"The Working of the Religious Element"

IN June 1951 the Trustees established the William Jewett Tucker Foundation "for the purpose of supporting and furthering the moral and spiritual work and influence of Dartmouth College." Since then there has been continuous and searching study of how this ideal should be carried into practice. Decisions have been made and a certain forward momentum established. This article will attempt to analyze the emerging pattern of thought and action in this vital area of Dartmouth's life.

I.

IT is clear at the outset that by the vote quoted above the Trustees were reemphasizing the College's traditional position that its concern is not "with what men shall do but with what men shall be" - that matters of character are of equal concern with those of intellectual and physical attainment.

Likewise, by naming the Foundation for Dr. Tucker they were, as they said in their minutes, recognizing that: "The name of William Jewett Tucker stands as a symbol of the spiritual life of Dartmouth College. Half a century ago, he expressed the ideals of the College, the ideals of its beginning, of its today and its tomorrow."

In view of this statement it is appropriate to consider Dr. Tucker's own words on the significance of spiritual values in a college education, delivered in his Inaugural Address at Dartmouth, June 26, 1893:

"But there is a clear difference in the method and in the result of intellectual training, as you strike at the beginning the religious note, or the note of utility, or the note of culture. In other words, the college differs widely from the technical school, and measurably from the university, in the provision which it allows and makes for the working of the religious element."

This statement takes on added pertinence in the light of specific decisions of the Trustees this past year in respect to implementing the purposes of the Tucker Foundation.

The first of these decisions, taken on the recommendation of the Committee Advisory to the Tucker Foundation, Francis L. Childs '06, chairman, is to bring to Hanover as leader of the Tucker Foundation "an ordained minister of unquestioned Christian character and spiritual power. He must also be a man learned in his own field, who will command the intellectual respect of his colleagues on the faculty and who will understand and uphold academic standards at all times. He must have breadth of outlook and the ability to appreciate varied points of view without compromising his own convictions. He must have imagination, and tact and graciousness in all his relations with others. He should be in the prime of life, mature and experienced, yet full of vigor."

To this man will be entrusted the primary responsibility for the "working of the religious element" within the life of the College. Professor Childs, who retired from active teaching last June and is now serving as Consultant to the President on Tucker Foundation affairs, is already active in a wide canvass of possible candidates. The search will be pushed vigorously in the months just ahead.

The second decision, likewise taken on recommendation of the Advisory Committee, is to renovate Rollins Chapel to the end that it may be a beautiful place of worship which will of itself symbolize the spiritual light and strength of the faith it serves.

A third decision underlines the other two, namely that final decisions on details of program, on the Chapel renovation and on possible future additions of physical facilities, will only be taken with the participation of the new man, so that his concepts may influence the next great forward phase of this work.

The significance of these facts is inescapable. The College is endeavoring to make manifest through the Tucker Foundation that one of the primary guiding principles of its life and work is a dynamic faith in God. Dr. Tucker's faith was the central fact of his life from which sprang the greatness and nobility of his thought and character. By naming the Foundation for him this same faith is made its motivating force. And the decision that the Chapel must be thoroughly renovated indicates the important place accorded to worship in this program.

It is equally apparent from the character of Dr. Tucker and from the qualities to be sought in the new man that the Foundation's approach to spiritual matters will be as broad as possible, bearing constant witness to a strong faith in God, yet encouraging each man to seek Him in his own way.

President Dickey stated this position in his Convocation Address of October 1, 1951 with beautiful simplicity:

"It is not the business of the College, and it is assuredly not my intention, to intrude on the established religious beliefs of any person. It must, I think, be left to each individual at all times to decide for himself where he stands on matters of faith. There is, however, the opportunity now as there always has been in the independent liberal arts college for men of sincerity to consider freely all subjects of human concern, and there must be room in this consideration for those who seek growth and strength through honest reexamination either of their beliefs or of their doubts.

"I have said that it is not the business of the College to intrude on established religious beliefs, but it is due you to say that it is the proper business and, indeed, the duty of the College to intrude on any student's indifference to the moral and spiritual ingredients of a good life."

It is apparent therefore that although a man may attend Dartmouth College with any religious belief he chooses or with none at all, if he so desires, he will never find it possible to conclude that the College considers matters of moral and spiritual strength unimportant or secondary in his development.

