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. "Godless Harvard"<ref>An epithet first levelled by [[George Whitefield]] c. 1740</ref> 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. "Godless Harvard"<ref>An epithet first levelled by [[George Whitefield]] c. 1740</ref> 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 pursuant to court decisions, by [[United States Military Academy at West Point|West Point]] 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 continued at the service academies through the early 1970s, when it was abolished pursuant to court decisions, by [[United States Military Academy at West Point|West Point]] 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>, and 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>