The Journal of Negro History Volume V Part 32

One of the common religious agencies among Negro colleges is the college church. Twenty-nine of these colleges have church services every Sunday, either morning, afternoon or evening. In twelve inst.i.tutions they have preaching twice a day. All of them require attendance at church. The nine which have no preaching service at their places every Sunday have it occasionally and make up the deficit by requiring the students to attend a neighboring church, in most cases a church of the denomination under whose auspices the inst.i.tution is operated. The students attending so far as the requirements of the colleges are concerned are those who live in college dormitories. In no case has this requirement affected students living in the community, beyond campus control. This means that the attendance at the college church aside from that given by those under dormitory supervision is voluntary. A large proportion of the students, therefore, attend other churches, the where and why of which is not known by the investigator. The proportion attending the college churches, however, is ascertained.

The "boarding" students are the church goers so far as the college churches are concerned. The number of college students living in the dormitories of these various inst.i.tutions is 651 or just a fraction over one-third of the entire number enrolled in the thirty-eight private inst.i.tutions. The other students, numbering 1,301, go whither they please so far as the inst.i.tutions are concerned, and no data as to the number attending the college church are available. In these churches the pastors are usually the presidents or some other member of the faculty. In two instances the pastors are called chaplains and have other religious functions during week days. In four cases, the pastors and presidents are identical. This a.s.sures the college church which operates on the basis just stated, a good pastor. There are eighteen which have these pastors. Eleven have no pastors or chaplains but invite ministers of the city or neighboring cities to conduct their religious services on Sunday. This service is had at the time which is most convenient for pastors of local churches. The most frequently used hour is from three or three-thirty to four-thirty or five in the afternoon.

The established churches have prayer meeting during the week on one of the following nights: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Sat.u.r.day. Just why Friday night is boycotted one is unable to say. The "luck"

psychology may not have had any part in establishing the tradition along that line. Here again we find the law of the "Medes and Persians" working effectively in securing corporeal attendance. The students are required to be there and are there in a body at least.

The times for convening these prayer meetings are chiefly two. Just after supper in nine of the inst.i.tutions and at the close of the "study" period in twenty-five. Four have the hours between seven and eight o'clock in the evening or thereabouts.

The Sunday School is a prevalent religious agency among the Negro colleges and universities. We find a Sunday School reported in thirty-seven of these. In these Sunday Schools the teachers who reside at the college dormitories const.i.tute a part of the Sunday School faculty. Some of the advanced students are used as teachers and officers.

Another phase of religious service prescribed by several colleges is the Young People's Society. They are all of the same general nature.

They take different names such as the Epworth League, The Baptist Young People's Union, the Allen Christian Endeavor and so forth, depending in the main upon their denominational affiliation. Thirty colleges expect their boarding students to be present at these meetings. These thirty inst.i.tutions have 388 students of college rank living in the dormitories of these respective inst.i.tutions. Thus three hundred eighty-eight students attend these Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening meetings.

Five colleges which are co-educational have the "quiet" hour for girls on Sunday afternoon. It was designed to be religious or semi-religious at least. Each girl goes to her room and remains there quiet for a designated period of time. During this time she is expected to read her Bible or some religious book, or engage in some meditation which is in keeping with the holy day. Where this idea originated, the writer is unable to say. He, with those who have observed this mystical quiet hour, is puzzled concerning its religious efficacy. One naturally asked those in authority why not a "quiet" hour for the boys as well. There seems to be either a very high compliment paid to the boys or quite an unpardonable insinuation on the inherited tendencies of the girls.

The nature of the Sunday services and the Sunday School is evident without further elaboration. Perhaps a more detailed description of the prayer meeting and the Young People's meeting is in order. A common element is seen in the prayer meetings, "sentence prayers" and singing. Several students think I should add a third, namely, sleeping. Another very frequent activity is the testimony of religious achievements, disappointments and hopes. Eleven colleges have topics which are posted each week prior to the meeting. These topics are religious in the orthodox sense but three of the eleven have pushed far away from the sh.o.r.e of orthodoxy and discuss current topics of vital interest. In these three inst.i.tutions the meeting re-resembles a forum where every one expresses his opinion, and exhausts his energy on favorite themes. The Young People's meetings without exception, according to reports, have two common phases. The first is the study and discussion of the specified topics, accompanied of course with music and prayers. This might be called the devotional phase of the meeting. Then there is a change in program, in which the literary side is given precedent. Music of a cla.s.sical nature const.i.tutes the feature of the program.

