YY \ Ss ae Late 7 THE COMMITTEE ON THE WAR AND THE RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK Its Origin and Purpose 105 EAST TWENTY-SECOND STREET NEW YORK THE COMMITTEE ON THE WAR AND THE RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK ECOGNIZING that the war had placed upon the churches the duty of the most thorough self-examination, the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, acting in coopera- tion with the General War-Time Commission of the Churches, requested a group of representative men and women to constitute a Committee on the War and the Religious Outlook, the purpose of which should be “to consider the state of religion as revealed or affected by the war, with special reference to the duty and the opportunity of the churches, and to prepare its findings for submission to the churches.”” The Committee, while created through the initiative of these two bodies, was given entire freedom to act according to its own judgment, and is empowered to add to its number. The need for a careful inquiry into the present religious situation is unmistakable. The first es- sential for any successful coping with the new responsibilities of the Church is a solid foundation of knowledge and a thorough understanding of the nature of the problems that we face. This fact was early recognized by our fellow Christians in Great Britain. There no less than ten different committees and commissions have been at work upon various phases of the religious and moral situ- ation. Six were appointed by the Church of Eng- land; two by the Presbyterian churches of Scot- land; two are of an interdenominational character. The committees of the Church of England have already made constructive reports dealing with the following special phases of the Church’s activity: worship, evangelism, missions, administrative re- form, its teaching office, and its relation to indus- trial problems. When the Committee on the War and the Relig- ious Outlook began its work four main lines of P . The Committee on the War inquiry suggested themselves as of chief impor- tance: (1) What effect has the war had upon the per- sonal religious experience? How far has it reinforced, how far altered, the existing type of religious life and thought? (2) What effect has the war had upon the or- ganized Christian Church? What changes, if any, are called for in its spirit and activi- ties? | (3) What effect has the war had upon Christian teaching? What changes, if any, are called for in doctrinal statements or proportional emphases? (4) What effect has the war had upon the duty of the Church with reference to social prob- lems of the time? What reconstructions are needed to make our social order more Chris- tian? As the Committee has proceeded with these in- quiries several distinct fields of investigation have emerged. This has led to the appointment of four special sub-committees, each dealing with its own distinct field. The appointment of others is under consideration. In the membership of each of these sub-committees are included several persons with special interest and experience in the field under investigation, not already serving in the Com- mittee as a whole. The first field for special investigation is the Army and Navy. What is revealed by a study of religion there? It is recognized that in the Army and Navy was found a cross section of American men of the younger generation and that out of this group will come very largely the makers of the future. Those who came into intimate contact with them had a very unusual opportunity to see the place that religion holds in the lives of average men—their faith, their habits, their attitude toward the Church and its standards. At the same time the religious workers in the service were the wit- nesses of whatever changes the war experience may have worked in the thought and life of men and their attitude toward the Church. Both in this country and overseas the Committee has been gath- 4 And the Religious Outlook ering up this knowledge for the guidance of the Church. A second important field of study is the world of industry. The war has aggravated social unrest and emphasized certain great social problems, par- ticularly those of an industrial character. ‘The months following the armistice have been marked by a succession of proposals coming from secular and religious sources for the building of a more Christian social order. ‘The Church needs to see clearly what is its responsibility for the solution of these problems and what are the ways in which Christian principles can be brought to bear more effectively upon our social relationships. A third field of special investigation is the non- Christian world. Has the war given an enhanced significance and urgency to foreign missions? What effect, if any, has the war had on the thought of non-Christian peoples as to the validity or need or practicability of Christianity? Has it altered their estimate of so-called Christian civilization? Has it opened up new opportunities or set up fresh obstacles to the missionary task of the Church? In a day when we have entered upon a new era of internationalism such questions as these mean much to the future of the Church. A fourth field of particular interest is the place and work of women in the light of the war. The war has brought new responsibilities to women. It has hastened their assumption of political re- sponsibility. It has added enormously to their participation in industry. These changes are of such significance for the home and for the place of women in the life of the Church that a special group of well qualified women has been asked to study this field. In addition to reports covering the four fields outlined above, a final report will be made dealing specially with the experience, the activity and the organization of the Church at