Changes

By 1832 there were more than 8000 Sunday schools in the United States.  

By 1832 there were more than 8000 Sunday schools in the United States.  

As the relatively novel concept of [[Theology|theological]] [[pluralism]] also began to take hold about this same time in 1832, one of the biggest Sunday school unions, ''The Union'', decided to establish non-denominational Sunday schools in the "New West", the area of the Louisiana Purchase, as a [[missionary]] enterprise. Small communities would select a neutral place and Christians of many backgrounds would come together in what were called Union Schools. They decided to teach the Bible, because "the Bible unites", but catechisms divide. Because of this religious pluralism, Sunday school lessons focused on Bible stories rather than on doctrine, and on application rather than on interpretation. Publication of catechisms began to slow as a result. Sunday school students were often encouraged to memorize large portions of the Bible, earning prizes and incentives for doing so. This idea was dropped when it was realized that the students were more interested in the prizes than in God’s word!  

As the relatively novel concept of [[Theology|theological]] [[pluralism]] also began to take hold about this same time in 1832, one of the biggest Sunday school unions, ''The Union'', decided to establish non-denominational Sunday schools in the "New West", the area of the [[Louisiana Purchase]], as a [[missionary]] enterprise. Small communities would select a neutral place and Christians of many backgrounds would come together in what were called Union Schools. They decided to teach the Bible, because "the Bible unites", but catechisms divide. Because of this religious pluralism, Sunday school lessons focused on Bible stories rather than on doctrine, and on application rather than on interpretation. Publication of catechisms began to slow as a result. Sunday school students were often encouraged to memorize large portions of the Bible, earning prizes and incentives for doing so. This idea was dropped when it was realized that the students were more interested in the prizes than in God’s word!  

Most of the lay leadership of ''The Union'' was [[Presbyterian]], and non-Presbyterians—[[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], Methodists, [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], Baptists, [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]]—worried that the movement might be a plot to bring the western youth into Presbyterianism under the guise of a non-denominational movement.  

Most of the lay leadership of ''The Union'' was [[Presbyterian]], and non-Presbyterians—[[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], Methodists, [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], Baptists, [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]]—worried that the movement might be a plot to bring the western youth into Presbyterianism under the guise of a non-denominational movement.