Preparation for Religious Teaching

Preparation for Religious Teaching' By Dr. L. E. Cowles I desire at the outset to make clear what I shall attempt to do in this address. First, I shall point out what I consider to be the limitation of my subject. Second, I shall try to indi- cate the aim of religious teaching by pointing out some of the characteristics of the religious person. Third, I shall call at- tention to some of the characteristics of the nature of boys and girls, young men and young women, whom we are preparing to train. Fourth, I want to make some suggestions as to meth- ods of procedure in religious training. Now, in the first place, I am to discuss preparation for teaching religion, not theology. I believe that there is a dif- ference. "Religion," says Coffin, "is a kind of life after the pattern of the life of Jesus of Nazareth; while theology is the attempt to explain this fact; it is a theory of religion." W. E. Gladstone says, "Theology is ordered knowledge rep- resenting in the region of the intellect what religion represents in the heart and life of man." Dr. Talmage in his Articles of Faith says, "A person may be deeply versed in theological lore and yet be lacking in religious and even in moral traits. Theology may be compared to theory while religion represents practice." Theology and religion are complementary to each other. Belief and faith guide action. I shall mention belief, only in so far as it seems vital in influencing religious conduct. Re- ligious teaching means that religious life is developed in the people who come in contact with the influence of the teacher. What are some of the characteristic manifestations of this religious life, which we wish to foster? Among the elements of such a life are the following: The religous person has a sublime faith in the spiritual control of the universe. He does not believe in blind chance manifesting itself in undirected evolutionary process. Behind, the planets and the protoplasmic cell is intelligence, planning, guiding and directing. The religious person does not believe in the purely me- *An address delivered before the Leadership Convention, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, Jan. 26, 1922.

PREPARATION FOR RELIGIOUS TEACHING 485 chanical cause and effect conception of the universe. He be- lieves that divine intelligence, incarnated in the minds of men, can alter the causes and modify the effects so far as to make the world a better and happier place in which to live. He believes that men are free to choose the good or evil life. That salvation or condemnation depends upon his own acts. No fatalistic predestination. "Men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression." " * * * Every soul is free, To choose his life and what he'll be. For this eternal truth is given That God will force no man to heaven. He'll call, persuade, direct aright, Bless him with wisdom, love and light. In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind." The religious person believes that man is the highest and noblest work of the Creative. Intelligence, and that man pos- sesses in his own nature a spark of the divine. He does not despise art, science, industry, and social institutions, but he sees in them the manifestations of the strivings of the divine intelligence, in its attempt to lift man by conscious evolution to higher and higher levels. He believes in the ultimate co-operation of science and on, that man may "subdue the earth and have dominion over it." "Men are that they might have joy," and science has a tremendous mission in bringing "joy" to man. The second essential of the religious life is that there shall be an intelligent understanding of the function of religion in general. Religion is a conserver of the past. It is a great stabilizer; a balance wheel. It protects against radical reversion or social revolution. "Without the religious check," gays Ward, "the human race would have been borne to destruction by the extravagant vagaries of unbridled reason." It must be admitted that at times religion, by conserving the past, may have stood in the way of progress, but this fact does not lessen the importance of religion as a stabilizer. Ell- wood says, "The death of religion would mean the death of civilization, or of all higher forms of civilization." The church is not only a conserver of old values but a promoter of new values. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good re- port, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." The religious person is always interested in the welfare of society and the individuals that make up society. He should face forward and not backward. "Onward, upward is our move- ment." As a third characteristic of the religious person, I would

