Bible study in connection with the New York school system was upheld by Charles H. Tuttle, president of the Greater New York Interfaith Committee, in an address this week at a Rotary Club luncheon at the Hotel Commodore, which was attended by more than 300 people. Mr. Tuttle declared that the increase of lawlessness and juvenile delinquency in this country is “a symptom of widespread paganism” and expressed the opinion that only a well-planned program of moral and religious training can check this tendency.
Those who criticize the Bible study project because they fear a union between Church and State are “fanatical secularists,” according to Mr. Tuttle.
He said, “it does not mean the invasion of our school system or of school buildings or of the school staff for religious instruction. The program thus suggested for consideration is outside of both school buildings, school personnel and school time. Emphatically, this does not mean the union of Church and State.”
The plan to offer New York City high school students Bible study after school hours for scholastic credit will be carried out this Fall. Religious education centers will be established in Brooklyn and the Bronx and the instruction will be given under the direction of the committee, made up of Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergymen and laymen.
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