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ASunday school, known as aSabbath school in somesabbatarianChristian denominations, is aneducational institution or weekly activity in a place of worship, usuallyChristian in character and often intended for children orneophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sundaychurch service and are used to providecatechesis to Christians, especially children and teenagers, and sometimes adults as well. Churches of manyChristian denominations have classrooms attached to thechurch used for this purpose. Many Sunday school classes operate on a set curriculum, with some teaching attendees acatechism. Members often receive certificates and awards for participation, as well as attendance.
Sunday school classes may provide a light breakfast. On days whenHoly Communion is being celebrated, however, some Christian denominations encouragefasting before receiving the Eucharistic elements.[1]
Sunday schools in Europe began with the Catholic Church'sConfraternity of Christian Doctrine, founded in the 16th century by the archbishopCharles Borromeo to teach young Italian children the faith.[2]
Protestant Sunday schools were first set up in the 18th century in England to provide education to working children.[3] William King started a Sunday school in 1751 inDursley, Gloucestershire.Robert Raikes, editor of theGloucester Journal, started a similar one inGloucester in 1781.[4] He wrote an article in his journal, and as a result many clergymen supported schools, which aimed to teach the youngsters reading, writing, cyphering (doing arithmetic) and a knowledge of the Bible.[5]
TheSunday School Society was founded byBaptistdeaconWilliam Fox on 7 September 1785 in Prescott Street Baptist Church of London.[6] The latter had been touched by articles of Raikes, on the problems of youth crime.[7] Pastor Thomas Stock and Raikes have thus registered a hundred children from six to fourteen years old. The society has published its textbooks and brought together nearly 4,000 Sunday schools.[8]
In 1785, 250,000 English children were attending Sunday school.[9] There were 5,000 inManchester alone. By 1835, theSunday School Society had distributed 91,915 spelling books, 24,232 New Testaments and 5,360 Bibles.[3] The Sunday school movement was cross-denominational. Financed through subscription, large buildings were constructed that could host public lectures as well as provide classrooms. Adults would attend the same classes as theinfants, as each was instructed in basic reading. In some towns, theMethodists withdrew from the large Sunday school and built their own. TheAnglicans set up their National schools that would act as Sunday schools and day schools.[3] These schools were the precursors to a national system of education.[5]
The educational role of the Sunday schools ended with theEducation Act 1870,[5] which provided universal elementary education. In the 1920s they also promoted sports, and ran Sunday school leagues. They became social centres hosting amateur dramatics and concert parties.[3] By the 1960s, the termSunday school could refer to the building and rarely to the activities inside. By the 1970s even thelargest Sunday school had been demolished. The locution today chiefly refers to catechism classes for children and adults that occur before the start of a church service. In certain Christian traditions, in certain grades, for example the second grade or eighth grade, Sunday school classes may prepare youth to undergo a rite such asFirst Communion orConfirmation. The doctrine ofSunday Sabbatarianism, held by many Christian denominations, encourages practices such as Sunday school attendance, as it teaches that the entirety of the Lord's Day should be devoted to God; as such many children and teenagers often return to the church in the late afternoon foryouth group before attending an evening service of worship.
