Morality

In Feldman’s essay "Schools and Morals," he discusses how many Americans, especially pious ones, think that, without religion, one cannot have morals. As shown by Wright in "Black Boy," religion is not necessary to have a sense of morality. Wright is not religious, and yet he knows that stealing is wrong, that his actions can hurt others, that fighting another man is wrong. He learns what is right through experiences. There was a scene in Part One where young Wright takes soap in hand and writes curse words on his neighbor’s windows. His mother is flabbergasted and embarrassed by Wright’s recklessness and makes him wash off every word. Through this lesson, Wright begins to understand the power of words, and he learns to treat curse words with discretion.
"Schools and Morals" pondered the necessity of religion in school, and, I think, deemed it unnecessary. Feldman discusses how, in early American public schools, the King James Bible was standard reading, and children were encouraged to interpret the reading. This angered Catholics, who thought that the Bible should be taught as nonfiction and who thought that the King James Bible was a work of blasphemy. This led to the creation of private Catholic schools, although the process to such foundations was long and complicated. Over time, public schools were weaned off religion, leaving us the institutions we have now.
For a brief time, Wright goes to a religious school, and he finds the teaching dull and the teacher, his aunt, cruel. Wright also had a brief experience with organized religion when he attended a few church meetings. At one point, Wright is even baptized, although he feels nothing during or after the ceremony and ultimately abandons the whole notion of religion. And yet, Wright is not a morally corrupt character. He does steal, but this stealing helped save him from the South. He does not commit any atrocious crimes and is a relatively honest man. He lies to protect himself, but he honors the Golden Rule and treats others with respect, even Shorty, who hardly deserves it. Wright is an example of a man who is without religion and is still good. Wright, although not perfect, is a man whom Feldman would admire for showing fervent churchgoers that morality is possible without a hand on the Bible.