# A Religious Education Is Indispensable by Noah Webster > “To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” > **— Noah Webster**, *An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828, entry EDUCATION* ## Sources and Context - **Primary source:** Noah Webster, *An American Dictionary of the English Language* (New York: S. Converse, 1828), entry [EDUCATION](https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/education). - **Exact original:** “To give children a good _education_ in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious _education_ is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” The source italicizes the headword within the definition; the Reminder removes the italics. - **Context:** The entry first defines education as “The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners,” comprehending “all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth.” The closing sentence shows a definition carrying a worldview, the feature Richard M. Rollins analyzed in “Words as Social Control” (*American Quarterly* 28:4, 1976). - **Article use:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] quotes the first two clauses as evidence that Webster's definitions encoded an American republican and Protestant ontology. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/War With Empire|War With Empire]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] - **Article:** [[articles/The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime|The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/An American Dictionary of the English Language|An American Dictionary of the English Language]] - [[wiki/Noah Webster|Noah Webster]] - [[wiki/Semantic Jurisdiction|Semantic Jurisdiction]] - [[wiki/Lexical Omission|Lexical Omission]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” — Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828, entry EDUCATION https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-noah-webster-religious-education-indispensable ```