Bishop Moorhouse on Religious Teaching in Schools.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3018, 17 October 1878, Page 1

Bishop Moorhouse on Religious Teaching in Schools.

In his address to the Synod of the Church of England, in Victoria Bishop Moorhouse spoke as follows on the education question:— -

The Minister of Education said onlj the other day, and I heartily believe him; that none can be more anxious for the religious education of the children than the members of the Government. Every one acknowledges the need, but who can point out how that need may be supplied P This I believe is the one sole obstacle. I don't think that there is a thoughtful man in Victoria, whatever his belief or unbelief, who does not desire our children to be trained in righteousness, who is not ready to admit that the best etample which pan be set before them is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. That, you know, was the opinion of John Stuart Mill. It is also the opinion of Mr Leoky, who observes in his great work on European morals that the' example of Christ is the ' great moral' power of Christianity. His words are these (History of European Morals, vol. 11., p. 8):—"It was reserved for Christianity to present to the world an ideal character, which, through all the. changes, of 18 centuries, has inspired the hearts of men with an impassioned love; has shown itself capable of acting on all ages, nations, temperaments, and conditions; has been not only the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice; and has exercised so deep an influence that it may be truly said that the'simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists." Has that example' then, let ub ask, lost its force and attractiveness by the lapse of time—has it been "staled by use" or distanced by progress ? . Let Lecky again answer for us from his earlier work on the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 1., p. 306— 308:—" There is but one example of a religion which is not necessarily subverted by civilisation, and that example is Christianity." " Yet more and more with advancing years the moral ideal stood out from all dogmatic conceptions, and it is no exaggeration to say that at no 'former period was it so powerful or so universally acknowledged as at present." Well, then, if we are all agreed—dogmatists and rationalists alike—that character is the secret of a nation's greatness, and that the example of Christ is the great model ani stimulus of character, by what horrible fatality, by what diabolical conjecture of circumstances, has it come'to pass that we are all here, folding our hands, and doing little or nothing, while there is too. much reason to fear that more than half of the children of our working population' are growing up without any knowledge.of * Christ ? The common answer is—that, all action is paralysed by -sectarian jealousy. Then, in the name of God, my brethren, let us all resolve that, so far at least as we are concerned, this demon of sectarian jealousy shall be'suffered to I drink the life-blood of our children no longer. (Applause.) Have you made up your mind to that ? Have you resolved (God helping you) that you will give yourself no rest until this reproach is removed from the midst of us P Then, my brethren, try to forget yourselves, your denomination, your wishes, your prejudices, and set yourselves to find out how it may be done! It cannot be done by patchwork, by little compromises, by a system of minute checks, or even by independent co-operation. The system that is to succeed-must be simple and liberal, easily worked; and tender to all susceptibilities. Let me endeavour shortly to sketch' for you such a system. In the first place I think that the schoolmaster must be the religious teacher. Ministers of religion, however .willing, can never do the work. 1. When one remembers those engrossing labours to which I have', referred at the outset of this address, and the small number of ministers available* for the work, it is quite certain that ministers' as a body can never persevere in such an effort. 2. Even if they had time and strength for the work, experience has shown it is difficult for ministers of different' denominations, engaged in a common task to avoid the occurrence of jealonsy and mutual opposition. '3. If even this danger were avoided, it would be impossible to maintain a high rate of attendance at the religious instruction as long as attendance was voluntary on the part of the children, and the teacher was not in the habit of exercising discipline and control over the scholars. 4. If even all these difficulties were overcome, there would still remain the ever-present danger of such conflict between ministers and school boards as that which recently arose at Ballarat. For all these reasons, then, I think that the school master must be the religious teacher. But then you will ask who is to prevent the schoolmaster from making the scriptural lesson an occasion for the inculcation of his own peculiar opinions. That question has been ■ happily resolved for us. In the board schools of London 150,000 children are taught, not only secular but religious knowledge, under the protection of a class which provides that the schoolmaster shall avoid denominational teach-' ing. Well do I remember how that clause was ridiculed when the Act was introduced, and how . victoriously it was demonstrated that all religious teaching must be denominational, and must therefore light the fires of religious jealousy in every district. Well, the Act has now been in operation for seven years, and with what result P That in all that time there has not been a single complaint of denominational teaching on the part of the masters, while under the conscience clause, enabling Jewish. citizens' and others to have their children taught secular subjects at the time of the

