mshm340 Committee on Religion Records, 1958-1960 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Patricia J. Albright. Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
South Hadley, MA
© 2007

Mount Holyoke College. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Julie A. Singley. 2007-08-03 Finding aid written in English Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections Committee on Religion Records, 1958-1960 Finding Aid RG 3.3.7 Patricia J. Albright July 2007

© 2007 Mount Holyoke College. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Mount Holyoke College. Board of Trustees. Committee on Religion Committee on Religion Records 1958-1960 RG 3.3.7 LD 7082 A1 3 boxes (1.67 linear ft.) English Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
South Hadley, MA
The Committee on Religion was established in 1959 to examine the religious program at Mount Holyoke College, particularly the controversial requirement that all students regularly attend chapel services on campus. Records date from 1958-1960 and consist of minutes, reports, correspondence, statements, articles and other publications, memoranda, notes, and statistical studies. Historical Note

In 1958-1959 Mount Holyoke College students, faculty, administrators, and alumnae expressed concern through articles in the Mount Holyoke News and other means about the long-standing requirement that all students regularly attend chapel services on campus. In response, the Board of Trustees formed the Committee on Religion (sometimes known as the Committee on the Religious Program) in June, 1959. The Committee solicited opinions from students, faculty, administrators, alumnae, parents, staff at other colleges, ministers, and clergymen before submitting their report. On November 10, 1959 the Board of Trustees, citing overwhelming student opinion against the continuation of required chapel attendance and a feeling on the part of Board members that the policy was not achieving its purpose, voted to discontinue the practice. The Committee on Religion continued to exist until 1965, when it was replaced by the Board of Trustees Committee on Religion and Student Life.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Records of the Committee on Religion date from 1958-1960 and consist of minutes, reports, correspondence, statements, articles and other publications, memoranda, notes, and statistical studies. These materials document the development of the controversy over Mount Holyoke's required chapel attendance policy and the resulting review of that policy by the Committee. Records include correspondence from alumnae, students, parents, faculty, faculty and staff at other colleges, and ministers and clergymen. There are also notes from student conferences held in all dormitories in September, 1959 to discuss the compulsory chapel requirement and statistical information regarding the religious make-up of the College's student body at that time.

 Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

Unrestricted.

Use of the collection is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

 Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Mount Holyoke College. Board of Trustees. Committee on Religion Records, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA.

 History of the Collection

Processed by Patricia J. Albright, 2007. Peter Carini and Juliana Kuipers assisted with the arrangement and description of these records from 1999-2002.

 Search Terms Mount Holyoke College. Board of Trustees. Committee on Religion. Mount Holyoke College.--Administration. Mount Holyoke College--Records and correspondence. Mount Holyoke College--Students. Mount Holyoke College--Student life--1958-1959. Mount Holyoke College--Regulations. Women college students--Religious life--Massachusetts--South Hadley. Corporation records. Minutes. Reports.