486 IMPROVEMENT ERA say that he will normally be identified with and loyal to an or- ganized church. He must have a conviction that the organized church is the best social agent for accomplishing the normal and religious aims of society. Working in the church as a so- cial organization may lead to the conviction that the church is the divinely appointed agency for saving the race. He will at the same time be respectful and tolerant of other churches. "Let them worship how, where or what they may." A fourth characteristic of the religious person is that he will participate actively in religious activity. "By their fruits ye shall know them." "Show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works." "Put your shoulder to the wheel." Not only will he attend meetings but he will pay his offerings, visit the sick, be kind and considerate to the other members of his family, be honest in his dealings, and radiate optimism and joy wherever he goes. To participate effectively he must be able to discriminate the essential from the trivial. He will not pay tithes of "mint and anise and cummin, and forget the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith." In participating in religious activity he will have the moral courage to face ridicule, abuse, indifference, to follow his con- science. He will not seek Jesus by night only, but will say, by his actions, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation." He is wedded to a worthy cause and joys in its accomplishment. The fifth quality that I shall mention is that the religious person has sympathy for all people. He believes in "doing good to all men." He accepts into his life the new command- ment that "ye love one another." Many religious people testify that with the growth of religion has come a sympathy for others. One such has said, "A new love of people took possession of me. I do not think that I had ever before cared deeply for any one. Now, even the meanest seemed wonderfully significant, simply as a human being." The sixth, and last essential that I shall mention is that the religious person has a conception of the sacredness of the hu- man body. It is the agency through which all personality must manifest itself. It can function best only when in prime condi" tion. It has within it the divine power of procreation, through which man becomes a partner with God. Care, development, not suppression and mutilation, is the religious social attitude. Body and soul are inseparable for performing religious ser- vice. The warning of the apostle to the Gentiles, "Ye are the temple of the living God," takes a new and beautiful signif- icance.

PREPARATION FOR RELIGIOUS TEACHING 487 I have sketched some of the essentials of the religious person, the development of which is the aim of religious teach- ing. All methods must be controlled by the aim, but methods also depend upon the nature and state of development of the learners. I wish now to call attention to some of the char- acteristics of child growth that must be taken into consideration by any one who is preparing to teach religion. There are, roughly speaking, four periods of growth through which the child passes from birth to maturity. The periods overlap, and there is no sharp line of demarcation separating them, but there are certain dominant characteristics of each period. We may call these stages of growth, (1) infancy, from birth to about five years of age; (2) early childhood, some- times called the "transition stage," from about the age of six to eight; (3) later childhood, sometimes called the "formative" stage, from eight to twelve; (4) and the adolescent stage from about twelve to about eighteen. After adolescence comes maturity. The physical and mental traits peculiar to these stages, while extremely interesting, need not be described here. We are concerned with those elements only which make more di- rectly for moral and religious training. During the period of infancy, the child's life is uostly physical. His first actions are largely reflective and in tmctive, but he gradually learns to control his movements, and to discriminate between that which gives pleasure and that which does not. He is neither moral nor immoral and he has very vague notions, if any, as to principles governing conduct. He accepts the authority of his elders, because he cannot do otherwise, and he imitates their actions and language. Aside from establishing good physical habits and setting proper examples for the child to follow, little can be done in the teaching of religion in infancy. The small child may pray, because he is told to do so, but it is doubtful that he has any clear conception as to why or to whom he prays. The value lies in the habit established of bow- ing in devotion and acknowledging an unseen Giver of good. Later in life, the habit will prove a real asset, when its sig- nificance dawns upon the growing youth. The "transitional" period from about six to eight, so far as moral and religious qualities are concerned, is largely an extension of the period of infancy. The child is still incapable of subordinating momentary impulses to the accomplishments of remote ends. He lives in a world of reals, and is not yet swayed to a very large extent by social ideals. Duty, honor, obedience, mean less to him now than they will later. Author-

m IMPROVEMENT ERA ity, habit and imitation are the forces that modify his instinc- tive tendencies and control his conduct. The "formative" period from eight to twelve offers a larger field for moral and religious training. He is anxious to know the "whys" and "wherefores" of conduct. The capacity for logical reasoning is much stronger than in the earlier period, and consequently the ability to form religious concept is greater. His emotions begin to play a greater part, and he begins to be more of a "social" being. But he is still immature. Dr. Bagley says: "From the standpoint of moral culture, the years, eight to twelve are preeminently the time for developing specific moral habits — habits of cleanliness, honesty and obedience — with very little attempt at 'moral suasion,' but rather a chief dependence upon arbitrary authority. This statement may smack of barbarism and suggest an unwelcome return to the severe moral culture of the past. But, if in attempting to civilize the child, we assume that he is civilized at the outset; ifi, in attempting to develop higher motives, we assume that those motives already exist and operate effectively; then we not only commit a logical fallacy, but experience goes to prove that we make a very serious practical blunder." The moral and religious nature of the child from eight to twelve is in the formative stage but is not yet formed. It is a seed time, and the harvest later will depend largely upon the planting and nurturing during the period. The adolescent period, from about twelve to eighteen, is in many respects the golden opportunity for religious training. It is a time of profound emotional changes, and intellectual awakenings. Social interests come to their fulness and there is a clash and conflict of ideals that justifies the term "stress and strain." The young person is alternately on the mountain tops of exaltation and in the dark valley of despair. It is a time of wonderful religious awakening, and of alarming ten- dencies toward criminality as well. At this period Joan of Arc heard the voices calling her to the deliverance of her people; at this period, the boy Prophet, Joseph Smith, saw God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ; and at this period, too, Jesus himself went up to the temple and seems, for the first time to have realized that he must be about his Father's business. An investigation, carried on by Dr. Gulick, a few years ago, indicates that the great majority of Christian people be- come interested in religion and unite with churches during the adolescent period. Indeed, comparatively few people join at a later period. Another study by the same author, shows that criminal careers are likewise almost always begun during the adolescent period. Surely, it is a period of the parting of the ways. Adolescence, shades off into the period of maturity, when