The first recorded Protestant Sunday school opened in 1751 inSt Mary's Church, Nottingham.[10]Hannah Ball made another early start, founding a school inHigh Wycombe,Buckinghamshire, in 1769.[11] However, the pioneer of Sunday schools is commonly said to beRobert Raikes,[12] editor of theGloucester Journal, who in 1781, after prompting from William King (who was running a Sunday School inDursley), recognised the need of children living in the Gloucester slums; the need also to prevent them from taking up crime.[13] He opened a school in the home of a Mrs Meredith, operating it on a Sunday – the only day that the boys and girls working in the factories could attend. Using the Bible as their textbook, the children learned to read and write.[9]
In 18th-century England, education was largely reserved for a wealthy, male minority and wasnot compulsory. The wealthy educated their children privately at home, with hiredgovernesses or tutors for younger children. The town-based middle class may have sent their sons togrammar schools, while daughters were left to learn what they could from their mothers or from their fathers' libraries.[14] The children of factory workers and farm labourers received no formal education, and typically worked alongside their parents six days a week, sometimes for more than 13 hours a day.[15]
By 1785 over 250,000 children throughout England attended schools on Sundays.[9] In 1784 many new schools opened, including the interdenominationalStockport Sunday School, which financed and constructed a school for 5,000 scholars in 1805. In the late-19th century this was accepted[by whom?] as being the largest in the world. By 1831 it was reported that attendance at Sunday schools had grown to 1.2 million.[9][16]
The first Sunday school in London opened atSurrey Chapel, Southwark, underRowland Hill. By 1831 1,250,000 children in Great Britain, or about 25 per cent of the eligible population, attended Sunday schools weekly. The schools provided basic lessons in literacy alongside religious instruction.[17]
In 1833, "for the unification and progress of the work of religious education among the young", theUnitarians founded their Sunday School Association, as "junior partner" to theBritish and Foreign Unitarian Association, with which it eventually set up offices atEssex Hall inCentral London.[18]
The work of Sunday schools in the industrial cities was increasingly supplemented by "ragged schools" (charitable provision for the industrial poor), and eventually by publicly funded education under the terms of theElementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75). Sunday schools continued alongside such increasing educational provision, and new forms also developed, such as theSocialist Sunday Schools movement, which began in the United Kingdom in 1886.[19]
The development of Sunday schools in Ireland was significantly influenced by the efforts of the Reverend Dr. Kennedy, who served ascurate in the parish ofBright, County Down. He established his Sunday school programme in 1770 beforeRobert Raikes organised his Sunday-schools ten years later in July, 1780.[20] Concerned by the widespread neglect of Sunday observance among local youth, Dr. Kennedy initiated gatherings focused on singing practice. This initiative proved successful and was subsequently expanded to include the reading ofPsalms andscripture lessons.[21]
By late 1785, Dr. Kennedy became aware of similar educational movements in England aimed at establishing Sunday schools. Recognizing that his own initiative aligned with these efforts, he collaborated with local associates to adopt a more structured and comprehensive approach modelled on the English system. During the winter months, they disseminated information about the concept and secured financial support from interested parties.[21]
Following these preparations, the Bright Sunday School was formally inaugurated on the first Sunday of May 1786. Robert Henry, Esq., was appointed superintendent, with members of his family and other respected individuals serving as instructors. Thomas Turr, the parish clerk, also contributed to the school's operations as needed.[21]
In 1787, a correspondent writing in Robert Raikes’ newspaper reported that the Bishops ofCloyne andClonfert had established Sunday schools within their dioceses. These initiatives yielded such evident results that the governing authorities of Ireland resolved to propose to the [Parliament of Ireland] a national education plan aimed at extending educational opportunities to the poorest segments of society.
Further institutional support emerged in 1805 when theIrish Methodist Conference passed resolutions advocating for the establishment of Sunday schools in every circuit. This endorsement facilitated the rapid expansion of the system throughout the country. As the movement grew, the demand for educational materials became increasingly pressing. However, theSunday School Society inLondon was unable to provide adequate assistance, highlighting the need for a local organization to manage resources and support. This led to the founding of the Hibernian Sunday School Society, which played a pivotal role in sustaining and expanding Sunday school education in Ireland.
Daniel Delany, Roman Catholic priest also started a school in 1777 inTullow, County Carlow.[22] He set up a complex system which involved timetables, lesson plans, streaming, and various teaching activities.[23] This system spread to other parishes in the diocese. By 1787 in Tullow alone there were 700 students, boys and girls, men and women, and 80 teachers. The primary intent of this Sunday school system was the teaching of the Catholic catechism and articles of faith; the teaching of reading and writing became necessary to assist in this. With the coming of Catholic Emancipation in Ireland (1829) and the establishment of theNational Schools system (1831), which meant that the Catholic faith could be taught in school, the Catholic Sunday school system became unnecessary.
