A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

100 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

this situation existed before the Great War. Where religious instruction is made compulsory in public-school systems, as it was in those of
the German states, this arrangement is usually a result of a political
policy and is for political rather than for religious reasons. Public
enforcement of religious discipline is usually related to political discipline.
The development of independence in religious views is apt to develop
independence of a political character.
It should be pointed out that in the United States, as well as in
other countries, there has grown up during the last few years a considerable body of opinion favoring increased attention to religious education. According to this opinion the public school, though it should
not in itself give such instruction, should at least give the opportunity
for religious teaching. In the United States and elsewhere there has
been some experimentation along these lines. This experimentation is
in harmony with existing Philippine legislation. According to this plan,
public schools either should allow children whose parents so desire
to proceed to some place outside the school premises to receive religious
instruction from properly constituted religious authorities, or should permit these authorities to come into the school buildings, either during or
after school hours, to give religious instruction to children whose parents
so request. It seems to be a just right of the parent, if he so chooses
and does not attempt to enforce his opinion on others, to have his
children given religious instruction as a part of their education.
Consequently, the Board of Educational Survey and the Commission
approve the law as it now stands. They would also be as heartily
opposed to any extension of the law to make such instruction compulsory; or to introduce compulsory religious instruction into the schools
as a part of the regular program. Whether in the hands of the
regular teachers or of those specially chosen, this solution of the problem
would be undesirable. Any such compulsion would result in developing attitudes that are essentially nonreligious.
NON-CHRISTIAN PEOPLES
It is the opinion of the Board that the non-Christian peoples need a
system of education that in many essential respects should differ from
that developed for the great mass of the Filipino people. Only by
such special treatment can the non-Christian tribes be brought up to
the cultural and economic level of the Christian population. To give
them the same education as that of the Christian peoples results simply
in drawing off a few of the ablest of their youth into the general population. The masses of these retarded groups are left but little, if any,
better than before. In the absence of experimentation and a more