Article June 5, 1915 Issue

The appeal of the Christian Scientists in this country for...

Dayton (Ohio) News

The appeal of the Christian Scientists in this country for "religious liberty" seems fair enough. They do not seek to thrust their religion down the throat of any one else; they only ask that they be allowed to worship God in their own way, according to the dictates of their own consciences. Their code of morals is as high as the code of morals is other people; they conform to the laws of the land in their daily lives; they do not seek to overthrow our civic institutions. Why, then, should they not be allowed to worship as they please and to believe whatever they desire to believe?

The most that can be said against Christian Scientists is that they place an interpretation upon the Scriptures which is not the same as that placed upon the same writings by the so-called orthodox churches. They have set up no strange gods, however. They are following, in their own way, the teachings of the same Nazarene upon whose teachings the Christian religion is founded. There is nothing in their teachings that is inimical to a republican form of government, to a moral household, to clean living, or to the well-being of the human race.

It is legitimate for those representing all other denominations to seek to lead people to embrace the teachings of their own several creeds or "faiths." Any one has the right to hire a hall, or build a church, or rent a lot and proclaim the advantages of his religious belief. It is also legitimate for the Christian Scientists to do the same thing, and they ought not to be interfered with in any such mission. They ought not to be hampered by special laws or hindered by regulatory measures that do not apply at all.

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