A TIME TO FAVOR ZION: A CASE STUDY OF RELIGION AS A FORCE IN AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 1830-1870

Given the highly malleable character of American education in the middle and late nineteenth century, why did it develop in the familiar patterns which are still with us? In part, the answer lies in the religious idealogical bases which motivated public and parochial school formation. Evangelical Protestants promoted schooling as an extension of their missionary activity, creating a de facto Protestant public school system. Catholics, motivated by an ideology which saw education as a parental and Church responsibility and by their alienation from public schooling, moved to develop a parallel network for parochial schools.;Active in school development were the leaders of the pan-Protestant voluntary organizations, who created anti-Catholic sentiment as a means of promoting public schooling. Catholic schools developed from academies for elites, with impetus provided by alienation from the Protestant-denominated culture, as well as by funds supplied from European Catholic organizations which collected money to meet perceived Protestant threats.; Over time, ideological conflicts escalated, with Catholics and Protestants battling over the use of the King James Bible in the schools, as well as the propriety of using public funding for parochial education. A School Board Resolution of 1842 attempting to solve the problem of Bible use went unenforced, leading to another controversy over the same issue ten years later.; In an attempt to procure a share of the School Fund for their institutions, Catholic leaders urged their congregations to bloc vote in the municipal elections of 1853, creating strong anti-Catholic sentiment. The election was won by Catholic-supported Democrats, but the anti-Catholic vote, split between a multiplicity of candidates, had actually been larger.;This study examines educational development in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1830 to 1870. Religion is seen as an important factor in the region's school development, and it is clear that public and parochial schooling took their respective directions in part as a result of ideological clash.;In 1869, the zenith of religious conflict over schooling was reached. In an attempt to smooth the way for a proposed merger of public and parochial schools, the School Board removed the Bible completely from the public schools, provoking a court suit which pitted evangelicals against an alliance of Catholics, Jews, and liberals. While the former won in the local court, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Board's decision, and ruled that the public schools just be religiously neutral.;The period following this controversy was one of increased separation between public and parochial schooling. Although the public schools maintained a vaguely Protestant tone, they were increasingly secularized. Catholics, opposed to this trend, moved to found their own schools, forcing compliance by pastors and parents. The lines of distinction between public and parochial education became increasingly sharp, though some Protestants still attended Catholic schools, and many Catholics frequented public ones.;Events in the late 1970s and early 1980s indicate that religion is still a factor in educational development. Nineteenth century conflicts over the use of the King James Bible point out a need to move beyond the symbols which appear to be the center of school conflict to the ideological differences which are the real cause. The fact that American education could have taken a different turn in the nineteenth century suggests that sensitivity to issues of ideological differences could help educational leaders to promote a wider consensus in our own day.