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→19th century: 1830 Baptist opposition to Sunday Schools
The first ''national'' Sunday School effort began in America during this period. The American Sunday School Union, a cross-denominational national organization founded in [[Philadelphia]] in 1824, published curricular materials and children's books that were used in many Sunday Schools in that day; its stated purpose was to organize, evangelize and civilize. The focus was intentionally [[Evangelical Christians|evangelical]], and so within the next 100 years the Sunday School had become the primary outreach arm of the Protestant churches.
The first ''national'' Sunday School effort began in America during this period. The American Sunday School Union, a cross-denominational national organization founded in [[Philadelphia]] in 1824, published curricular materials and children's books that were used in many Sunday Schools in that day; its stated purpose was to organize, evangelize and civilize. The focus was intentionally [[Evangelical Christians|evangelical]], and so within the next 100 years the Sunday School had become the primary outreach arm of the Protestant churches.
In 1830, a [[Baptist]] Association in the state of Illinois passed a resolution which said, in part, "We as an Association do not hesitate to say that we declare an ''unfellowship'' with Foreign and Domestic Mission and Bible Societies, Sunday Schools, and all other Missionary Institutions." Since these had become independent efforts to do the work of the Lord, this raised significant concerns in many of the more fundamentalist groups, a concern that the church itself was being supplanted by a human institution. Therefore, these various efforts, among which was the Sunday School, were perceived by some to be an attack against the church itself, and thus the work of ''[[Satan]]''.
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.