PREPARATION FOR RELIGIOUS TEACHING 489 there is less of emotionality, less of impetuosity, less of vision; more of evenness, more of settled routine, and more and more as the years pass, a tendency to look backward and exalt what has been. I have now sketched in merest outline some of the char- acteristics of growth which, it seems to me, the teacher of re- ligion should know. I d,esire to call attention to a few princi- ples of method. In the first place, the wise teacher will provide ample op- portunity for the child to open his heart but will not force the growth. The "hot house" product in religious training, as well as in horticulture, may be pleasing for the time being but it will soon wither and fade. Perhaps the best method of ap- proach is to relate to the child your own memories of the ex- periences which you now see were important from the religious standpoint. You did not analyze them then, and the child will not analyze them now. You simply felt them and you desire that the child will likewise feel them. The teacher of religion should rid himself of the "times and seasons" notion. Sunday may be no more a satisfactory day to teach religion than is Monday or Saturday. The time to give the lesson is when the psychological mood is right, and when the environment will emphasize the truth. It may be during a game or it may be at the dinner table, in the street, or on the play ground, or it may be on Sunday morning in the Sunday school. But there can be no set period. We may control the surroundings so as to make one period more opportune than another, but we must accept the child when he is willing to give us his consideration, no matter where nor when. The teacher should avoid the mistakes of confounding a conversation on "religion" with religious conversation. Much so called religious teaching is nothing more than splitting hairs concerning theological definitions. Just as some of the best lessons in hygiene are given without ever mentioning term, so some of the best lessons in religion are given without ever mentioning the word "religion." One keen observer has said, "The child's aspiration, his re- ligious devotion, his love for God, will find expression in most every other way before it will be formulated into questions of a seriously theological character." The teacher of religion must have faith in God's laws of growth, and must wait patiently for the child to grow in faith and religious power. He may provide the warmth of his genial nature which will call for the latent qualities of the child's soul as the sun and the moisture persuade the flowers to bud and bloom, but the process must not be rushed. Laws of nature

490 IMPROVEMENT ERA control here as elsewhere. The teacher should deal carefully and cautiously with the child's consciousness of God. He should shield the child from untrustworthy influences and faulty in- formation. Many times truths to the adult are grossly mis- understood by the child. Numerous instances might be cited to prove the statement. Sometimes, too, information on these vital questions is secured from superstitious and ignorant people who exercise an evil effect upon the child's entire future life. The teacher* should recognize that natural conversation is one of the best means of religious instruction. Very little can be accomplished by making the child keep still while the teacher talks to him. He may give the semblance of obedience and attention, because he has respect for authority but his soul is not quickened until he enters actively into the thought and discussion. The child may say, "Did God make the world?" This can be answered quickly and positively in the affirmative. But if the child says, "Did God make the leaves and buds with his fingers just like mama made the paper flowers?" Then the teacher has an opportunity to show her skill in implanting faith, and at the same time imparting ideas that will not have to be unlearned later in life. The teachers' method will recognize the fact that religion rests largely on an emotional basis, but that the emotional states are closely linked and possibly dependent upon physical con- ditions. To get the emotion of reverence, take the attitude of reverence. Bowing the head, closing the eyes, kneeling, and all such physical means help to bring the appropriate emotion. The teacher of adolescent boys and girls will capitalize the social instincts of the period. He will attempt to guide the leaders and to popularize the religious activities. He will at- tempt to guide the group mind, so that group action will take the constructive, upward path, and not the downward. He will recognize the highly emotional material he is handling, and will refrain from extreme and lurid pictures of sin, and likewise from fostering a super-spiritual, unnatural expectancy of miraculous manifestations. He will stress social participation in uplifting enterprises, and he will show the reasonableness of the principles of religion as they work out in conduct. One of my high school boys who had contracted the cig- arette habit, said to me, after losing in an athletic contest, "Now, I know that tobacco is not good for the body." My own boy, after collecting offerings at Christmas time for the poor, and going with the bishop to distribute the presents, said, "Those

