World's First Sunday School

On This Day September 7 1785

By Khen Lim



Image source: communitybible.us

In the 1780s, the Industrial Revolution had made it necessary for children to be part of the hard labour force where they’d spend the whole week toiling in dirty factories but because Christian philanthropists were looking for ways to free these children from a life of illiteracy, efforts were made to limit their work hours to 12 a day! And it was not until 1844 that it was again lowered. In all that time, Sunday was the only day available for children to have some degree of education.

Robert Raikes (1725-1811), an English-Anglican evangelical was one of few who promoted the idea behind the Sunday School. By the nineteenth century, Sunday School had become popular. Even non-church-going parents were sending their children with an eye to education and they all looked forward to an annual event of prize-giving ceremonies, picnics and parades.

Religious education was a core component as the Bible was used as the text-book to learn to read and write from. Here, children learned by copying passages from the Scripture. Basic catechism was taught and so were praying and singing practices using hymns. Christian moral and spiritual values were taught and pupils who graduated from these schools inevitably becomes Sunday School teachers themselves, gaining leadership and skills not taught anywhere else. Even Marxist historians knew the value Sunday Schools brought to the working classes.

By the late 1870s, both Britain and America had introduced mandatory day schooling for children. However Sunday School persisted although by then, its curriculum had become more sharply focused on religious education. Even so, parents continued sending their children to regular Sunday Schools.

On that day of Sept 7 1785, the Prescott Street Baptist Church in London was a hive of activity. Baptist deacon William Fox had successfully implemented Britain’s first Sunday School, after being inspired by Raikes’ idea. It was Fox who wrote Raikes about his dream of an education plan, knowing that if the both joined hands, the idea could be fruitfully realised. In reply to his latter, Raikes wrote, “I am full of admiration at the great and noble design of the society you speak of forming. If it were possible that my poor abilities could be rendered in any degree useful to you, point out the subject, and you will find me not inactive.”

Raikes’ word was good. Together they embarked and the result was the first Sunday School Society for Britain. The significance of this Society cannot be overemphasised. Its value is incalculable, considering how it taught thousands who would otherwise have remained uneducated. Rules were set, textbooks were made available; so was funding. In the end, more than 4,000 Sunday Schools were founded.

Raikes employed four women to teach the children at the Sunday School and with the help of Rev Thomas Stock, one-hundred children from ages of six to fourteen enrolled. From 10am to 2pm with an hour in between for lunch, the children were taught to read. Good behaviour was an observable standard with prizes to recognise good effort.

If there is any measure of how significant Sunday School had become, consider that former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and novelist John Grisham were among its teachers.