Opposition to released time religious instruction for public school children was voiced last night at a conference sponsored by the American Jewish Congress. Speakers at the meeting maintained that the practice of released tine creates antagonism among students of various faiths and violates the principle of separation of church and state.
Rabbi Louis I. Newman declared that “strict separation of church and state, and strict separation of the public school from denominational religious instruction must be maintained in American life. There must be no whittling away of the safe-guards against the invasion of sectarian education into our common school system,” he said.
Rev. Dale DeWitt, regional director for the American Unitarian Association in the Middle Atlantic states, stated that under the released time program “sectarian differences have been magnified and cultural conflicts increased.” He added that religious groups should live up to the spirit and letter of the constitutional provisions separating church and state.
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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.
