159 Pa. 500 | Pa. | 1894
Opinion by
The only question raised by this appeal is whether the bequest made by the testator to the Friendship Liberal League is a bequest for religious or charitable uses. If it is, it is invalid under the provisions of the act of April 26,1855, for the reason that the will in which it appears was made less than one calendar month before the testator’s death. It is therefore unnecessary to inquire whether this society is a purely public charity within the meaning of the tax laws, or whether its tenets are Christian or pagan in their character. If, in any sense of the word “religious,” this society is a religious organization, money given for its use is given for a religious use. In all Christian countries the word religion is ordinarily understood to mean some system of faith and practice, resting on the idea of the existence of one God, the creator and ruler, to whom his creatures owe obedience and love. Charity is understood to refer to something done or given for the benefit of our fellows or of the public. In this statute both words are used in their most comprehensive sense. A bequest to aid in establishing the worship of idols, or disseminating the principles on which such worship may be defended, would be within the mischief at which the statute was directed, as truly as a bequest to an orphan asylum or a Christian church, and ought to fail for the same reason. Looked at from a Christian standpoint it might be said that such a bequest was irreligious and immoral, that it was unworthy to be treated as a charity, and that its tendency was positively hurtful. This might be true also from the point of observation occupied by an impartial humanitarian or patriot. But in its broadest sense religion comprehends all systems of belief in the existence of beings superior to, and capable of exercising an influence for good or evil upon the human race; and all forms of worship or service intended to influence or give honor to such superior powers. It is in this sense of the word that we speak of the religion of the North American Indians, the religion of the fire worshipers, or the ancient Egyptians. A bequest in aid of any such system would therefore be a bequest for a religious use within the meaning of the act of 1855. If this was not so, the most exalted form of religion,
These statements, like the name of the organization, are vague and carry no definite ideas with them. The testimony is equally obscure. One witness testified that “the league was not intended to propagate any ideas religious or otherwise,” but on cross-examination he gave it a more militant character. He said: “ It was opposed to all isms.” Another witness, who had attended one of the Sunday evening lectures, said: “ It was a lecture against the Christian religion. A discussion followed in the same spirit.” A third witness testified that the object of the league was “the investigation of truth,” and that a Christian or infidel would be alike eligible to membership. This is all the light we have upon the distinctive objects of this organization and its views of “ scientific truths.” It is too dim to enable us to say more than that it appears to represent, and to have been organized to represent, and disseminate, such notions of
The orphans’ court reached a correct conclusion and the decree appealed from is affirmed.