CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN NEW JERSEY: A HISTORY OF PROTESTANT COOPERATIVE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE STATE, ITS ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MOVEMENTS OF THE TIMES

488 Pages·030.23 MB·English

by  HARDT, ERNA PAULA HERMINE

COPYRIGHTED
by
Ema Paula Hermine Hardt
1951
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S ign atu re _____ _____
T h esis: C h ristian Education In New J ersey
D ate: March 5 , 1951
Sponsoring Committee: P rofessor Samuel 1 . Hamilton, Profes
sor Adolph E. Meyer and A ssoolate P rofessor John C. Payne
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN NEW JERSEY
A h istory o f P rotestan t cooperative religio u s
education in the S ta te, i t s o r ig in , development
and rela tio n sh ip to other movements of the tim es
ERNA HARDT
Submitted in p a r tia l fu lfillm en t of the
requirem ents fo r the degree o f Doctor of
Philosophy in the School o f Education of
l V
New York U n iversity s
ittnsif aooeptei
MAY - U n a
1961
PREFACE
This study has grown far beyond what the In v estig a to r
had originally planned. Her intention was to w rite a h isto r y
of the New Jersey Sunday Sohool Association and the Hew J er­
sey Counoil of R elig io u s Education, beoause many n a tio n a l
Sunday-sohool a c t iv it ie s seemed to have originated in New
Jersey. After th e study was started, the New Jersey C ouncil
of Churohes was form ed. This brought about the need to de­
fine the resp o n sib ility o f th is new interdenom inational
agenoy in the f ie ld o f C h ristian education.
As the study of ea rly New Jersey Sunday-school work
progressed, i t became evid en t that there were many q u estion s
to be answered about th e o r ig in of certain outstanding com­
munities, the sources o f leadership, the beginnings o f
Sunday-school work, and th e lik e . The investigator came to
feel that it would be a contribution to go back to the
Jewish source o f C h r istia n ity , define early C h ristia n ity ,
show how the Reform ation drew upon various parts o f h isto r y
in developing new churches, and then build the Sunday-sohool
history on this foun dation. The future program for C h ristia n
education suggested i t s e l f out of values achieved in the
ii
p&Bt, and in the lig h t o f the reoent trends in the eeomenioal
movement •
The m aterials of th is study w ill be of value to both lay
leaders and p ro fessio n a l r e lig io u s educators, to help them
in terp ret th e ir ta sk s. W hile the foundation is New Jersey
work, the p rin o ip les involved are applicable to Christian
education anywhere.
The w riter fe e ls deeply indebted to the members of her
Sponsoring Committee, e sp e c ia lly to the Chairman, Professor
Samuel L. H am ilton, who has been her o r itio , friend and
teacher for many years in ad d ition to guiding her in the
research work o f th is p ro ject.
A ppreciation iB due Mr. Henry Reed Bowen, General Secre­
tary o f the New Jersey Counoil of Churches, with whom the
w riter was a sso cia ted fo r nine years as A ssistant in the
Young People* 8 Department o f the New Jersey Council of Re­
lig io u s E ducation. Through th is relation sh ip the investigator
gained a first-h a n d experience in the cooperative program
which has proven invaluab le in the work of th is study, Mr,
Bowen made a v a ila b le a l l th e m aterials of the Council offioes.
Miss Edna M. W eston, O ffice Manager, and Miss Florence C,
Rosinger o f the se c r e ta r ia l s t a f f were most helpful in
lo ca tin g m aterials and answering a m ultitude of questions.
Miss Frances M. Hedden, for many years the state director
o f ch ild ren 's work, made h elp fu l personal records available.
Three lib r a r ie s proved to have the most valuable materi­
a ls . They were the Newark P ublic Library, Missionary Research
Library and Union T h eological Seminary Library. Speoial
iii
thanks to MIbb Miriam Studley, who is in charge o f the New
Jersey C ollection at Newark Public Library, fo r her personal
intereBt not only in locating materials but a lso in su g g estin g
muoh add ition al souroe material.
Erna Hardt
iY
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I . THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 1
Statem ent o f the Problem - Soope * Basic
Assumptions - Importance o f the Study
I I . RELATED STUDIES 10
European R eligiou s and Educational Heritage
- C olonial Education and R eligion - The
R eligion and Education o f the fir s t Settle­
ments in New Jersey - Sunday-school Movement
- New Jersey Sunday School A ssociation - New
