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The Girl and Her Religion by Margaret Slattery
page 84 of 134 (62%)

_Some one_ must teach a girl the things about herself that she ought to
know. That some one is her mother. No one else can do it with the same
power. Neither church nor school can perform well the delicate task of
revealing life's secrets, and blundering is deadly. But church and
school and civic forces together can help the mother, can give her a
proper conception of her duty, give her the words to say, perhaps. The
school can teach morals and keep its own moral standards high; the
church can awaken the spiritual life of a girl and nurture it, that
knowledge and high ideals may work together to fortify and strengthen
her. The civic forces can see to it that the girl has the opportunity
for pure physical enjoyment, for mental stimulation and moral uplift.

What civic forces have been able to do through tuberculosis exhibitions
and child welfare exhibits, by showing parents the truth regarding the
importance of the physical care of their girls, furnishes encouragement
to go further. Good newspapers may speak to parents untouched by the
school and out of touch with the church and have done so. The majority
of parents when they see and believe will act.

There was a time, and not long since, when those engaged in teaching
religion were not concerned with the number of hours the girl worked,
the age at which she began, the sort of room in which she slept, the
amount of real food she had. And because they were not concerned they
lost her. Today a teacher cannot teach religion if she does not care
about life. She attempts it but she fails. Jesus astonished the Scribes,
Pharisees, Doctors of the Law and Priests of the Temple by His intense
interest in the physical needs of men. He took into account the _whole_
man and set body, mind and spirit free.

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