Again, the state sets its seal upon work done in institutions which it supports, and the Christian schools—those in name at least—not only accept public money, but allow the state to put its seal to their work in the granting of literary degrees and diplomas. This is a natural result of the union of worldly education and the principles of Christian education which we have followed through two centuries, and yet to-day there is scarcely a school claiming to be Christian in its principles that dare raise its voice against the customs of its sister institutions.
Education and state unite; result, papal
“Render, therefore, unto Cæsar the things that be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s,” would be repeated, should the author of those words enter in person the institutions of learning which claim to bear his name. A union of church and state is described as the papacy; a union of education (the foundation of the church) and the state is passed by with scarcely a dissenting voice.
Educational work of Catholics
So far in this chapter, the educational work of the Catholic Church in the United States has been passed without a word;—not because that organization has been less active here than in European countries, but because the idea is so prevalent that a system of education to be papal must emanate from the Roman Church. Ideas to the contrary have been emphasized again and again in these pages. In our own country we can not fail to see that, aside from the work of the Catholic Church, there has been developed a papal system of instruction. The stepping-stones from the present back into the dim ages of the past, when Egypt or Greece swayed the world through science or philosophy, may in places be hidden; but the products of Greek philosophy and Egyptian wisdom, seasoned with the ideas of the medieval scholasticism, or the more subtle mixture of modern Christian education and the papal system as exemplified by Sturm, to which is attached the State’s seal of approval, meet us from season to season as our schools send forth their graduates.
Catholic schools
The Catholics, however, have not watched the growth of our educational system without putting forth a vigorous effort. From Colonial days, when the Jesuits flocked to these shores, and taught the established schools and missions, to the present time, when the new university for the education of Catholic youth is in full operation at our national capital, this organization has spared no effort. As Boone says, “All other denominational service in education is partial and irregular compared with the comprehensive grasp of the Catholic Church. Their aim is all-inclusive, and assumes no other agency. Ignoring the public school, their plan is co-extensive with their membership. With one fifth of all the theological seminaries, and one third of all their students; with one fourth of the colleges, nearly six hundred academies, and two thousand six hundred parochial schools (elementary), instructing more than half a million children, the church is seen to be a force which, educationally considered, is equaled by no other single agency but the government itself.”[170]
The system by which this work is carried forward is thus described: “The twelve Catholic provinces ... are subdivided into seventy-nine dioceses. The latter average from thirty-five to forty parishes, each of which is supposed to have a school for the elementary training of their children. As a matter of fact, ninety-three per cent of them maintain parochial schools, in which are educated, generally by the priesthood, ... the 511,063 pupils. In addition to these are five hundred and eighty-eight academies, usually for the girls, and ninety-one colleges.” This was written six or seven years ago, but the figures speak for themselves. With the nation honeycombed by schools which have as their avowed object the annihilation of Protestantism and republicanism; with our own public-school system, so grand in many respects, yet compromising until it is indeed papal, it is not strange that Methodist and Presbyterian congregations are bemoaning their dwindling numbers.
Should Protestants educate their own children? History speaks in emphatic language, Yes! The papacy says, If you wish us to have your children, No!
“God stands at the door and knocks; blessed are we if we open to him.”—Luther.