home. It will summarize the findings of the other reports from this point of view and will seek to dis- cover, in the light of the whole experience of the Churches during the war and the months im- mediately following, what changes, if any, are needed in the work of the Churches along the lines iS The Committee on the War of worship, preaching, evangelism, education, or- ganization, cooperation, or other aspects not ade- quately considered in the other reports. Substantial progress has already been made in gathering the information upon which these reports will be based. It is not too late, however, for any one who has had experience or who has been think- ing along any of these lines to cooperate with the Committee by sending personal observations or re- actions. Every such suggestion will add to the use- fulness of the Committee and will contribute to the preparation of reports that will help the Churches to see their opportunity and responsibility more clearly. It is hoped that these reports may appear about the end of the summer. In the meantime the Com- mittee has undertaken to issue a series of special pamphlets dealing with various phases of the Church’s task in the light of the war. These pam- phlets are written by specially qualified individuals at the request of the Committee and are published under its direction, appearing under the general caption, “The Religious Outlook.” It is hoped that they will be of value to the local minister in clarifying his thinking in the face of present per- plexities. The following are now in press or soon to appear: The War and the Religious Outlook, by Dr. Robert E. Speer. The Church Facing the Future, by Rev. William Adams Brown. The Church’s Message to the Nation, by Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick. Christian Principles Essential to a New World Order, by Pres. W. H. P. Faunce. Christian Aspects of Economic Reconstruction, by Prof. Herbert N. Shenton. Other pamphlets will deal with Foreign Missions in the New Age, Home Missions in the New Age, the Church and the Community, the Teaching Of- fice of the Church, Next Steps in Christian Coop- eration, the Effect of the War on the Religious Thought of Women, and similar subjects. A comprehensive bibliography on the War and Religion has been in preparation for more than a 6 &” And the Religious Outlook year and is soon to be published. Some of the general subdivisions will indicate the scope of the work: General Literature on the Influence of the War upon Religion; Religion in the Army; Chris- tianity, War and Pacifism; the Nature and Func- tion of the Church in Light of the War; Christian Belief as Affected by the War; Christianity and Social Questions Emphasized by the War; Chris- tianity and International Questions; Christian Education in Light of the War. The critical annotations included in the bibliography will, it is hoped, make it of practical value to the minister as well as to libraries and theological seminaries. The Committee as at present constituted con- sists of the following persons: Mrs. Frep S. Bennett, President of the Women’s Council for Home Missions. Rev. Wititiam Apams Brown, Secretary of the General War-Time Commission of _ the Churches. Miss Maznet Crarty, Secretary of the National War Work Council of the Young Women’s Christian Association. Mr. Grorae W. Coteman, Chairman of the War Commission of the Northern Baptist Conven- tion. Rev. W. H. P. Fauncez, President of Brown University. Rev. Harry Emerson Fospick, Professor in the Union Theological Seminary. Rev. Cuartes W. Giixkey, Pastor of the Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago. Mr. Freperick Harris, of the Association Press. Proressor W. E. Hockine, Harvard University. Rev. Samuet G. Inman, Secretary of the Com- mittee on Cooperation in Latin America. Prorrssorn Cuarutes M. Jacoss, Vice-Chairman of the National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Welfare. Rev. Henry Cuurcuitt Kine, President of Oberlin College. Bisuop Water R. Lamsutru, Chairman of the War Work Commission of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South. 7 The Committee on the War and the Religious Outlook Bisuop Francis J. McConne.u, of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Rev. Cuarues S. Macraruanp, General Secre- tary of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. Rev. Witiiam Dovuaeias Mackenzie, President of the Hartford Theological Seminary. Rev. SHarrer Maruews, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Chicago. Dr. Joun R. Mort, General Secretary of the International Committee of the Y. M. C. A. Rev. E. Y. Muuuins, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Rev. Frank Mason Norru, President of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. Very ReEvEREND Howarp C. Rossins, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York. Dr. Ernest C. Ricuarpson, Librarian of Princeton University. Dr. Rosert E. Speerr, Chairman of the General War-Time Commission of the Churches. Rev. Anson Puetps Strokes, Secretary of Yale University. Rev. James I. Vance, Chairman of the General War Work Council of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Rev. Henry B. Wasusurn, Executive Secre- tary of the War Commission of the Episcopal Church. Miss Mary E. Woottey, President of Mount Holyoke College. Proressor Henry B. Wriaeut, Religious Work Directory, Army Yous Can) Professor William Adams Brown is Chairman of the Committee and President Henry Churchill King and Rev. Charles W. Gilkey, Vice-Chairmen. President King served as Chairman during the early stage of the Committee but was compelled to resign the chairmanship on account of pro- longed absence in Europe in the fulfilment of other important responsibilities. Rev. Samuel McCrea Cavert is serving as Secretary and Rev. Angus Dun as Associate Secretary. 8