Changes

The American Civil War and the transcontinental railroad brought cultural change to the United States, and the [[Morrill Act]] sparked a wave of establishment of non-sectarian public universities. From about 1860 through the 1950s, compulsory chapel at the private Ivy League schools began to be challenged. One after another, they abolished it. Harvard was first. Under the presidency of Unitarian Charles W. Eliot&mdash;with the support the famous Episcopalian minister [[Phillips Brooks]]&mdash;Harvard abolished compulsory chapel in 1889.<ref>[http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511919 Harvard's Secularization], from The Harvard Crimson</ref><ref>[http://www.harvardmag.com/mj96/vita.html Vita: Phillips Brooks], The Harvard Magazine</ref> In the Ivy League, Princeton held on the longest, abolishing it in 1962.<ref>[http://etcweb.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/05/Companion/university_chapel.html?15 The University Chapel], Princeton website</ref>

The American Civil War and the transcontinental railroad brought cultural change to the United States, and the [[Morrill Act]] sparked a wave of establishment of non-sectarian public universities. From about 1860 through the 1950s, compulsory chapel at the private Ivy League schools began to be challenged. One after another, they abolished it. Harvard was first. Under the presidency of Unitarian Charles W. Eliot&mdash;with the support the famous Episcopalian minister [[Phillips Brooks]]&mdash;Harvard abolished compulsory chapel in 1889.<ref>[http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511919 Harvard's Secularization], from The Harvard Crimson</ref><ref>[http://www.harvardmag.com/mj96/vita.html Vita: Phillips Brooks], The Harvard Magazine</ref> In the Ivy League, Princeton held on the longest, abolishing it in 1962.<ref>[http://etcweb.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/05/Companion/university_chapel.html?15 The University Chapel], Princeton website</ref>

Compulsory chapel continued at the service academies through the early 1970s, when it was abolished as a result of court decisions: [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]] in 1972<ref>[http://www.usna.edu/VirtualTour/150years/1970.htm A Brief History of the United States Naval Academy], USNA website</ref>, the [[Air Force Academy]] in 1973

Compulsory chapel continued at the service academies through the early 1970s, when it was abolished as a result of court decisions: [[]] in 1972<ref>[http://www.usma.edu/bicentennial/history/1970.asp USMA Bicentennial History], USMA website</ref>, [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]] in 1972<ref>[http://www.usna.edu/VirtualTour/150years/1970.htm A Brief History of the United States Naval Academy], USNA website</ref>, the [[Air Force Academy]] in 1973<!--Ref?--->

Compulsory chapel continues to be common at smaller schools with strong ties to evangelical Protestant denominations.<ref>E.g. Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, according to Kyle Alspach, (2005), "What I Learned From Nazarene Life," ''The Boston Globe,'' July 31, 2005, Globe South p. 4</ref>

Compulsory chapel continues to be common at smaller schools with strong ties to evangelical Protestant denominations.<ref>E.g. Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, according to Kyle Alspach, (2005), "What I Learned From Nazarene Life," ''The Boston Globe,'' July 31, 2005, Globe South p. 4</ref>