religious field. However, the ones who spurn old stereotypes most vehemently are usually those busiest inventing new ones. Few, if any, modern religious groups seem to have succeeded in eliminating the stifling atmosphere of formalism. The tendency of the human mind to seek solace in fixed images or patterns of thought is a formidable In its proper place among the worldly institution s necessary to society, this tendency is desirable and useful. But in the religious sphere it must be avoided at all costs as the primary barrier to spiritual and intellectual freedom, and therefore to true worship.

Religious ideals have the necessary objective of spreading good to others. But this latter But this latter the end product of religious practice is very often taken by itself to constitute the whole of religion. There can be no more certain formula for misdirected charity. So long as our religious concepts fail to include a rational, reason ed outlook upon the world and ourselves, and upon scientific and social knowledge as presently developed, we are sure to fumble badly in applying to our fellow-man the truths and the convictions which are associated with religious experience. If 'faith without works is dead,' it is equally true that works without faith is blind, and that faith without knowledge is blinder still.

In religious matters, we are still very weak on the thinking end of the scale. As a start to correcting this situation, there are many questions which should be asked, and answered, and the answers understood. What are the basic assumptions of our most advanced religious thought? How is the individual, in the various phases of his life, related to these assumptions? How far can we trust our present records of the world's religious leadership in reflecting the true meaning and essence of this leadership? What could be done to clarify these records and to bring them, and modern derived knowledge, into the necessary harmony of thought? How do religious truths bear upon individual thought and conduct, and how may they best be reflected in the social laws and processes of justice which regulate this conduct? Finally, how may these same truths be translated fully into terms of the practical activities of modern society, so that we may obtain their full benefits in our social life?

These are some of the major questions which would confront any group of minds seriously interested in bringing religious ideas into complete social manifestation. The need for this has surely not been greater than at the present time.

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