Which Faith Is Allowed to Mix ?
By Dr . Christian Overman
As shocking as it may sound , public elementary and secondary schools in the U . S . were overtly Christian in orientation and practice before the twentieth century . This is evidenced by the texts commonly used in public schools . Texts such as the McGuffey Readers contained many references to Scripture and biblical ideals . It sold 120 million copies between 1836 and 1960 .
Perhaps the most noteworthy evidence of Christian thought being blended with U . S . education before the twentieth century is Noah Webster ’ s American Dictionary of the English Language ( 1828 ). This magnum opus took Webster twentyeight years to complete . It is full of Bible references , and Webster had a distinctly Christian purpose in writing the dictionary , which he plainly laid out in the preface to the work .
Webster wrote , “ Education is useless without the Bible . The Bible was America ’ s basic text book in all fields . God ’ s Word , contained in the Bible , has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct .”
As the United States transitioned to a state-run system in the late 1800s , Princeton theologian A . A . Hodge declared : “ It is self-evident that on this scheme , if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country , the United States system of national popular education will be the most efficient and wide instrument for the propagation of atheism which the world has ever seen .”
What is being propagated today makes mere atheism look pale in comparison .
That which was “ self-evident ” to A . A . Hodge was not so “ self-evident ” to others . The “ scheme ,” as Hodge called it , was indeed carried out . Few decisions have had more significant long-term consequences for American society than placing children ’ s education into the hands of the state .
Many people , including Christians , may balk at Hodge ’ s words , insisting that state education is “ neutral ” when it comes to matters of faith . Really ? Do we not understand that secularism is a faith , too ? It takes remarkable faith to be an atheist , materialist , humanist , or secularist of any sort .
The question of not mixing faith with education must be carefully re-examined . The question is not whether faith will be allowed to mix with education , but which faith is allowed to mix ?
32 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW