the case of 
Scotland, where, I believe, about eighty-eight per cent, of the 
population belong, if not to one establishment, at all events to one 
confession, without material doctrinal differences. 
The Jews in Prussia, whenever congregated in sufficient numbers, 
have schools of their own, with their own religious teaching. If 
they exist in isolated families, their children attend the Christian 
schools, and are generally not withdrawn even from the religious 
teaching. They are said to look on instruction in Christianity as 
a piece of useful or curious information, and. to be quite above the 
fear of conversion. In this respect they are like a certain Brahmin 
of Bengal, who, having attended a missionary school, reassured his 
caste by telling them that.“ he had gone through the whole Bible, 
and it had done him no harm.” 
The Dissenters are obliged to attend the public schools, but they 
are under the protection of a conscience clause. The authorities 
require evidence that the children of Dissenters are taught religion 
according to their own formulae by their respective clergy. The 
Prussian constitution of 1851 contained the following article : — 
“ In the ordering of public schools for the people, regard shall be 
had to denominational relations. The religious instruction in the 
people’s school is under the conduct of the respective religious 
