The question of the evaluation of the impact of religious education is important for three reasons: (1) it is of fascinating theoretical interest to learn what are the effective means of transmitting fundamental values and what are the ineffective means; (2) it also seems appropriate to evaluate the contribution of religion to the improvement of the quality of urban life; and, (3) from the point of view of the churches, or indeed from the point of view of any human institution concerned with the transmission of fundamental values, there is excellent reason to ask whether one institutional transmission is more effective than another or whether one set of techniques promises greater payoff than another set of techniques. There are many obstacles to evaluation of religious education and especially urban religious education. Very few educators are eager to have their work evaluated before the evaluation takes place, and even fewer are likely to be pleased with it once it occurs. Those who propose to evaluate religious education will encounter certain special problems. For example, religious educators in some circumstances are sacred persons, and any criticism of religious education runs the risk of being taken as a criticism of the sacred. (Author/JM)