PREPARATION FOR RELIGIOUS TEACHING 491 good people just cried for joy when we brought them things to eat, and it made us happy. I know it's right to do what the bishop wants us to do for it makes people so glad." College students represent a group just between adolescence and maturity. The question is sometimes asked, "Why do young people seem to lose faith in religion when they go to college?" I believe that their seeming loss of faith, where or when manifested at all, may be accounted for in several ways. In the first place they are trained in college to think inductively, while most of the theological teaching is largely deductive. The college student is trained to observe phenomena and to draw his conclusions from the facts observed. He is taught to chal- lenge the statements of authors and books, unless the conclu- sions square with known facts. I am reminded of a young man who had been taught to reason from observable data, and was convinced that the earth must have been a very long time in assuming its present form and condition, and that the animal and plant life must have appeared in successive waves indi- cating a progression from simpler to more complex forms. After his return home a conscientious old brother said, "Well, John, has your college education caused you to lose faith in the gospel?" "No," was the reply, "My religion means more to me than ever before." "Do you believe," said the older man, "that the earth was actually created in six days of twenty-four hours each? Do you believe that Adam was created out of the dust of the earth, by a simple act of creation? Do you believe that the first woman was made from Adam's rib? Do you believe that the sun and moon stood still by command of Joshua? Do you be- lieve that languages originated at the confusion of tongues? The word of God says that these things actually took place. If you don't believe them you are an apostate from the faith of your fathers." Now the wise teacher of religion will never take this at- titude. However much he may himself believe in the literal historical interpretation of the scriptures, he will be careful not to exclude from religious activities young people who may differ from him in points of theology. Another reason for the seeming loss of faith is that the college student is interested in present social problems, rather than in the attempt to fit ancient institutions to modern life. ******* College people may seem to lose the faith because of in- difference bred from inactivity. Exercise is necessary to growth

492 IMPROVEMENT ERA of any kind. The wise teacher will get these men and women to work if possible. They like to work, and their faith will increase in proportion as they labor. They are optimistic and idealistic, but they want to know that their work is directed to- ward the accomplishment of some practical concrete results. They believe in relieving poverty; in promoting clean sports; in eliminating illiteracy; in vocational placement; in the ex- ecution of just laws; in providing suitable play grounds, in clinical service for the poor; in securing suitable reading rooms and in a thousand other things. It is not impossible to unite the young persons' religious sentiments with his patriotic emotions, and make of him a most valiant fighter for civic righteousness, so that our nation may retain and magnify her position of world leadership — not on merely economic grounds but on the principles of real Christian brotherhood. I said the wise teacher of religion will use these intelligent men and women. I knew a young man, a college graduate, who had become indifferent, in fact, skeptical, in the faith. He was aeked to become superintendent of a Sunday school. He declined at first, giving as one excuse that he did not pay tithing and would not do so. The presiding officer held up before him the great opportunities he would have for social good, and promised that he would never mention tithing to him. The young man accepted the position. He became thoroughly in- terested in his work, and was highly successful. Furthermore, he became convinced that he ought to pay tithing, and with- out any one mentioning the subject, he began the payment of tithes. Ever since then he has been a tithe payer and an active Church worker. Get the college men and women to work in the religious activities. It will be the means of saving them and also of strengthening the Church as well. Now, in conclusion, I want to mention what seems to me to be the most important factor of all, in the preparation to teach religion, no matter what the stage of development of the student. That factor is this: "Be yourself what you desire others to be." He that ministers at the altar of religious edu- cation must see to it that he is clean and pure himself, and that his daily life is in accord with his Sunday teaching. It must not be said of him, "I cannot hear what he says because what he is rings so loudly in my ears." University of Utah.