Howard University has a wide range of electives covering a large scope of religious subjects which are offered in the School of Religion. They are New Testament and Old Testament introduction courses, Comparative Religion, Church History, Hebrew, Missions, the Teachings of Jesus, the Teachings of Paul, and New Testament biographical courses. Wilberforce has a similar condition. They allow New Testament Greek, Hebrew, Social Service courses, the Life of Christ and the Life of Paul to count toward the Bachelor of Arts Degree. These courses, however, are all given in Payne Theological Seminary which is a part of the Wilberforce system.
Morehouse College has a combination of the elective and prescribed system relative to the Bible. The English Bible is required in the Freshman year but elective in all of the other years. The following will show the courses in religion which are offered in Negro colleges and will designate the number of institutions offering the several courses as well as whether they are elective or prescribed.
1. English Bible 3 36 2. Philosophy of Religion 1 1 3. New Testament Greek 3 4. Hebrew 2 5. The Principles of Religious Education 2 6. The Methods and Organization of R. E. 2 7. Social Ethics 4 10 8. Social Service 7 3 9. Comparative Religion 2 1 10. Hebrew History 5 11. New Testament History 1 12. Church History 2 2 13. Christian Evidences 6 14. Missions 2 15. New Testament Introduction 1 16. Old Testament Introduction 1 17. Sunday School Teacher Training 20 1 18. Teachings of Jesus 1 19. Teachings of Paul 1 20. Life of Jesus 1 21. Life of Paul 1 ___ ___ 18 10
Thus it is seen that the colleges under investigation offer 18 courses for the religious education of those who come under their supervision and prescribe 10 courses for the same purpose.
What is the number enrolled in these curriculum courses? In the 38 private institutions for Negroes of college rank, which come under our observation, there were enrolled for the scholastic year 1916-1917 college students numbering 1,952. The numbers in the several colleges run from 558 to 6. It is interesting to observe that over one-half of that number was registered in four universities as follows: Howard University, 558; Wilberforce University, 202; Fisk University, 208; and Lincoln University, 163. The total is 1,131. Of the remaining 821 Negro college students over fifty per cent of them were distributed as follows among these eight institutions: Talladega College, 66; Virginia Union University, 66; Morehouse College, 65; Benedict College, 60; Bishop College, 60; Atlanta University, 59; Shaw University, 49; and Biddle University, 40. The total is 465. In these twelve colleges and universities we have 1,596 students or over 75 per cent of the total for all of the 38 institutions.