(70 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EDUCATION. 
and babies will go to hell, while very many who accept the standard theology for God, 
che angels, and heaven, declare that they do not believe there is any devil or bell, 
This. of course, may be due simply to their teaching, but it seldom appears in compo- 
sitions by children under eleven or twelve years old. 
A very few assert their disbelief in any form of theology, but these few atheistic state- 
ments are more dogmatic in general than the statements of orthodox Sunday-school 
children, and bear all the marks of having been simply accepted from parents or others. 
flor example, a girl of eleven writes: ‘“ Heaven is our dear mother and father, and 
heaven don’t help to grow, nor he don’t give us bread nor anything.” And, again: 
* When people die they put them in a hole and put some ground on them and leave 
them there—and they don’t go up in heaven or any place ; thev always stay in that 
same place.” 
After children pass fifteen they generally avoid telling what they believe 
by saying : “I used to believe,” or, ‘“ When I was little I believed,” ete. 
[f they express their present beliefs they raise very few concrete doubts. 
Chey use more abstract terms, describing God as a great, all-powerful 
spirit, and heaven as a beautiful abode of the blest. Angels are celestial 
spirits, and the devil is the great evil influence in the world. 
One cannot help thinking that they have accepted an abstraction and a 
aame, and have, temporarily at least, laid the questions that perplexed 
them aside. Certainly from fifteen to eighteen there is no such persistent 
sxercise of the critical judgment in matters theological as there is between 
twelve and fifteen. 
In all these reasoning processes the Bible is only occasionatly referred 
50 as an authority, and in citing it the children show a very great igno- 
rance of the most common Biblical allusions. 
Incidentally this study throws a strong side light on what children are 
taught to consider good and bad acts. Naturally most of the children 
say that to go to heaven we must be good, and that if we are not good we 
do not go to heaven; but in many cases they specify virtues and vices 
supposed to be especially prominent. 
Next to being good, the virtue most commonly named is obeying God, 
ind then come in order of importance: “keeping the commandments,” 
“believing in God,” “loving God,” “praying,” ¢‘trusting God,” ¢‘ obey- 
ing parents,” and “telling truth.” Less than one per cent. of the 
children mention ‘“going to church and Sunday-school,” “reading the 
Bible,” ¢¢ keeping Sunday,” ¢¢ working hard,” and ¢‘ being baptized.” 
A boy of four says : ‘You must be good on the earth and be quiet” ; while a boy of 
ten sums up the virtues with : ‘“ God wants you to obey your parents and to do what 
‘hey say, and he wants you to be polite to everybody you meet on the street.” 
The whole career of the good man is summed up as follows by a boy of twelve: ¢ The 
good man will first join the church on probation, and then in six months he will join 
she church and be a member. He will push the work of God along as much as he can, 
nelp the poor and the church, and probably be successful in heaven. He will die a 
1appy man and go to heaven.” 
Among the bad qualities, next to being bad, the children mention “disobeying God.”