Probably most of our readers have noticed the reports in the Boston papers of President Eliot's recent address before the Unitarian Club on the subject, "Secularization of Education not a Rational End." In this address President Eliot said, "I cannot but think that the policy of secularization, if thoroughly executed, would fail to preserve the public schools, as schools, for well nigh the whole population - which they should be. I cannot but think that the secularization of education is not a rational end to pursue." James Freeman Clarke, on the other hand, who spoke on the same theme before the same society, said that religion should not be brought into the public schools, outside of teaching the scholars the golden rules of honesty of heart and purpose, and such secular instruction as would best fit them for their battles with the mercantile world. These two essentially different views on the matter of religion in its relation to education seem to mark the two great tendencies in modern times. Many people would introduce religion into every phase of life; while many others would treat it as having no openly recognized connections with anything else. While we do not declare ourselves such extremists as those of the latter class, yet at least we do say that we do not believe in strictly religious teaching in the schools of the country.

But the great complaint at present in this matter is one resulting from sectarian feelings. Catholics, or Jews are afraid to send their children to school where protestant religious forms are observed, and vice versa. The plan of having separate religious exercises for the different factions in the schools does not commend itself to us; for it would not only cause much more trouble and probably increased expense, but would also strengthen quite unnecessarily the feelings of disagreement among the parents of the pupils and their teachers. And so unless a single service can be held in which all can have confidence and interest, in which sectarianism will not appear in any form, religion would better be banished from our public schools entirely.