The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-10-01
Wednesday, October I, 1879.
A HUNDRED YEARS RELIGIOUS
PROGRESS.

From thirteen colonies. having An
area of 420, 1892 square miles and pop
ulstion Of about three million persons,
our country has developed in the last
hundred years into a nation Of thirty
eight States and ten Territories, having
IN area of $500, 494 square mile, and .
population little short Of fifty million.
The growth OF churches. schools, col
legss, Libraries, newspapers. Sc. has
been even more rapid than the wonder
ful growth OF the country at large.
In this article We purpose dealing with
religious progress alone. A hundred
years ego the Baptist clergy included
only 722 ministers ia all the land, the
Congregationalists but 522, the EpiscO-
palians $50, the Quakers 400, the Lu.
therans %. the Mcthodists 81. the Mo.
ravians IL, the Presbyterians III, tho
Reformed Dutch l6. the Reformed Ger
mans 12, the Roman Catholics 20. and
the Universalists /. These denomina-
tions included oil having foothold in
the then United States. According TO
the statements first above made, the
nation has grown nine times a. large -
it was a hundred years ago. and about
fifteen or sixteen times as populous. To
show the growth religiously we have
only to state that, from the latest re.
cords at hand, We now know there are
20.292 Baptist ministers in the United
States. 3496 Congregational. 3l41 Epis.
copslian. 2976 Lutheran, 1862 Meth.
Odists, 1901 Presbyterian. $3.50 Roman
Catholic, II Universalist. $50 Reformed
Dutch, ia Reformed German, 500 Qua.
ker and SO Moravian. besides 1878
Christian or Campbellite, 100 Sweden
borsian, i20 Second Advent and 4O1
Unitarian clergymen. The increase
among the Baptists was nearly three
thousand per cent. in the century, or
fifteen hundred per cent. greater than
the increase Of population; the Meth.
odist increase was ninety thousand per
cent; the Roman Catholic increase
twenty thousand per cent, the Presby-
terrain increase five thousand per cent.
the Episcopalian two thousand per cent.
tho Reformed Dutch and German two
thousand per cent, &c The religious
increase. as indicated by the clergy, was
between three and four thousand per
cent, while the increased population
was somo fifteen or sixteen hundred per
cent. only. and tho increased area nine
hundred. Blu. tho largest religious in.
crease has not been in ths way of the
clergy. 1t has. beyond oil question.
been in the way OF membership and the
value Of property. the latter including
church buildings, schools. colleges. &c.
The number Of church cdifices in 1850
was 3S.081, with seating sccomm odation
for IL. 234.s persons, and of value
estimated at $S7. 1913. sO1. Beyond 1850
we have not the data to quote from.
In 1860 the church edifices numbered
$4,000. the value OF which was $l7l,.
307.923, and by 1870 tho number was
63, 0S2 Of the value Of 1854 .4S3. 5Sl.
Tho number of churches today is esti-
mated at $4,000. with accommodation
for 10000. 900 persons, and valued at
$i3o.000.0Oo. The growth of religion
and the increase Of religious influences
have been marvellous. and this not
withstanding the supposed tendency of
tho times to skepticism and iufidelisy.
Many lessons arc taught by . study Of
these figures. and many errors cor
rccted Education, religion aud pro-
gross are going hand in hand in the
United States. and their onward strides
arc Of gigantic length.