The reasons why these matters are of urgent concern not only for students but for colleges were well stated by President Pusey of Harvard:

"Freedom, education and religion. I have tried to suggest that freedom is the real goal of education but that it will not be won without an undergirding of religious experience. When the human mind and heart are brought together in a supporting relationship, when the whole person is lifted up and extricated not just from lack of knowledge, but also from lack of meaning, from limited purpose, from failure of concern, then, by whatever name we call it, religious experience is under way. Of this we have present need in the colleges. For only with this kind of awakening to God's purpose is there likely to be an enduring desire and the courage to stand for freedom, to work patiently against the recurrent restrictions both within and without universities that strive always in opposition to God to hold back the spirit of man."

II.

SINCE final decisions on an operating program for the Tucker Foundation will not be taken until the new leader can participate in them, it is impossible at this point to do more than suggest how this work may come into being and how it may influence the life of the College. Certainly it is conceived as being pervasive. Formal programs of worship, although natural and essential, will not in themselves suffice. To be successful the Foundation must ultimately come to have an impact, whether direct or indirect, on the daily living of the College and its men.

A positive concept of the Foundation's daily work can be found in Dr. Tucker's statements on the "working of the religious element":

"Religion justifies the traditions which give it place within the college, as it enforces the spirit of reverence and humility, as it furnishes the rational element to faith, as it informs duty with the sufficient motive and lends the sufficient inspiration to ideals of service, and as it subdues and consecrates personal ambition to the interests of the common humanity. The college fulfills an office which no man, I take it, will question, as it translates the original and constant religious impulse into terms of current thought and action, making itself a center of spiritual light, of generous activities, and above all, of a noble, intellectual, and religious charity."

As Dr. Tucker's high personal standards of thought and conduct set a tone which uplifted the entire College of his time, so it is hoped that the Foundation will reinforce the College of today. It is expected, for example, that the leader of Tucker Foundation will play a part in the counseling program of the College. In this capacity he can bring spiritual insight to bear directly on daily problems, assisting men to find in a better understanding of their relationship to God a surer answer to problems concerning themselves and their fellow men.

This same end may be served by new opportunities for men to participate in worship or by encouraging more students to take active roles in the local churches. The College can never create a church in the full sense of that word and therefore cannot provide more than a substitute for student participation in Hanover's churches. Thus one important phase of the Foundation's work will be close cooperation with the established institutions of the community.

The broad purpose can also be advanced by bringing distinguished speakers to Hanover, sometimes churchmen and sometimes laymen, to stimulate the interest and concern of students for moral and spiritual matters. This is already being done through the Union Service program, the DCU speakers program and in Great Issues. The final section of that course, entitled Values for the Modern Man, has brought to Hanover such men as Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, William Ernest Hocking, George N. Shuster and Charles P. Taft to help men relate themselves and the issues they have studied to questions of faith.

This past year the Foundation sponsored two lectures by Barbara Ward of the London Economist on "Moral Realities in the International Outlook." These lectures packed Webster Hall on successive nights, providing a good illustration of the opportunities to join faith and reason and of the existing interest in such matters.

The Advisory Committee has made its interest and influence felt in many areas of College life which might at first blush seem remote from its central purpose but which, on closer study, serve admirably to point the fact that the Foundation's work is broad and must be pervasive. Whatever bears upon or may uplift the moral and spiritual outlook of Dartmouth men will be its constant and proper concern.

III.

THE current state of campus religious activity offers much upon which the Tucker Foundation will build. Leadership of a high order has been given by the Reverend Roy B. Chamberlin, Director of Chapel, by Professor Fred Berthold '45, in whose courses in Religion over 500 students were enrolled last semester, and by the Reverend George H. Kalbfleisch, graduate secretary of the Dartmouth Christian Union, whose direction has helped make that organization of over 600 students a model to which many other colleges are turning for guidance.

Of equal or greater importance is the awakening interest of the students themselves in these matters. The numbers taking formal courses in religion and enrolled in the DCU have been mentioned and they are striking. Other evidences can be found in the considerable and growing numbers who regularly attend the services in the local churches and still more by the numbers who are active participants in the life of those churches. Students frequently assist in the conduct of worship at St. Thomas and have their own Student Vestry. At the White Church students usher regularly, teach Sunday School and lead the Pilgrim Fellowship program for young people.

The new orientation course, "The Individual and the College," required of all freshmen devotes a section to spiritual matters and this is due in no small measure to the interest of students who helped plan the course and to the influence of the Advisory Committee to the Tucker Foundation.

