A leading American educator urged the 19th plenary session of the National Community Relations Advisory Council here today to give “careful consideration” to the controversial “shared time” proposals for use of public school facilities by pupils of parochial schools.
Dr. David G. Salten, superintendent of schools in New Rochelle, N. Y., told the 250 delegates and guests attending the conference that “any plan which minimizes the tendency toward social stratification and promises some reduction in inter-religious conflict deserves the most painstaking consideration by religious and educational leaders.”
Shared time proposals, were not new, Dr. Salten reminded the conference. He pointed out that sharing of facilities by public and parochial schools had been in existence for decades in isolated communities. “What gives urgency to our present discussion, ” he asserted,”is that for the first time in many years public school administrators and religious leaders of the various faiths, aware of the impasse in church-state relations as they affect the schools, are seeking a way to develop the total community support needed for the improvement of American education.
“If such a proposal will bring together young men and women, regardless of race, religion and ethnic background, during part of their period of learning, it deserves our most sympathetic and comprehensive study,” Dr. Salten said. He expressed the hope that a philanthropic foundation would under write the cost of a study of shared time. Following such a study, there should be “high-level dialogues” among public and religious school educators and religious and civic leaders, he suggested.
The shared-time proposals, which came under heavy attack early this week, at the annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, had a mixed reception in the first plenary discussion by the NCRAC. One of the six national constituent agencies of the NCRAC, the American Jewish Congress, came out flatly against the plan. Other delegates complained that the plan would violate separation of church and state.
PROTESTANT-JEWISH RELATIONS ANALYZED; IMPACT OF CATHOLIC GROWTH CITED
Rev. Harold E. Fey, editor-in-chief of the Christian Century, liberal Protestant weekly, was the principal speaker in a discussion on Protestant-Jewish relations. He advised the delegates that there were “no certain guidelines, no general formula or pattern which would apply to working with Protestants in every community.”
He said that “in some senses, there is no such thing as a Protestant community.” He pointed out that while “the early development of the United States and the character of its institutions were strongly influenced by Protestant thoughts, a major aspect of current developments is a recognition by Protestants that ours is no longer a Protestant country.”
He declared that while Protestants still outnumbered Catholics in this country by three to two, Catholic growth in the last ten years had been larger than the Protestant in absolute numbers and much larger in percentage of increase. “This development, ” Dr. Fey asserted, “has sharpened controversy over such issues as separation of church and state and the protection of freedom of expression, on which prevailing views of Protestants and Catholics differ radically and in many specific details.”
PRESIDENT KENNEDY LAUDS COORDINATING EFFORTS OF JEWISH GROUPS
In a message to the plenary session read by Lewis H. Weinstein of Boston, NCRAC chairman, President John F. Kennedy told the delegates that “your success in coordinating the efforts of national Jewish religious and civic organizations is of great importance to your communities and to the nation. “
“There is no effort too great, and no task too unimportant if it helps us to achieve mutual respect between men of different faiths, creeds, color and background,” the President affirmed. “Throughout the world, people look to our democratic ideals, but they also watch to see if our practices live up to our ideals. We are grateful for the work you have done. Best wishes for a fruitful meeting.”
Dr. Norman Drachler, assistant superintendent of schools in Detroit, speaking in a symposium at the NCRAC parley, said that Jewish community agencies must align themselves with responsible groups in the community, including the Negro, in seeking improvement of civil rights and liberties. He expressed concern that the activities of Jewish agencies in behalf of Jewish rights “have not sufficiently involved the Negro community. “
Dr. Dan W. Dodson, director of the Center for Human Relations and Community Studies at New York University, urged the Jewish community, “which is not too far removed from the same problem,” to serve as a mediator and prevent hostility between the Negro and the white community in the struggle of the former for integration.
He paid tribute to the Jewish community, noting that “when American history is written, one of your group’s greatest contributions will probably be that you forced upon America a genuinely pluralistic society-one in which we operate through shared power.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