TheChurch of Ireland Sunday School Society was founded by the established Anglican Protestant church in 1809.[24] The Sabbath School Society of thePresbyterian Church in Ireland was founded in 1862.[25]
The concept of Sunday school in Sweden started in the early to mid-1800s, initially facing some backlash, before becoming more mainstream, as it was often intertwined with the growth (and eventual legalization) offree churches. The first documented Sunday school was started in 1826 in Snavlunda parish,Örebro County, by priest Ringzelli, and was still active during the time of Pastor Lennart Sickeldal in the 1950s.[26] Ringzelli was also an early organizer of school meals for students who lived far from the school or were from poor families.[27]
Carl Ludvig Tellström, later missionary to theSámi people, made another early attempt to start a Sunday school around 1834.[28] While in Stockholm, he was converted byGeorge Scott, an influential ScottishWesleyan Methodist preacher who worked in Sweden from 1830 to 1842 and was controversial due to his preaching in violation of theConventicle Act.[29] Within theChurch of Sweden, however, based on the format of Methodist Sunday schools, he started several inFlykälen,Föllinge, Ottsjön,Storå, and Tuvattnet.[30]
Later,Mathilda Foy founded an early Sunday school in 1843–1844. Influenced byPietisticrevivalist preachers such as Scott, and particularlyCarl Olof Rosenius, Foy found herself part of theläsare (Reader) movement. Always engaged in charitable work, she started a Sunday school not long after her spiritual awakening. However, it was soon closed due to the protests of clergy, who considered it "Methodist".[31][32] Another attempt by Augusta Norstedt was noted around the same time.[28]
Sometime between 1848 and 1856, educator and preacherAmelie von Braun, also part of the revivalist awakening movement, started a Sunday school primarily teaching children Bible stories. She worked within the state church. Her Sunday school was supported byPeter Fjellstedt and grew quickly, with 250 students noted in 1853.[33]
Around 1851, Sunday schools were established by Foy's friendsBetty Ehrenborg (1818–1880) andPer Palmqvist (1815–1887), brother of Swedish Baptist pioneersJohannes andGustaf Palmquist.[34] That year, Ehrenborg and the brothers traveled to London.[28] The brothers, at least, reconnected with Scott, whom they knew from Sweden. In England, they studied the Methodists' Sunday schools and teaching methods, impressed by the number of students and teachers. There were over 250 children and 20 to 30 teachers;[35] classes were taught by laypeople and included literacy training in addition to Bible lessons, singing, and prayer.[36]
Upon Palmqvist's return to Sweden, he invited 25 local poor children and founded the first Baptist Sunday school; the same year, Ehrenborg began a Sunday school as well, with 13 mostly Baptist and free-church students.[36][34][37] Palmqvist was given £5 in financial support by the London Sunday School Association and used the money to travel toNorrland, home of a significant revival movement, to spread the idea of Sunday school there.[38] The first Sunday school association in Sweden, Stockholms Lutherska Söndagsskolförening, was started in 1868.[39][37] However, even despite the abolition of the Conventicle Act in 1858 and increasing religious freedom, there were still challenges: Palmqvist was reported to theStockholm City Court by a priest in 1870 for teaching children who did not belong to his congregation, but was later acquitted.[39]
In Stockholm alone, there were 29 Sunday schools by 1871.[37] By 1915 there were 6,518 Sunday schools in the country among a number of denominations, with 23,058 officers and teachers and 317,648 students.[28]
The first Sunday schools in Finland were run by theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, with the first one founded in 1807. They were often for those who had not become literate. As a form of schooling, they were recommended by the state in 1853. Some Sunday schools gave vocational training in the trades; after 1858 they were also preparatory schools for further education held during the week.[40][41] However, Sunday schools did not catch on until the later growth of free churches in the country as well as the establishment of public schooling, at which point they became a form of children's religious education.[37] One of the earliest free-church Sunday schools was founded by sisters Netta andAnna Heikel inJakobstad in the 1860s. More Sunday schools were soon founded in the 1870s and 1880s: inVaasa – including by the local Lutheran parish, inKotka,Turku,Åland,Helsinki,Ekenäs,Hanko, and other cities.[42][43]
The first organized and documented Sunday school in the United States was founded inEphrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, by an immigrant from Germany, Ludwig Höcker, the son of a well-respected and influential Reformed Church Pastor and teacher in Westerwald. Ludwig immigrated in the 1730s and joined theSabbatarianEphrata Cloister in 1739, where he soon created the Sunday school for the impoverished children of the area, and published, on the Ephrata Press, a full textbook.[44]Rev. Ira Lee Cottrell writes:"It is especially interesting to us to know that a Seventh Day Baptist Sabbath school was organized about 1740, forty years before Robert Raikes Sunday-school. ThisSabbath school was organized at Ephrata, Pa., by Ludwig Hocker among theSeventh Day Baptist Germans, and continued until 1777, when their room with others was given up for hospital purposes after the battle of Brandywine…".
