An Analysis of the Transition of Sunday School from Society-Based to Church-Based in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of Sunday School and the transition of the institution from a society-based program to a church-based program. Primary emphasis is given to Sunday School’s placement under church leadership and the change in purpose that impacted Sunday School’s functionality. Although there were many contributing factors for this transition, this thesis proposes that two—the rise in wide-spread mass education and the shift from paid to gratuitous teachers—are significant factors which contributed to the shift of Sunday School from society to the church. Religious education became one of the main purposes of Sunday School when it transitioned into the church.