Life — December 29, 1927 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contrasts religious practices across American history. The top left (labeled 1620) shows "Divine Worship in America"—early colonists in winter dress, presumably Pilgrims at prayer. The right image (1927) satirizes modern religious expression, depicting a woman in a scandalously short dress dancing beneath a banner reading "Salvation is Free / Come Across," with musicians and onlookers. The phrase "come across" carries sexual innuendo. The satire critiques how American religious practice had transformed from austere Puritan devotion to Jazz Age hedonism and commercialized religion. The woman's immodest clothing and dancing represent the perceived moral decay of the 1920s. The bottom illustration, "Saturday's Children," appears to be a separate humorous scene. The overall message: American morality has drastically declined in three centuries.