A surprisingly large amount of religious prejudice and ignorance about faiths other than their own has been found among over a thousand children between the ages of six and twelve whose opinions on this subject were investigated for a year’s time. A report giving the results of this investigation has just been issued by Dr. Adelaide T. Case, professor of education at Columbia University.
In commenting on the result of the investigation, Dr. Case attacked the American public school system for allowing such prejudiced ideas on religion to be formed among young children. Dr. Case said:
“How can there be any religious tolerance and true understanding when youngsters of nine and ten have such bitter and intolerant ideas of the other religions? Not only do we find a marked misunderstanding between Jewish and Christian, but between Catholic and Protestant children as well.
“As long as we have a school system that allows such false ideas to be formed early in the life of the child, we can plainly see that something is lacking in our educational system. Too often these ignorances and prejudices are carried throughout the adult life. It’s a disgrace to allow these intolerant prejudices to develop and grow.”
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.
