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'''Compulsory chapel''' is a phrase used in reference to a college or prep school. It refers to a requirement that students attend religious services regularly, as a condition of their continued enrollment.  

'''Compulsory chapel''' is a phrase used in reference to a college or prep school. It refers to a requirement that students attend religious services regularly, as a condition of their continued enrollment.  

Most of the famous older colleges and prep schools in the United States originated as Protestant institutions. They were modelled on British universities like Oxford and Cambridge, and the British "public schools" like Eton and Harrow, all of which were essentially insitutions of the Church of England. Six of the eight schools of the Ivy League—[[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[Yale University|Yale]], [[Princeton University|Princeton]], [[Columbia University|Columbia]], and [[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]] were unquestionably Protestant in nature. Through the middle of the 1800s, compulsory chapel was a given at most of these schools, as it was at the service academies ([[United States Military Academy at West Point|West Point]] and [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]]).  

Most of the famous older colleges and prep schools in the United States originated as Protestant institutions. They were modelled on British universities like Oxford and Cambridge, which were institutions of the Church of England. Six of the eight schools of the Ivy League—[[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[Yale University|Yale]], [[Princeton University|Princeton]], [[Columbia University|Columbia]], and [[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]] were unquestionably Protestant in nature. Through the middle of the 1800s, compulsory chapel was a given at most of these schools, as it was at the service academies ([[United States Military Academy at West Point|West Point]] and [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]]).  

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 began to be challenged. One after another, the Ivy League schools abolished compulsory chapel. 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 began to be challenged. One after another, the Ivy League schools abolished compulsory chapel. 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>