Herman E. Wornom papers, 1923 -- 1939

Herman E. Wornom was born on June 30, 1902, in Dare, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Randolph-Macon College in 1923, and an M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1924. During this time at Columbia, Wornom first met and studied under George Albert Coe, a major figure in early twentieth-century religious education and one of the founders of the Religious Education Association (REA), which Wornom would later lead. Following graduation from Columbia, Wornom became Minister of Education at three churches: Worcester Central Church in Massachusetts, the Congregational Church in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church outside of Washington, D.C. In the late 1930s, Wornom returned to New York City to pursue further graduate study at Union Theological Seminary and Teachers College, Columbia University. While there, Wornom studied under some of Union's best-known faculty, including Paul Tillich and E.W. Lyman, and forged further relationships with people who would become important figures in the REA, including his mentor, friend, and predecessor as REA General Secretary, Harrison Elliot. Wornom was ordained in 1940. In the years between his arrival at Union and his appointment at General Secretary of the REA in 1952, Wornom served as a religious educator in a variety of positions throughout the United States: at Union Theological Seminary as an assistant director of field work, at Springfield College in Massachusetts as supervisor of field work, and finally as assistant professor of religious education and director of field work at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. After the sudden passing of Harrison Elliot, Wornom succeeded his friend as General Secretary of the REA in 1952. Wornom's tenure as General Secretary is generally seen as transformative for the organization. During his early tenure, Wornom oversaw several major developments in the REA, most notably the movement of the organization's headquarters from Chicago to New York City and the expansion of the REA from a traditionally-Protestant organization to one that Wornom himself called "truly multifaith in membership", including Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish members. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Wornom prioritized development and expansion of the REA, focusing on securing increased financial resources for the organization and establishing conferences and roundtable events throughout the United States— conferences that eventually surpassed 1,500 attendees. Supported by a series of grants from the Lilly Foundation, Wornomlaunched a massive program for promoting research into religious and character education. The program, which included a panel of researchers tasked with surveying previous work and developing new avenues of inquiry, a 12-day workshop at Cornell University, and the creation of the REA's own dedicated research division, culminated in the 1971 publication of the pioneering handbook Research on Religious Development. After retiring from the REA in 1970, Wornom remained active in religious education endeavors. He served as visiting professor at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts, and worked in Mexico, Iran, and India, including working as a visiting professor at Sri Venkateswari University. Herman E. Wornom passed away on May 7, 1992, preceded in death by his wife, Mary Virginia.