Article April 28, 1928 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from James Douglas, Samuel A. Eliot, Minot C. Morgan

[From the Boston Globe, Massachusetts]

There was never more interest in religion than there is to-day, and the new generation of youth is going to create a new vividness and reality in religion, just through the questions which are being asked and the criticisms being made of the older generation and of religion. This was the opinion expressed at the Church of the Messiah by Bishop John T. Dallas of New Hampshire, addressing the monthly conference of Greater Boston students. Bishop Dallas spoke on "The State of Religion To-day," and he had previously asked the students in preparation for the conference to read the religious news in the papers and magazines. Speaking on this basis, he expressed his "personal observation" that "at no time in our western civilization has there been such an interest in religion as there is to-day.

"Take the vast amount of material poured out from presses in England and America, books on religion, so many that we never in a lifetime could read all of them, but new, interesting, profound books on religious subjects, books that are being read. There are other evidences of this interest. Leadership in religion is being conducted conducted by little groups of men and women rather than by solitary figures. Our generation was led by outstanding figures, to-day religion is led by groups, by fellowship; we are experiencing something like apostolic Christianity in this group leadership. Because my generation so largely lived on its inheritance from our grandfathers, because we are handing on such a weakened, watery sort of religion, your generation is going to create a vividness, a reality in religion which is going to be all your own. All this questioning and Criticism is going to amount to something—it will point the way forward, and show you into a new growth of religion in this generation. People are still building churches, and some are building bigger churches, and all over America churches are crowded. Another evidence of great interest in this subject is in the many clubs, full of the spirit of Jesus, and the spirit of service, and those which have a ritual build it on the ritual of the church."

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