One of the all important interrogations in this connection is the feeling of the students concerning these religious organizations mentioned. Do they function in the lives of the students? Do they feel that these organizations are vital to them or do they feel as one student in an eastern university? When interviewed he said: "Oh, well, I guess they are pretty good. I suppose they are among the necessary evils of college life."

An extensive interview of the students at seven inst.i.tutions revealed some interesting facts. The presidents or deans from the thirty-eight colleges gave some data and much opinion on the benefits which the students derived from these organizations, according to the students testimonies and the observation of these presidents or deans. I am not inclined to place too much emphasis upon the students' testimony to the presidents, because, the psychological situation of a student who is asked by a college president what he thinks of the church service, Sunday School and Epworth League is not conducive to frankness. This is especially true of students who know what the president wants him to say. It is a sort of begging the question. The average college student is apt to have too much respect for the president's feelings to be frank in such a case. He likewise has a keen sense of self-preservation. He does not want to incur the displeasure of the president.

In the case of five other inst.i.tutions, therefore, I had students, Y.

M. C. A. workers, interview the leaders of various activities in these colleges with a view to getting their candid opinion and the reflection of the opinion of the other students. In these various ways we secured data which represented a high degree of probability to say the least. Ninety-five per cent of the students in Negro colleges reckon the church service on Sunday a beneficial agency for religious functioning. They vary greatly as to the degree of good derived. In eleven inst.i.tutions the singing and liturgy are placed first in the rank of importance and the prayer last. These same colleges think the sermon takes second place. By many of this same number congregational singing is given a very high place. The general complaint against the sermon is that it is too dry. I think what is meant by this is that the sermon lacks enthusiasm.

There may be two reasons for the impression of the dryness of the sermon, if the complaint is justified. In the first place, a large number of the college pastors begin their sermons on the a.s.sumption that a student's religious life is essentially different from that of the average person in a congregation eight blocks away in another church, a matter which cannot always be taken for granted. That a.s.sumption conditions his sermons in character of composition and especially in delivery. The minister works on the a.s.sumption that the college man will be interested and benefited by science, philosophy and so forth, regardless of how it is presented. In the reaction against excessive emotion he too often swings to the other extreme.

Again the college students in these universities have come from such a variety of environments. It would be a safe estimate to say that in all Negro colleges 90 per cent of the students are Baptist and Methodists. The registrar's records from these 38 organizations show the following: 983 Baptists; 790 Methodists; and 179 divided among the other denominations. This gives the Baptist and Methodists 90.8 per cent of the total enrollment in these 38 inst.i.tutions. This means then that 90.8 per cent of these students have had a Baptist-Methodist environment for eighteen or twenty years. Well, what does that matter so far as the estimate of the value of sermons delivered to them? It means that, at least, it is not likely that the impression through childhood, youth, and young manhood or womanhood will be easily offset by the college religious environment in one, two, three or four years.

Ideals theoretical, of course, change remarkably, but inevitably some elements of satisfaction afforded by the earlier environment will be demanded in the college environment by the students. Then the Baptist-Methodist environment among the Negroes is, if anything at all, an enthusiastic environment. The sermon is one of the conspicuous features. A student affected by such an environment does not necessarily demand all of the crudities but he does not like the swing to the other extreme.

It is the opinion of students and teachers that the Sunday School is beneficial. From answers received it is calculated that 98 per cent of all the college students believe in the Sunday School's beneficent influence in student life. Several included in their remarks criticism of the literature used. The same beneficent functioning was attested to in behalf of the Young People's meetings, but the hammer falls heavily on the mid-week prayer meeting, out of which very few see any good come. One dubs "the prayer meeting, the driest, deadest event, which takes place just at the time when it is most difficult to be interested in such." Many other similar expressions concerning the prayer meetings were made. It was noted, however, that the schools which had been diverged the fartherest from the traditional prayer meeting had the most good to say in behalf of the prayer meeting. In the great majority of instances the opinion is that the prayer meeting is a bore and should be abandoned. A student in one of the southern colleges, expressing what he had reasons for believing was the student's att.i.tude towards prayer meetings, said: "It isn't interesting and isn't even a good sleeping place because one cannot stretch out as he desires."

