Ministry of Education Refuses to Repeal Law Forbidding Religious Teaching in Schools The petition of twelve missionary tvodies to the National Government in Nanking. to repeal the recently promulgated laws forbidding the teaching of religion has been answered Nanking denies the petition, summing up reasons which show that "to. have elective religious courses in junior middle schools and to have the privilege of ~rorship in primary, schools embody obstacles too dificult to permit the Ministry to grant the request."
The Feligious bodies who. signed the petition are: Church of Christ in. China, "Methodist Episcopal Church, American Baptist Society, Protestant Episcopal Church, Unit Lutheran Church, Swedish Missionary Union, Evangeli-al Church, Ghurch of the Brethren, Rhenish—"Migsionary "Society, Methodist Protestant Church, Basel Missionary Society and United Methodist" Society.
The following is a translation of the reply, made by the BMnister of Your petition requesting that all grades of church and mission Schools Ue permitted to have elective religious courses and primary schools to have the privilege of worship, has been received.
Upon consideration of the points raised in your petition, we find them not free from misunderstanding. Let us consider these points 1—The first point, that we should se religious teaching in the training for life, 's rot far from the truth." But" this depends upon vehether you utilize in your teaching the ideals of all religions, s2eh for example as the teaching of equality merey in" Buddhism,—of too difficult to permit the Ministry to grant the request. Moreover, we hope that you will consider in a sympathetic way this our hum opinion regarding the restriction upon propagation of religion in schools. Let this be considera? gpa and not subject t> further The Rev. A. -R. Kepler, Rev. A. R. Kepler, general secretary of the General Assembly of the Church of Christ in China, states that there were 15 signatories to the petition and not 12 as previously reported, three being added after the ' English translation had been made.
Mr. Kepler states that the following is the correct list:—
Church of Christ in China (Chung Hwa Chi Tuli Chiao Hwei)
Methodist Episcopal Church (Mfc I Mei Hwei)
Baptist (Chin Li Hwei)
Anglican (Chung Hwa Sheng Kung Hwei)
Lutheran Church of China (Chung Hwa Sin I Hwei)
Syedish Lutheran (Nan Hsir Tao Hwei)
Evangelical Church (Tsen Tao Hwei)
Church of the Brethren (Vu Ai Hwei)
Rhenish (Li Hsin Hwei)
Methodist Protestant (Mei Po Hwei)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.