Organized campus activities of a religious nature show a real vitality. Daily chapel services are largely under student direction through a Chapel Council. Professor Chamberlin heads the Council on which two other staff members serve together with six students. This group is responsible for the leadership and content of the programs, and their standards are exacting. During the past year they extended chapel services to Saturday morning in addition to the regular Monday to Friday schedule, and were successful in enlisting participation of many student leaders.

This past year a Chapel program of musical and meditative vespers was introduced. The traditional program of Union Services, held six times during the college year in conjunction with the White Church and St. Thomas, was strengthened by the cooperation of the Advisory Committee in helping to select guest ministers with particular appeal to students.

The most widespread phase of the organized program is the DCU which operates a number of highly diversified activities. In the purely religious field they hold themselves responsible for supplying a portion of the Chapel leadership each week, and maintain a regular pulpit supply service for rural churches which have no regular minister. If desired they will send a whole team competent to run a square dance on Saturday night, teach Sunday School, conduct worship, and provide a choir for Sunday morning, and lead discussion groups in the afternoon or evening.

Relief and service work is another aspect of the DCU program and involves regular visitations to the Veterans Hospital in White River, work teams to help sick or aged people in surrounding towns, and such activities as collecting clothes and other necessities for relief work in this country and abroad.

On Sunday evenings they frequently sponsor discussion groups or speakers in their new and enlarged quarters in College Hall. They participate regularly in such intercollegiate efforts as the Student Christian Movement. Locally they render a useful service to students by conducting a Book Exchange for used textbooks.

Student leadership in the DCU is of a high quality, as is evidenced by this year's president, Lou Turner, an honor student at Thayer School and captain of the football team.

The three local churches, and smaller denominations without church buildings, are more active in student work than at any time in recent memory. Under the leadership of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, the Catholic Church appointed Father William Nolan to be Chaplain to Catholic Students at Dartmouth College and purchased a house on Choate Road which has been completely renovated to serve as a church-sponsored center for Catholic student activity.

The Rector of St. Thomas Church has an assistant for the specific purpose of extending the church's work with students and the White Church is actively involved in plans to strengthen its student ministry.

The Jewish Religious Life Council, a part of the DCU, provides Sabbath services for Jewish students. The local Christian Science Society numbers students among its officers, Sunday School teachers and ushers, and there is a student Christian Science group on campus which meets regularly. A group of Lutheran students maintains a fairly regular program with the help of an interested faculty member.

Another significant present element of strength of great importance is alumni interest which lends important encouragement to many aspects of this work. Their support has been manifested in different ways including twelve voluntary gifts totaling $38,000 for Tucker Foundation endowment, supplementing the $120,000 transferred to the Foundation by the Trustees from the endowment of the old Tucker Fund. These funds do not produce the income required to maintain the present program, but they are an eloquent testimonial to the faith of these men in the College and in what the development of the Tucker Foundation concept can mean in the long future of Dartmouth. In the months just ahead the College will be seeking additional gifts to support this work. At least $500,000 is needed to move forward surely and strongly. The help of all who believe deeply in the importance of this Foundation to the College will be welcome.

IV.

ALL these factors indicate that conditions exist within the contemporary College and the alumni body around which the Tucker Foundation concept can grow and flourish. The decisions taken by the Trustees, and the continuing work of the Advisory Committee indicate that the necessary sense of direction is present and that the requisite leadership will be forthcoming. When these factors are combined there is every reason to believe that a force will be generated in the College which will preserve that "rightmindedness" of which Dr. Tucker spoke when he said:

"The most dangerous thing about education, that which every educator fears most, is the perversion of power ... the danger is imminent all through the process of education, increasing perhaps to the last. So that the emphasis falls increasingly upon rightmindedness. How to keep the advancing mind free from conceit and arrogance, humble enough to do its best work; how to keep the mind sane and reasonable under the incentives to narrowness, or prejudice, or strife; how to keep the mind free from the dominion of the low and sordid desires of avarice and greed, or the vulgar passion of vanity as expressed in the craving after money for display, or from the higher and more subtle ambitions which point the way to a refined selfishness; how to keep the mind, not the heart alone, accessible to the wants of humanity; how to keep the mind unclouded for the open vision of God"

President William Jewett Tucker

An imaginative sketch of Eleazar Wheelockleading one of the first college services.