In New England a Sunday school system was first begun bySamuel Slater in his textile mills in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in the 1790s.[45]
In the mid-1860s philanthropistLewis Miller was the inventor of the "Akron Plan" for Sunday schools. It was a building layout with a central assembly hall surrounded by small classrooms, conceived with Methodist ministerJohn Heyl Vincent and architectJacob Snyder. It was soon widely copied.[46]
John Heyl Vincent collaborated with Baptist layman B. F. Jacobs, who devised a system in the 1870s to encourage Sunday school work, and a committee was established to provide the International Uniform Lesson Curriculum, also known as the "Uniform Lesson Plan". By the 1800s 80% of all new members were introduced to the church through Sunday school.[47]
In 1874, interested in improving the training of Sunday school teachers for the Uniform Lesson Plan, Miller and Vincent worked together again to found what is now theChautauqua Institution on the shores ofChautauqua Lake, New York.
Increasingly the public elementary schools were handling literacy. In response the Sunday schools switched to an emphasis on Bible stories, hymn singing, and memorizing Biblical passages. The main goal was encouraging the conversion experience that was so important to evangelicals.[48]
Notable 20th-century leaders in the Sunday school movement include:President Jimmy Carter, Clarence Herbert Benson,Henrietta Mears, founder of Gospel Light,[49] Dr. Gene A. Getz,[50]Howard Hendricks, Lois E. LeBar, Lawrence O. Richards, andElmer Towns.[51]
InEvangelical churches, during worship service, children and young people receive an adapted education, in Sunday school, in a separate room.[52][53]
Historically, Sunday schools were held in the afternoons in various communities, and were often staffed by workers from varying denominations. Beginning in the United States in the early 1930s and Canada in the 1940s, the transition was made to Sunday mornings. Sunday school often takes the form of a one-hour or longerBible study, which can occur before, during, or after achurch service. While many Sunday schools are focused on providing instruction for children (especially those sessions occurring during service times), adult Sunday-school classes are also popular and widespread (seeRCIA). In some traditions, the term "Sunday school" is too strongly associated with children, and alternate terms such as "Adult Electives" or "religious education" are used instead of "Adult Sunday school".[54] Some churches only operate Sunday school for children concurrently with the adult worship service. In this case, there is typically no adult Sunday school.[55]
In Great Britain an agency was formed called theReligious Tract Society which helped provide literature for the Sunday school.
In the United States theAmerican Sunday School Union was formed (headquartered in Philadelphia) for the publication of literature. This group helped pioneer what became known as the International Sunday School Lessons. TheSunday School Times was another periodical they published for the use of Sunday schools.[56]LifeWay Christian Resources, Herald and Banner Press,David C. Cook, and Group Publishing are among the widely available published resources currently used in Sunday schools across the country.[57]
Sunday school teachers are usuallylay people who are selected for their role in the church by a designated coordinator, board, or a committee. Normally, the selection is based on a perception of character and ability to teach the Bible, rather than formal training in education. Some Sunday school teachers, however, do have a background ineducation as a result of their occupations. Some churches require Sunday school teachers and catechists to attend courses to ensure that they have a sufficient understanding of the faith and of the teaching process to educate others. Other churches allow volunteers to teach without training; a profession of faith and a desire to teach is all that is required in such cases.[citation needed]
It is also not uncommon forCatholic orProtestant pastors to teach such classes themselves. Some well-known public figures who teach, or have taught, Sunday school includeSpace Shuttle astronautRonald J. Garan Jr., comedianStephen Colbert,[58] novelistJohn Grisham,[59] and formerU.S. presidentJimmy Carter.[60]
On 12th January 2025, Pam Knowles achieved aGuinness World Record by becoming the longest serving Sunday School teacher. She has taught for over 73 years atSt. Anne's Church inAigburth, Liverpool, beginning in 1951.[61]
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