George Washington Carver

===Christianity===
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Carver believed he could have faith both in God and science and integrated them into his life. He testified on many occasions that his faith in [[Jesus]] was the only mechanism by which he could effectively pursue and perform the art of science.<ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Man+of+science--and+of+God%3A+George+Washington+Carver+believed+that...-a0112794990 Man of science-and of God] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094347/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Man+of+science--and+of+God%3a+George+Washington+Carver+believed+that...-a0112794990 |date=October 28, 2017}} from ''[[The New American]]'' (January 2004), via [[TheFreeLibrary.com]].</ref> Carver became a Christian when he was still a young boy, as he wrote in connection to his conversion in 1931:<ref>Carver, George Washington; Kremer, Gary R. (ed.) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=JcncXGNSJQQC George Washington Carver in his own words] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515044328/https://books.google.com/books?id=JcncXGNSJQQC&printsec=frontcover |date=May 15, 2016}}''. University of Missouri Press. February 1, 1991, p. 128.</ref>

{{blockquote|I was just a mere boy when converted, hardly ten years old. There isn't much of a story to it. God just came into my heart one afternoon while I was alone in the 'loft' of our big barn while I was shelling corn to carry to the mill to be ground into meal.

A dear little white boy, one of our neighbors, about my age came by one Saturday morning, and in talking and playing he told me he was going to Sunday school tomorrow morning. I was eager to know what a Sunday school was. He said they sang hymns and prayed. I asked him what prayer was and what they said. I do not remember what he said; only remember that as soon as he left I climbed up into the 'loft,' knelt down by the barrel of corn and prayed as best I could. I do not remember what I said. I only recall that I felt so good that I prayed several times before I quit.

My brother and myself were the only colored children in that neighborhood and of course, we could not go to church or Sunday school, or school of any kind.

That was my simple conversion, and I have tried to keep the faith.|G. W. Carver; Letter to Isabelle Coleman; July 24, 1931}}

He was not expected to live past his 21st birthday due to failing health. He lived well past the age of 21, and his belief deepened as a result.<ref name = "jjcxob"/> Throughout his career, he always found friendship with other Christians. He relied on them especially when criticized by the scientific community and media regarding his research methodology.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/n/Newman,Wilson_L.html |title=Wilson L. Newman correspondence with George Washington Carver, 1926–1943 |access-date=August 3, 2014 |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808054413/http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/n/Newman,Wilson_L.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Carver viewed faith in [[Jesus Christ]] as a means of destroying both barriers of racial disharmony and social stratification.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwca/expanded/quotes_2.htm |title=Quotes From Dr. Carver Page 2 |website=nps.gov |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708005845/http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwca/expanded/quotes_2.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2009}}</ref> He was as concerned with his students' character development as he was with their intellectual development. He compiled a list of "eight cardinal virtues" whose possession defines "a lady or a gentleman":
[[File:George Washington Carver-Bush Gardens Monument.jpg|thumb|right|A monument to Carver at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis]]
<blockquote>
* Be clean both inside and out.
* Who neither looks up to the rich nor down on the poor.
* Who loses, if needs be, without squealing.
* Who wins without bragging.
* Who is always considerate of women, children and old people.
* Who is too brave to lie.
* Who is too generous to cheat.
* Who take his share of the world and lets other people have theirs.<ref>Letter to a student, January 9, 1922, quoted in
George Washington Carver, Gary R. Kremer, ''George Washington Carver: In His Own Words'', 1987, {{isbn|0826207855}}, p. 85.</ref>
</blockquote>

Beginning in 1906 at Tuskegee, Carver led a Bible class on Sundays for several students at their request. He regularly portrayed stories by acting them out.<ref name="carver_academy" />