nsists that it is an outrage to tax
him to support a school where the teacher simply teaches what he
knows. And yet this same Catholic wants his church exempted from
taxation, and the tax of an Atheist or of a Jew increased, when he
teaches in his untaxed church that the Atheist and Jew will both
be eternally damned! Is it possible for impudence to go further?

I insist that no religion should be taught in any school supported
by public money; and by religion I mean superstition. Only that
should be taught in a school that somebody can learn and that
somebody can know. In my judgment, every church should be taxed
precisely the same as other property. The church may claim that
it is one of the instruments of civilization and therefore should
be exempt. If you exempt that which is useful, you exempt every
trade and every profession. In my judgment, theatres have done
more to civilize mankind than churches; that is to say, theatres
have done something to civilize mankind--churches nothing. The
effect of all superstition has been to render men barbarous. I do
not believe in the civilizing effects of falsehood.

There was a time when ministers were supposed to be in the employ
of God, and it was thought that God selected them with great care
--that their profession had something sacred about it. These ideas
are no longer entertained by sensible people. Ministers should be
paid like other professional men, and those who like their preaching
should pay for the preach. They should depend, as actors do, upon
their popularity, upon the amount of sense, or nonsense, that they
have for sale. They should depend upon the market like other
people, and if people do not want to hear sermons badly enough to
build churches and pay for them, and pay the taxes on them, and
hire the preacher, let the money be diverted to some other use.
The pulpit should no longer be a pauper. I do not believe in
carrying on any business with the contribution box. All the
sectarian institutions ought to support themselves. These should
be no Methodist or Catholic or Presbyterian hospitals or orphan
asylums. All these should be supported by the State. There is no
such thing as Catholic charity, or Methodist charity. Charity
belongs to humanity, not to any particular form of faith or religion.
You will find as charitable people who never heard of religion, as
you can find in the church. The State should provide for those
who ought to be