Adelaide Teague Case

Adelaide Teague Case was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1887.  After receiving her undergraduate education from Bryn Mawr College, she earned both Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University.

Case was instrumental in the establishment of 20th century religious education as a facet of liberal education, stating that “education, when it becomes socially dangerous, is surely beginning to be socially useful.” Liberal Christian education was characterized by its emphasis on facts, incorporation of scientific understanding in curricula and use of the scientific method in the development of the field, relation of Jesus’ teachings to the moral challenges of the present day, and student-centered pedagogy. She taught these principles for twenty years as a professor of religious education at Columbia Teacher’s College before becoming the first female full professor at the Episcopal Theological School (ETS).

In 1941, ETS was searching for a qualified faculty member to teach the Episcopal Christian Education course. On the advice of Catherine Plumley, a Sunday School teacher at Christ Church, Cambridge, Dean Angus Dun offered the position to Case. Although the salary was lower than what she was earning at Columbia, Case accepted. Despite some of the male students being initially dismissive of her course, she soon gained a reputation as an engaging and demanding professor. Only two years after her hiring, James Muller, in his history of ETS, recognized her as “the foremost authority on Religious Education in the Church if not in the country.” In addition to her academic contributions to the seminary, Case was a strong advocate for the admission of women to the school and used her position to teach women even if they were unable to formally enroll in degree programs.

In addition to her professorships at Columbia and ETS, Case lent her experience to the New York School for Deaconesses, the Woman’s Auxiliary, and the National Council among other organizations. She wrote several books, including Liberal Christianity and Religious Education, gave many public addresses, and maintained a large network of correspondents often writing over a hundred letters a month. Adelaide Teague Case died on June 19, 1948.