The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-04-30
Christianity Not on the Wane.

The quite prevalent opinion, especially
in circles where it may be, "the wish is
father to the thought" that religion is
losing its hold of the popular mind, and
that belief in The doctrines of Christianity
is dying out is sufficiently contradicted
by the logic of figures. The causes that
have produced the erroneous and super
fetal impression are; the very confident
and reckless speech OF avowed infidels,
the plausible statements of those who re-
gard themselves as advanced thinkers, the
flippant tone as regards all matters of
faith of large portion OF the secular
press. and the natural effort of the ire
ligious to encourage each other in their
disregard of the claims of religion:
Professor Hodge, of Princeton, has, in
the North American Review, set forth a
multitude of facts and figures OF which we
give a portion. Beginning the survey
Win tne century, Ho S"yo'
In the year 1900 there were of evangeli-
cal churches in the United States, 1854, ,972
communicants, in 1850, 3,529,9SS COM
municants; the population in that time in
ereasing 116 per cent, Nld the communi-
cants 1874 per cent, leaving out the Roman
Catholics numbering G,367, $3.50, who do
not report commandments as distinct from
the general mass OF their adherents.
Those counted as sincere believers in the
truths of historical Christianity increases
the rate 100 per cent
On the other hand, the liberal churches,
which have in some degree followed the
advice to put less stress upon the distin
gushing doctrines OF pretended super
natural revelation, have been relatively
retrograding. The Unitarians had an in
crease S5 per cent in thirty years as com
pared with the 250 per cent increase made
by the evangelistic churches in the same
time. The Tniversalist churches in 1856
had loss of 113 in thirty years, and the
Unitarian Baptist retrograded from 1906
parishes in 1910 TO 1900 in 1890. In 1900
the total sum annually contributed in all
Christendom to Protestant missions
amounted 10 $25O,OOO. In 1850 the income
of the Mission Boards in England, and
America was $2,959,541, and in 1872 the
amount was $7S74,1 ,155.
From 1870 to 1880 the aggregate funds
collected for Home Missions in the United
States by evangelical churches amounted
to $31, ,272154
Sunday Schools were instituted only one
hundred years ago. In 1880 there were
100000 teachers and scholars, or 6,0O0,
900, in Europe and 100000 in America
Young Mems Christian Associations
date back only thirty years, and more than
any other religious movement prove the
intense vitality of Christian life among iR
telligent laymen of the present and rising
generation.
In 1888 Mt the International Convention
in Milwaukee 2,426 associations were re
ported, $40 for North America, 3sS 70
Great Britain and Ireland, 64 for France
400 for Germany, 33j for Holland, etc
These labor for the religious welfare o
young men, providing for them Libraries
lectures, prayer.meetings, Bible classes
and introducing strangers to the churches
There are 10 of these associations in a
many colleges in the United States. Dul
ing the past year 1900 students in thes
colleges professed conyertion. In 1S1
there were only two or three students i
Princeton college, who professed to be r,
ligious men. in 1905 only four or fiy
students at Yale college were members {
the church. In 1883 Princeton had q
protesting Christians, who include til
great majority of the higher scholars, OF
of total of 579 students; in Yale 200, oil
of total of Gil; in Williams lat out {
24S; and in Amherst 1888 out Of 351. |
many other colleges, especially the demon
national schools, the prospects are sti
more favorable to the progress of Chri
tianity. Such facts as the above cann
be set aside by mere wave of the han
They abundantly warrant the conclusic
that our great evangelical churches a
making progress. They have steadi
augmented in adherents, in benevole
and missionary activity, and in the sea
OF their gifts in these directions.-Cc
: tensed from the N. Y. Evangelist.
In the same line and as an instance
! the vitality of single denomination '
append to the above, some statistics of t
Methodist Episcopal Church for the ye
1883. Itinerant and local preachers jar
ary 1st, 1884, ,424,57s. Lay members in fl
] connection, 1,6O1,O7s, an increase in o
year OF 2S,S95 not including probatione
Including them 1,700,5S4. Total value
churches and parsonages, $79, $685..