Life, 1925-04-30 · page 14 of 42
Life — April 30, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces the winning answer to *Life* magazine's "Question Contest" about whether religion belongs "on the wane." The winning answer by R.S. Underwood (Auburn, Alabama) argues that religion—associated with outdated authority, papal infallibility, and dogmatism—should decline. The answer contrasts "old-time" religious rigidity with modern values like sympathy and spiritual growth, claiming sincere faith is incompatible with religious institutions. The cartoon below depicts a domestic scene: Mr. Rabbit hurrying home, apologizing for lateness to his family while referencing having listened to children's prayers and kissed them goodnight—a gentle satire on how religious observance operates within family life and domestic routines. The humor lies in the mundane, habitual nature of religious practice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
' LIFE » Lire’s Question Contest Announcing the Winning Answer to Question Number Ten: “Is Religion on the Wane?” Tue Prize oF $50.00 1s AWARDED To: R. S. Underwood Auburn, Alabama For the following answer : I the “old-time” religion of authority, of “infallible” popes and “in- fallible” books and solemn assertions of the absurdly improbable,—if this be religion, and all there is of it, then most assuredly it is on the wane. It has been weakening since the palmy days of the Inquisition, when “funda- mentalism” held its bludgeon triumphantly poised to crack the heads of incautious thinkers, But,—if religion is associated in any way with the sympathy for human suffering which brings increasing floods of help to the victims of disaster ; if it means reverent acknowledgment of unseen forces in the universe like those of which the radio hints; if it means the growth in man of spiritual qualities which lift him above the brute that he was and make him too fine to do the things that he used to do, then the answer is a resounding “No!” In spite of war, and vice, and “back-sliding,” kindness in the world is gaining on cruelty. In spite of the destruction of religious dead-wood by higher critics, there are growing ranks of sincere Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Mohammedan modernists who face a universe too orderly and too wonder-filled to have been accidental. “VLL BE WITH YOU IN A JIFFY—JUST AS SOON AS 1' AND KISSED THEM GOOD NIGHT.” Honorable Mentions 0. Religion has outgrown the Church, for it refuses to open its door wide enough. The Church petulantly shouts, “Believe, Conform, and Obey, or I will condemn you.” Religion cries out, “Act and Do,” and it is done. Religion was in the butt of the last cigarette that passed from Frenchy to Yank, and Yank to Fritz on those hos- pital cots Over There. Religion leaped from the eyes of mil lions who watched the papers as they told of Floyd Collins. Millions prayed and bowed reverently to a God when it was done. Religion is in the dime you give to the “down and outer” for coffee and rolls. Religion is in the tired body you urge homeward to the wife and children when the shop whistle blows. Religion is in your receipts that say, “Paid in Full.” Religion is in the dollar you give to keep “Bill” on his feet. (Continued on page 34) > ecaclls ata E LATE NOW. ED TO THE CHILDREN’S PRAYERS comicbooks.com