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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1963)
Church MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON THURSDAY. JANUARY 31, 1961 Comf ereoce BlyepiTDimts ociol Stood By LOUIS CASSELS United Press International A blueprint lor bold action on racial problems has been laid betore America's church es and synagogues. If they take it seriously, organized religion will cease to be a "sleeping giant" and may become the most dynam ic force working for a de segregated society. Religion in America is a massive enterprise. Religious institutions own billions of dollars worth of real estate and other property. They operate schools, colleges, hos pitals, camps, welfare agen cies, orphanages, homes for the aged and recreation cen ters. They employ hundreds of thousands of people, from janitors to psychiatrists. They have vast sums of mon ey in pension and endowment funds to invest in the Amer ican economy. Have Influence Churches and synagogues also presumable have at least some degree of moral influ ence over their 116,000,000 members. For these reasons, it has long been obvious that organ ized religion is potentially a mighty factor in the struggle for racial justice. But the potential so far has been largely unrealized. By lhcir own public con fession, religious bodies have lagged far behind many areas of secular so ciety in eliminating racial barriers. And, partly be cause of their own deep in volvement in the practice of segregation, they have had relatively little influ ence on the formation of public attitudes toward ra cial problems. All of this has been said many times by many religious leaders. And each . time the confession has been accom panied by a wistful statement that "something ought to be done" to arouse the sleeping giant into action. Catholic Acts About a year ago, a Roman Catholic layman named Mathew Ahmann undertook to light a fire under organi zed religion. Ahmann is a slim, bespectacled man of 31, who serves as executive sec retary of the National Catho lic Conference on Interracial Justice. He does not look like the instigator of a revolu tion. But history may record that he started one of vast significance. Ahmann went to the top leaders of America's three great faiths - the National Council of Churches, the National Catholic Welfare Conference and the Syna gogue Council of America - and persuaded them to sponsor jointly a "Nation al Conference on Religion and Race." The conference, unprece dented in U. S. history both in its scope and in its inter faith sponsorship, met ;it Chicaao earlier this month (Jan. 14 - 17.) Seventy leading Protestant, Catholic and Jew ish organizations sent dele gates. Strange Sights Strange sights were seen during the four days that the 700 delegates spent in con ference at the Edgewatcr Beach Hotel. Walking through the lobby one day, this reporter saw a Negro nun in animated con versation Willi a bearded rab bi. A few yards away, a Southern Baptist minister and an Episcopal priest were lis tening attentively to a Roman Catholic bishop. After the preliminary speeches, the delegates split I up into 35 small work groups j to get down to the brass tacks of planning specific, concrete tilings that religious groups can do to combat racial dis crimination. Their recommendations -there are scores of them -are now being widely dissem inated to religious organiza tions, including local congre gations and affiliated clubs and societies in every com munity of America. They con stitute the blueprint for action. Attacks Race Problem I It cannot be expected tha all churches will act on the proposols. or that any par- j ticular congregation will try to tackle all of lhein. : But if even a small part of the blueprint is translated into action, there will be a radical change in the stance of organized reli gion on the racial problem. All of the proposals arc based on moral conviction which was unanimously voiced by the Protestant. Catholic and Jewish leaders in an "appeal to conscience" which they issued at the end of the conference: "Racial discrimination and prejudice are an insult to God, the giver of human dig nity and human rights." The conferees were also of one mind in the conviction that churches and svnaeoeues I cannot exert a constructive influence on society at large until they "clean their own house." The "action program" de veloped at the conference calls for the prompt elimina tion of racial barriers in all religious institutions, includ ing church - related hospitals, schools, welfare agencies and fraternal organizations. It is not enough, the confer ence said, for religious insti tutions to announce a "non discrimination policy " i n hiring. As employers, they should "set an example" for private business by "agres sively seeking" qualified Neg roes to serve on school facili ties, hospital staffs, denomin ational boards, the like. The conference also empha sized that integration of wor ship should not be a one-way street. Instead of waiting for Negro families to seek a wel come at all-while churches, white Christians might join Negro churches in some in stances. Other recommendations dealing with the "inner life" of churches and synagogues included: - There should Be far more hard-hitting sermons on prac tical racial problems. Seeks Information Religious education pro grams for children and adults should aim at the develop ment of an informed consci ence on racial matters. -More opportunities should be created for whites and Negroes to meet "on an equal status footing" and get ;o know one another as human beings. Youth groups particu larly should be exposed to in terracial associations under church auspices. -White and Negro churches in the same community should exchange ministers on some Sundays and even oc casionally "exchange congre gations." Looking beyond the realm of specifical religious activi ties to society at large, the conference recommended that churches and synagogues act, on a community-wide, inter faith basis, to promote belter housing and job opportunities for Negroes and other mem bers of minority groups. It was suggested specifical ly that religious groups: -Solicit "open occupancy" housing pledges throughout their communities. Service Centers -Establish "service centers" to "bring together buyers and sellers who arc willing to in tegrate their community." -Invest their pension, en dowment and other funds in interracial housing projects, or in private financial insti tutions which will agree to provide mortgage loans to minority groups on a non-discriminatory basis (Converse ly, it was suggested that church money never be in vested in financial insli- menl practices in their com-, ing and employment, niunity by demanding non- i Demand thai all federal discrimination clauses in all grants to schools, colleges contracts for church construe- , and hospitals be "conditioned tion and supplies. (Religious j on assurances of non-discrini-bodies spend more than SI inatory admissions policies." billion a year on construction : Extend Discipline member who flagrently and persistently practices racial discrimination alter the church has plainly labeled it a serious moral evil. T h c conference recom mendations are not binding on any denomination or local congregation. They are being passed along to churches and alone Refuse to accept land of fered tree as a church site bv a real estate developer tutions which use their lend- j w ho is know n to be planning ing powers lo perpetuate pal- ! a segregated community, terns of residential segrega- -Campaign on an interfaith llon basis for enactment of feder- L'sc their purchasing pow- al, state and local laws bail er lo promote fair employ-1 ning discrimination in lions- There was much discus sion at the conference about how far national de nominations or local con gregations should go in try ing to enforce "discipline" over church members in re gard to racial practices. Some delegates felt that churches should expel a Others felt thai churches , synagogues simply as practi i !,,. h......m m iv ahnui riis- i cal ideas for concrete action ! cipline, in other moral nril ters lhal it would be dilfi I cult for them lo crack down i on racial bigots. But there Plans have been iniui by religious people who have I a sore conscience on this stib ' ject. was a general consensus uiai ! nowever, to ioiiow up wic cou Ihe whole problem of disci-! ferenee with similar meetings pline deserves very cloe j on a regional and community siudv if churches expect to level. And interfaith commit- to implement the proposals. The cities are Chicago, At lanta, Detroit, New Orleans, ! San Francisco, Oakland, Pittsburgh. St. Louis, Scatilc j and San Antonio, Tex. j Conference leaders hope j that hundreds of other Anicri- can communities will follow their example. i If llicy do, the National , Conference on Religion and I Race may prove to be, as the ! Rev. 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