nce of social progress.

Live religion gives proof of its value by the sense of freedom, peace, and
elation which it creates. We feel we are right with the holy Power which
is behind, and beneath, and above all things. It gives a satisfying
interpretation of life and of our own place in it. It moves our aims
higher up, draws our fellow-men closer, and invigorates our will.

But our growth sets a problem for our religion. The religion of childhood
will not satisfy adolescent youth, and the religion of youth ought not to
satisfy a mature man or woman. Our soul must build statelier mansions for
itself. Religion must continue to answer all our present needs and inspire
all our present functions. A person who has failed to adjust his religion
to his growing powers and his intellectual horizon, has failed in one of
the most important functions of growth, just as if his cranium failed to
expand and to give room to his brain. Being microcephalous is a
misfortune, and nothing to boast of.

Precisely the same problem arises when society passes through eras of
growth. Religion must keep pace. The Church must pass the burning torch of
religious experience from age to age, transmitting the faith of the
fathers to the children, and not allowing any spiritual values to perish.
But it must allow and aid religion to adjust itself. Its inspiring
teaching must meet the new social problems so effectively that no evil can
last long or grow beyond remedy. In every new age religion must stand the
test of social efficiency. Is it passing that test in Western
civilization?

Religion is a bond of social coherence. It creates loyalty. But it may
teach loyalty to antiquated observances or a dwarfed system of truth. Have
you ever seen believers rallying around a lost cause in religion? Yet
these relics were once a live issue, and full of thrilling religious
vitality.

Society changes. Will religion change with it? If society passes from
agriculture and rural settlements to industry and urban conditions, can
the customary practices of religion remain unchanged? Give some instances
where prescientific conceptions of the universe, embodied in religion,
have blocked the spread of scientific knowledge among the people. The
caste distinctions of Hinduism were the product of a combination between
religion and the social organization of the people; can they last when
industrialism and democracy are pervading India? The clerical attitude of
authority w