religious instruction, only one child in a thousand has been withdrawn. There, if we will listen to the calm voice of experience rather than to the clamour of heated disputants, is the solution to our. difficulty. Sofoitur ambulando. Yes, but you forget, it may be objected, that in England the Eoman Catholic difficulty does not exiat, because in England both Eoman Catholic . and Protestant schools can obtain Government grants for satisfactory secular training; True, and I would ask youjtp prove.your sincere love ■ of Christ an^l ofvfiftst lambs, by.agreeing that here too, the Eoman Catholic body shallji.be; puffere,d,<;to -claim, Goyernmlent grants for secular knowledge after examination by Government inspectors. I urge this '< upon principle. The Eoman Catholics .believe-^-andi they have shown the reality of their belief by their magnificent self-sacrifice—thatit is not enough to make "their children acquainted with the examples'arid'principles of holy Scripture. It is necessary^ they think, that their children i should -study these principles and examples in the light of Eoman Catholic, explanation. No Protestant body believes this. We may hold it to be desirable, but the best proof that we do not think it necessary is to be found in the fact that under the stress of Government competition we have generally abandoned our dayschool system. If we had thought our denominational explanation necessary^ this would have been nothing'less than a sin. But we don't think it necessary., What we demand is, that the moral and religious faculties of pur children shall be educated ; that moral and religious sensibilities shall he. awakened in them; that they shall be accessible to mpral appeal, responsivetoreligious stimulus, capable of understanding that Christian basis of instruction to which they will be called upon to listen in riper years.) If this be'dpne, then, holding as we do, that the force of the truth which we believeas (its .own.best evidence, we have no fears 'for, T the future. This ,is the position of: all; Protestants, and therefore we can be conscientiously satisfied with such a system of religious instruction in the state schools as that which I have indicated. We might prefer another;; but ■ at least we can, and therefore, in present circumstance's, weshould,*be satisfied with this. The Eoman Catholics cannot conscientiously submit to such a system, andtherefore,: if Jthe" Government will only adopt such a measure as I have referred to, it will be nothing but reasonable, as it. seems to me, to concede to the Roman Catholics the indulgence which theyiseekv: They are a body sufficiently large-to-demand separate consideration. They already possess schools which -they, are increasing, rather than diminishing. And shall we then, for the chance of: starving them out and of inflicting 1 oh them the acutest spiritual misery, go on starving the souls of all the children of Victoria, and keeping them from Saviour who died for them ? (Applause.) I have i been obliged to speak at some length, owing to the vast importance of the subject and I will now only add two: other practical suggestions to make my scheme complete:—l. It would be necessary, of course, to have a conscience clause enabling our Jewish fellow-subjects and all who might desire to do so to withdraw . their children from the religious 'instruction during the time appointed for it, and providing that such children, shall receiver secular instruction at the same hour in another part' of-the; school buildings. 2. As the Goye^nmen^ would have to provide payment, for this religious instruction, it would be necessary, to leave to a Committee of both branches of the Legislature the selection of Biblical lessons, providing, however, that each denomination of Christians should have the right to send to such committee for its information a suggested course of Biblical instruction. I believe that with such regulations as these, with the concession of Parliamentary grants for secular, knowledge to the Eoman Catholics, with Bible Lessons appointed by Parliament; and given by the school teachers, under the safeguard of a denominational clause and a conscience clause, we may be able yet to solve the great' problem of religious education, and so to' free ourselves from the reproach ; that while making everything in pur national future depend on the character of bur '<■ citizens, we are depriving them of that moral and religious training which is the only known means of creating character. . .