The history of Sunday school is an interesting one that started in individual homes. The object of Sunday school has changed, though part of it has and always will remain the same. Martin E. Marty in The Sunday School: Battered Survivor, explains that Sunday school was a protestant invention.
Sunday School for the Purpose of Education
While the parents took seriously the job of moral education in their own home, according to B. Edward McClellan in his book Moral Education in America (Teachers College Press, 1999), they had no problem letting the churches take over the training of the orphans and troubled or difficult children. This was their way of making sure that these children were trained in the proper Christian ways without having to take personal responsibility for that training. The purpose of Sunday school, according to McClellan, was initially a way to teach the poor children how to read and write, while integrating moral values. As time went on, McClellan explains that “it came to focus more narrowly on moral education and to open its doors to children of all backgrounds” (McClellan P. 22).
Change in Sunday School with the Emergence of Public School
As the public school began to emerge and change to suit the needs of the entire American population, Sunday school was the agreed mode of teaching the specific doctrinal truths of different denominations. The purpose of this was to make the public school truly nonsectarian by taking religion out completely. According to McClellan, though, most families saw the public school and Sunday school as complementary. Public schooling was a way for all children to be trained in the same moral values, and then the specific theological beliefs were covered in Sunday school.
Sunday school looked very similar to the public schools in its early days in that the students received a grade that could be lowered if they did not attend regularly. The children could also receive credit for bringing their offering, their Bible, being on time, and preparing their lesson as instructed by the teacher. Receiving a top grade in the Sunday school class meant that they would be put on the honor roll.
Morality Training in Sunday School
At the time when Sunday school was created, both the churches and families felt like they were doing what they needed to do, by first teaching the children who were orphans, and then teaching all children the beliefs of their particular church. This training originally occurred at home, but according to Marty, “little formal religious education goes on in most homes.” This downfall has generated a moral training comeback even in the public schools. Teachers now teach their students about character, and virtue in an attempt to help Sunday schools with morality training.
The slow evolution of Sunday school has brought it to today as simply a way to teach children and adults certain Biblical principles and doctrines specific to the church. Although religion has been taken out of the public school almost entirely, moral training has begun to make an appearance.
Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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