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Agudath Israel Leader Charges Public Schools ‘teach New Religion’

December 17, 1970
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A charge that “the restlessness of America’s youth” can be traced to the fact that the nation’s public schools “are not religiously neutral but teach a new religion of secular humanism.” was levelled at the White House Conference on Children by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive president of Agudath Israel of America. The Orthodox leader, who is a delegate to the parley, urged the conferees to “pin the guilt where it belongs: on the modern educators who consider it a sign of their modernity to demonstrate to their pupils that they have broken all links with eternity.” The conference began Sunday and ends tomorrow. Expounding on his thesis that the public schools are “actively contaminating children’s life-values with cynical concepts and the tragic results can no longer be swept under the rug,” Rabbi Sherer called upon all Americans to “appreciate the necessity of keeping alive religiously-oriented schools which prepare their students to cope with a jungle society.” He urged the conference to support efforts of non-public schools for increased governmental aid.

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