The general att.i.tude towards the services on Sunday, however, is favorable. These services are considered beneficial. The students feel that they are moral and religious supports, and in all cases they believe with slight modifications that these services could be more effective. A great premium is placed upon congregational singing and the liturgy in the services.

The week of prayer for colleges has become in these inst.i.tutions as universal as the national holidays. This occasion affects the regular routine of school work in 22 colleges and universities. It is conducted variously. In some colleges the effort consists of a series of prayer and song services offering opportunity to those who have not made a decision for the better life to do so openly. Their names are recorded, and they become members of the college church, where there is one. Otherwise they are provided for through other means. Those who fail to make decisions are made special objects of moral and religious endeavor during the following months. In the other cases of 18 colleges, a religious survey is made of the student body, usually through the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation and the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation. This survey is made sometimes prior to the week of prayer and personal workers are selected to do campaign work which is to culminate in decisions during the week of prayer. The week of prayer service is conducted by the president, college pastor, or chaplain usually a.s.sisted by the members of the divinity school where there is one connected with the inst.i.tution. Nine colleges have this convocation led by some strong minister from the community. Four surrender the entire task to a professional evangelist.

The students and officials of these colleges report some very significant results and all of them are agreed in this: the week of prayer is a very valuable harvester for gathering the fruits of previous endeavor, as well as a decision promoter itself. There is no unanimity of opinion relative to the best way of conducting the week of prayer, except that the method will vary with conditions. Eight college pastors and chaplains declare it injurious in the long run to have professional evangelists. The others except four did not know, as they had never given the evangelist a test. They were at least dubious about making the experiment.

Some of the results reported from the week of prayer are as follows: For the scholastic year 1916-1917 there resulted 322 confessions for the better life. The most of these were followed by what the presidents of these colleges denominated religious growth. In these colleges there were, prior to the week of prayer, 390 confessors. This means then that subsequent to the week of prayer 68 non-confessors remained among the college men and women. This shows also that prior to the week of prayer one-fifth of a student body of 1,952 were non-confessors. The week of prayer was the occasion of transforming 82.5 per cent of that one-fifth into confessors. The Negro colleges subsequent to the week of prayer 1916-1917, therefore, were 96.5 per cent Christian as a result of the week of prayer, in part at least.

Just how much the personal work, the Christian environment and other factors during other times prior to the week of prayer played is conjecture.

Perhaps it will suffice to state that each of these colleges has morning devotions every day at the breakfast hour. They are very terse, consisting chiefly of the Lord's Prayer or a blessing sung or recited. Seventeen have night devotions closing the study hour except on the night appointed for the weekly prayer meeting. The benefit of the dining-room is not easily detected. The enthusiasm often manifested may be due to anxiety to dine. The interest due to that desire, and that due to the religious stimuli, then and thereafter are not easily distinguished one from the other.

Voluntary religious services are conducted under the auspices of the religious organizations in the colleges and universities. These organizations present quite a variety in name. But most of them are very similar in function. Some of the organizations which are included in the study of required religious services will be given s.p.a.ce under this topic because while they are required in some colleges, they are voluntary in others. The organizations are the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation, the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation, Missionary Societies, Temperance Societies, The Student Volunteer Movement, the Circle of King's Daughters, the White Cross League, and Young People's Societies of Endeavor.

The Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation is the most popular among the men of the inst.i.tutions, and the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation is the choice of the women. The reasons for this situation is fairly obvious. In the first place, the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian a.s.sociations have been stimulated more by the international a.s.sociations than any other similar parent organization has stimulated its offspring. There is a continuous program, and alert men whose business it is to see that these a.s.sociations go. They are paid good salaries for that purpose. Then the very fact that the Y. M. C. A. is international in scope and system has its bearing upon the local branches in the various colleges. What has been a.s.serted concerning the Y. M. C. A. might likewise be said about the Y. W. C. A.