Jersey C ouncil of R eligiou s Education * Sum­
mary and C onclusions
I I I . THE METHOD OF INVESTIGATION 23
IV. EUROPEAN RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL HERITAGE 38
Jewish T radition and Education - Jesue as
Teacher and M essiah - The Early Christian
Church - E arly M edieval Education - Later
M edieval Education - Renaissance - Refor­
m ation on the Continent - Reformation in
England and Scotland - Educational Devel­
opments o f the Reformation Period -
R eligiou s R evival in Europe - Colonisation
o f America
V. COLONIAL EDUCATION AND RELIGION 78
Types o f R eligion and Education - New
Jersey - R eligiou s R evivals
VI. RELIGION AND EDUCATION IN THE EARLY
NATIONAL PERIOD 187
N ation al O rganization o f Denominations -
E ducational Developments - M issionary and
Tract S o c ie tie s - B ible S o c ie tie s - Sooial
Cruaades - C harity-School Movement - Sunday-
School Movement - Increased Need for
Common Schools
v
Chapter Page
VII. SECULARIZATION OP EDUCATION 178
Problems of Protestant Denominations -
American Publio-Sohool Movement - New
Jersey Publio-Sohool Movement - F ir st and
Second National Sunday-School Conventions
- Theodore Frelinghuysen - Social and
R eligious Movements - Third National
Sunday-sohool Convention - United S tates
C hristian Commission
VIII. "EVERY CHILD IN THE STATE FOR JESUS” 216
New Jersey Sunday Sohool A ssociation - John
Heyl Vincent - New Jersey Conventions be­
come In stitu tes - County A ssociations -
In fa n t-cla ss Teachers Associations - N ational
and International Conventions - Summer Assem­
b lie s - State Association Business
IX. THE GRADED SUNDAY-SCHOOL 276
Expansion o f service in New Jersey - Newark
Primary Union - Summer Sohool o f Methods -
International Sunday Sohool A ssociation -
Growth in Graded Work in New Jersey - Graded
Lessons Conference
X. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AS LIFE-CHANGING 328
The "Life Situation" Approaoh in Education
- Vacation and Weekday Church Schools -
R eligious Education as a Profession -
In ternational Council of Religious Education
- World's Sunday Sohool Association - New
Jersey Sunday Sohool Association, 1900-1924
- New Jersey Council of Religious Education
XI. THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT 381
World Council of Christian Education -
Federal Council of the Churches of C hrist
in America - World Council of Churches -
N ational Council of the Churches o f C hrist
in the U.S.A. - New Jersey Council o f Churches
XII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 394
XIII. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COOPERATIVE
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 434
XIV. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 442
▼i
Pag#
BIBLIOGRAPHY 447
APPENDIXES
A - C all to C onvention, September 1, 1856 454
B - L ist o f D eleg a tes, F ir st Convention 455
C - C o n stitu tio n , New Jersey Sunday Sohool
A sso c ia tio n , November, 1858 458
D - L etter from N e llie S. Barnes 459
E - C o n stitu tio n , New Jersey Council of
R elig io u s E ducation, May, 19E4 460
F - C o n stitu tio n , New Jersey Council of
Churches, February, 1945 464
G - L ist o f New Jersey OorfventionB and
P resid en ts 470
H - 1950-1951 O fficers and S ta ff Members,
New Jersey C ouncil o f Churches 474
CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OP THE PROBLEM
Statement o f the Problem
It Is the purpose in this study to trace the o r ig in ,
development and contributione of the New Jersey Sunday Sohool
A ssociation, and i t s successor, the New Jersey C ouncil o f Re­
ligio u s Eduoation ( since 1945 the New Jersey Council o f
Churches); and to show their relationship to s o c ia l, p h ila n ­
thropic, educational and religious movements from the b egin ­
ning to the present day.
Beginnings of the Sunday-school Movement
When th e smoke of battle cleared away a fte r the War fo r
Independence, the state of New Jersey found i t s e l f fo r tu n a te ly
located as the connecting link between two prom ising m unici­
p a litie s , New York and Philadelphia, Ideas from th ese two
centers s ifte d e a sily into the much-traversed sta te .
The Sunday-school movement, brought from England, took
root in P h ilad elp h ia and New York between 1790 and 1815,?- and
found a f e r t ile religiou s tradition on which to b u ild in New
Jersey. The evan gelistic ("soul-winning” ) concern o f P ro tes­
tant laymen, fostered by a series of r e v iv a ls, encouraged th e
1. Arlo Ayres Brown, A History of R eligious Eduoation in
Recent Times. pp. 46-50.