There are several institutions that minister to the poor and dependents through the various voluntary organizations. Wilberforce distributes a limited number of Bibles, and other necessities to the community in which it is situated. It does this through the Young Women's Christian Association. Morgan College, Fisk University, Morris Brown College, Benedict College, Morehouse College, Edward Waters College, Virginia Union, Talladega College, and Biddle University do similar work for the poor.
The colleges and universities rendering other social service such as work among the boys at the reform schools, visiting and ministering to orphans, assisting at Old Folk's homes and asylums, are Fisk University, Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morgan College, Howard University, Talladega College, Virginia Union University, Shaw University, Biddle University, Allen University, and Bishop College.[2] Fisk University has a university settlement house, the Bethlehem House, which operates under the social science department. This affords the Fisk students a splendid opportunity to serve society at first hand.
All of the thirty-eight colleges and universities give opportunity for service in the college churches or in the churches where the college worship. All have some students serving in the choirs. In the churches, which are college churches in the real sense of the work, that is, regularly organized with pastor and officers the students are largely the officers. Thirty college presidents think this is splendid expressional activity.
Five institutions use their missionary societies to help support some one whom they know on the foreign mission field. The other seven reporting organized missionary societies all have what might be called foreign mission rallies and give the proceeds to that work. In the most of these cases, the money goes to the foreign field through denominational channels.
Service in the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. as chairman and members of committees gives a small number opportunity for expressional activity of a kind. The same may be said for the other voluntary organizations.
The financing of religious education in these colleges is significant. Question number fourteen in the general questionnaire is: Does your college have a special appropriation for religious work, viz, for the Y. M. C. A., for Chaplain, College Pastor and so forth? All of these institutions except four answered this question in the negative. Morgan College has an appropriation for the chaplain and special appropriation for a teacher of Bible. Fisk University and Lincoln have Bible chairs endowed. Howard University has special appropriations for the Y. M. C. A. Tougaloo has a part of the college pastor's salary appropriated by the American Missionary Association. The others have no appropriation which pertains to the special religious work. This means that the religious work in these colleges has a decided financial handicap of which they are all very conscious. The special work is financed by subscriptions, funds raised by entertainments, and the donations of the students and teachers. This means a fluctuation from time to time depending upon the generosity of the donors. An endeavor to secure funds to carry out the programs of these voluntary organizations usurps much of the time and energy of those who lead them.
Religious Education in State Colleges and Universities
This study embraces the following State institutions offering complete college curricula or doing college grade of work: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, Georgia State College for Colored Youths, Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, and the West Virginia Collegiate Institute.
The teachers of religion in none of these institutions are professionally trained. They are usually laymen who are teaching in the other departments of the institution. The time given varies but averages fifty-five minutes per week each. Their attitude toward the subject of religious education is optimistic. The very fact that all of them are volunteers save three shows that there is an interest in the process.
Four State colleges offer Teacher Training courses but they are all elective as might be expected since they are State colleges. In all cases these colleges would have to make the most of these courses elective in order to avoid a conflict with State constitutions. Note, however, that Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College offer courses in social service, which are required. Of the 325 college students enrolled in these six State institutions 165 of these are enrolled in the religious education courses. This is more than one-third of the entire number, a larger proportion than in the private institutions.