There is, no doubt, another reason explanatory of the popularity of these a.s.sociations. Those who are in authority in the international a.s.sociation have studied student life with an eye single to meeting the needs of men and women so environed. Perhaps then, these organizations appeal more to men and women than the others. In 1916-1917 these colleges had enrolled in the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W.

C. A. 1,252 students. They estimated an average attendance at their Sunday meetings of 940, including men and women. These meetings are about an hour long. One feature which the men respond to very readily, according to the reports, is the partic.i.p.ation in the discussion of the topic after a leader has opened it. There is, however, an evident lack of accurate records of the effect of these services upon the student life in these inst.i.tutions. Howard University, Fisk and Talladega Colleges have made the most progress along this line.

Eleven colleges reported temperance societies which have occasional services. These are Lane College, Fisk University, Howard University, Conroe College, Edward Waters College, Livingstone College, New Orleans University, Texas College, Roger Williams University, Samuel Houston College, and Shaw University. Wilberforce and Benedict have student Volunteer services.

The following twelve inst.i.tutions have missionary societies holding services fortnightly: Howard University, Morgan College, Morris Brown College, New Orleans University, Rust College, Samuel Houston College, Shaw University, Swift Memorial College, Virginia Union University, Wilberforce University, Spellman Seminary and Virgina Theological Seminary and College.

Eight of the thirty-eight colleges under consideration encourage the Young People's Sunday evening meetings but they have not made attendance compulsory believing, they say, that there should be some opportunity for choice in respect to attending some of these meetings.

They report a large attendance and think that compulsion would add very little to the attendance and detract perhaps from the effectiveness of such meetings. Why this point of view does not hold true in respect to the Sunday school which is required by these same inst.i.tutions one is at a loss to say.

EXPRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE NEGRO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

We have investigated the knowledge of religious education derived from religious education courses in the curricula of thirty-eight colleges as well as those offered by voluntary a.s.sociations. We have likewise reviewed the preparation of the teachers of these courses, the time given to the teaching of them, the att.i.tude of the teachers towards the work, and the character and amount of worship given by these students. It now remains for us to examine the expressional activities of these students. What opportunity have they for the expression of their religious thought and devotional att.i.tude in actual service? The means to that end are not to be viewed lightly, if the education principle, no impression without expression, is worth anything in the process of religious growth. The religious laboratories must be as vital for the students, as the chemical or biological laboratory.

35 of these schools report Sunday School work of some kind for 360 students. This work is of the general kinds. There are many who teach in the College Sunday Schools. 187 teach in Mission Sunday Schools in the vicinity of the college. 400 teach vacation Sunday Schools in the various localities to which they go during the summer vacation. These 360 students doing Sunday School work during the scholastic year are distributed among 23 inst.i.tutions. There is a likelihood of more colleges furnishing teachers for this work but they have not reported it because they keep no record of that work. The schools reporting are: Allen University, Atlanta University, Clark University, Spellman Seminary, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Howard University, Fisk University, Lincoln University, Edward Water's College, Lane College, Claflin University, Conroe College, Benedict College, Livingstone College, Morgan College, Roger William University, Shaw University, Virginia Union University, Tougaloo University, Talladega College, Wilberforce University, and Rust College. Fisk University and Virginia Union conduct mission Sunday Schools. They seem to have unique places relative to the Sunday School service.

Boys Clubs are not numerous among the activities partic.i.p.ated in by the Negro college students. Only four report such an organization.

Wilberforce has a local Boy's Scout Club conducted under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation. Howard University, Fisk University and Morehouse College conduct boys clubs and some of the men find excellent opportunity for service. The following make visits to prisons and render the inmates service: Knoxville College, Benedict College, Virginia Union University, Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College.

There are several inst.i.tutions that minister to the poor and dependents through the various voluntary organizations. Wilberforce distributes a limited number of Bibles, and other necessities to the community in which it is situated. It does this through the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation. Morgan College, Fisk University, Morris Brown College, Benedict College, Morehouse College, Edward Waters College, Virginia Union, Talladega College, and Biddle University do similar work for the poor.

