Indiana University Student Religious Cabinet records, 1938-1951, bulk
1940-1948
A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Shannon K. Larson.
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University. Student Religious
Cabinet.
TitleIndiana University Student Religious
Cabinet records, 1938-1951, bulk
1940-1948
Collection No.
C430
Extent
.6 cubic feet (1 box)
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Student Religious Cabinet existed as
a student group at Indiana University from 1938 to at least 1951. The Student
Religious Cabinet’s purpose was to promote interest in religion, bring about
fellowship among students of diverse religious affiliations, and sponsor activities
meant to counteract religious and racial tensions. The collection contains meeting
notes and attendance records from 1938 to 1951 and publications including
The Voice of Religion on Indiana University Campus,
Communique, pamphlets from a
War-Time Victory for Brotherhood program held from 1943
until 1945, and the
Campus Home Front , another
student publication concerned with the war effort, published in 1943.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required.
Administrative History
The Student Religious Cabinet of Indiana University was a student organization
founded in October of 1938 in order to promote interest in religion and fellowship
among students of diverse religious affiliations. The group’s establishment came
about as a result of President Herman B Wells’ decision to found the University
Committee on Religion in December of 1937. The committee consisted of faculty
members, community religious leaders and students from four major religious groups:
Catholicism, Christian Science, Judaism and Protestantism. Frank O. Beck, the
original Executive Secretary for this committee was an active organizer and
participant in the Student Religious Cabinet, which was comprised of representatives
from all of the religious student organizations on campus. The purpose of the
Student Religious Cabinet echoed that of the University Committee on Religion. Both
groups wanted to support and bring about unification and collaboration between all
religious denominations represented on the Indiana University campus.
During the group’s existence between 1938 and 1951, the Student Religious Cabinet
sponsored a variety of activities with the purpose of dispelling not only religious,
but also racial tensions. Sponsored activities included but were not limited to
religious conferences and seminars, Sunday morning breakfasts, chapel colloquies,
peace rallies and efforts to support military troops during World War II.
In addition to sponsoring a variety of activities, the Student Religious Cabinet also
published a weekly publication called
The Voice of Religion
on Indiana University Campus
. This publication consisted mainly of event
announcements and a daily schedule of activities sponsored by the group. The Student
Religious Cabinet also began publishing
The Campus Home
Front
and
Communique when the United
States became involved with World War II. These publications focused on building
morale on campus and suggesting ways for students to get involved with wartime
activities.
During the war years, the S. R. C. centered most of its activities and meetings
around the war effort. For example, the group became involved with
A War-time Victory for Brotherhood Program, assisted the
Army and the Navy by compiling directories of religious organizations, and also
organized registration for military trainees who wished to become involved in a
religious organization during their training.
There are no records on the Student Religious Cabinet after 1951.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in a single series, Administrative files.
Scope and Content Note
The records of the Indiana University Student Religious Cabinet consist primarily of
meeting notes and publications for the group from 1938 to 1951.
Drafts of the meeting minutes exist from 1938 to 1950. Many of these notes were
formatted as reports to the University Committee on Religion. Minutes from the very
first meeting, which took place on October 2, 1938 are included. Some interesting
topics discussed by the group during these years included what attitude the Cabinet
should have toward cheating on exams, how to better include African American
students in the organization, as well as how to bolster morale during the United
States’ involvement in World War II. A few of the many activities sponsored by the
group included tea in the Union for the international students on campus, a refugee
student fund, a race relations conference, and the organization of a religious
program for military trainees during the summer of 1942. Another interesting event
that is mentioned in a meeting note from 1942 was in regards to a Dr. Hill who spoke
at a Convocation and Colloquy hosted by the Cabinet. According to one member of the
Cabinet, he was the first African American man to ever address a large gathering at
an Indiana University event.
A bound set of minutes covers 1940 to 1948. While the attendance sheets only span
October 1941 through the summer of 1943, around forty students are listed on each
roster. One topic of interest among these minutes include whether or not
Japanese-American students should be admitted to the university in the fall semester
of 1942. Herman B Wells was reportedly concerned with their safety, if allowed to
enroll. Also of interest is the inclusion of a pamphlet listing the war time
activities of the University Committee on Religion and the Student Religious
Cabinet, which was created at the request of the Indiana University War History
Project. Twenty-two activities are listed in this pamphlet. From writing letters to
mothers of IU students who had joined the war to conducting classes on the topics of
"The Issues of War and Peace," the Cabinet was
actively involved in attempting to inspire morale among university students during
the war.
Other materials of note include Student Religious Cabinet publications and programs.
The Voice of Religion on Indiana University
Campus
spans from September 1941 to January 1947 and includes two basic
sections: a list of upcoming events and a weekly schedule of colloquies, church
services, prayer groups, etc. Additionally, other publications such as
The Campus Home Front and
Communique centered around the war effort seeking to build morale among
students and announce opportunities for students to take part in study groups,
workshops and events. Noteworthy programs represented in the collection include
A War-time Victory for Brotherhood which consisted
of events over a month-long period "aimed to promote
understanding" of the war and its effects. These lectures, colloquies,
films and prayer meetings are categorized as being either "inter-racial,"
"inter-national," or "inter-religious."
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
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Related Material
See also the Frank O. and Daisy Beck papers,
Collection C168 .
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession Information: 0886
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Student Religious Cabinet records, Collection C430, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
These records were pulled from the Frank O. and Daisy Beck Papers collection
(C168).
Processing InformationProcessed by Shannon K. Larson.
Completed in 2011
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