The colleges and universities rendering other social service such as work among the boys at the reform schools, visiting and ministering to orphans, a.s.sisting at Old Folk's homes and asylums, are Fisk University, Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morgan College, Howard University, Talladega College, Virginia Union University, Shaw University, Biddle University, Allen University, and Bishop College.[2] Fisk University has a university settlement house, the Bethlehem House, which operates under the social science department.

This affords the Fisk students a splendid opportunity to serve society at first hand.

All of the thirty-eight colleges and universities give opportunity for service in the college churches or in the churches where the college worship. All have some students serving in the choirs. In the churches, which are college churches in the real sense of the work, that is, regularly organized with pastor and officers the students are largely the officers. Thirty college presidents think this is splendid expressional activity.

Five inst.i.tutions use their missionary societies to help support some one whom they know on the foreign mission field. The other seven reporting organized missionary societies all have what might be called foreign mission rallies and give the proceeds to that work. In the most of these cases, the money goes to the foreign field through denominational channels.

Service in the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. as chairman and members of committees gives a small number opportunity for expressional activity of a kind. The same may be said for the other voluntary organizations.

The financing of religious education in these colleges is significant.

Question number fourteen in the general questionnaire is: _Does your college have a special appropriation for religious work, viz, for the Y. M. C. A., for Chaplain, College Pastor and so forth?_ All of these inst.i.tutions except four answered this question in the negative.

Morgan College has an appropriation for the chaplain and special appropriation for a teacher of Bible. Fisk University and Lincoln have Bible chairs endowed. Howard University has special appropriations for the Y. M. C. A. Tougaloo has a part of the college pastor's salary appropriated by the American Missionary a.s.sociation. The others have no appropriation which pertains to the special religious work. This means that the religious work in these colleges has a decided financial handicap of which they are all very conscious. The special work is financed by subscriptions, funds raised by entertainments, and the donations of the students and teachers. This means a fluctuation from time to time depending upon the generosity of the donors. An endeavor to secure funds to carry out the programs of these voluntary organizations usurps much of the time and energy of those who lead them.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

This study embraces the following State inst.i.tutions offering complete college curricula or doing college grade of work: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, Georgia State College for Colored Youths, Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, and the West Virginia Collegiate Inst.i.tute.

The teachers of religion in none of these inst.i.tutions are professionally trained. They are usually laymen who are teaching in the other departments of the inst.i.tution. The time given varies but averages fifty-five minutes per week each. Their att.i.tude toward the subject of religious education is optimistic. The very fact that all of them are volunteers save three shows that there is an interest in the process.

Four State colleges offer Teacher Training courses but they are all elective as might be expected since they are State colleges. In all cases these colleges would have to make the most of these courses elective in order to avoid a conflict with State const.i.tutions. Note, however, that Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College offer courses in social service, which are required. Of the 325 college students enrolled in these six State inst.i.tutions 165 of these are enrolled in the religious education courses. This is more than one-third of the entire number, a larger proportion than in the private inst.i.tutions.

The State colleges have voluntary religious organizations, but none of the conductors are professionally trained. These courses are of the same type as those found in the private inst.i.tutions, except for the denominational features. The Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation, the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation and the Temperance Clubs are those found in these inst.i.tutions and there are enrolled for this work 213 men and women.

Alcorn A. and M. College has five men in the mission study cla.s.s and five in the Bible study cla.s.s. Florida A. and M. College has eight in the Bible study cla.s.s and three in the mission study. The Georgia State College has twenty in the Bible and the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College sixteen. The Agricultural and Technical College of Greensboro, North Carolina, reports none in the Bible and mission study cla.s.ses.

Religious services are not foreign to the State inst.i.tutions for Negroes. They are the daily chapel exercises, Sunday morning preaching, Sunday School, Sunday afternoon or evening services, and the weekly prayer meeting. The chapel exercises are made compulsory for the students. The nature of the service is very much like that in the denominational and private inst.i.tutions described above.

The Sunday services are as conspicuous in these State colleges for Negroes as they are in the private and denominational inst.i.tutions.

Attendance is required by every one of the State inst.i.tutions being considered. Two of these have chaplains: the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama and Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi. In two instances the students attend neighboring churches and have preachers from the outside to minister unto them. Sunday School is conducted at each of the State colleges and attendance is required. Each has on Sunday evening some kind of meeting which the students are required to attend.