The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1884-06-19
RELIGION IN TIE UNITED STATES.

RELIGION IN TIE UNITED STATES.
The religious statistics OF the United States
looked al froiu four different points in tin
course Of the present century, present SOM
very Interesting and instructive features. !,
tho year 1880 the tolal uopUlati0n was BOB
go. OF these Their" re Protestant. ,211 TOP
Roman Catholic. le0, 1000: uncla>siiied :, lS S1:}
In l6JG. out 81 total population of 30 1911 $40
tntIe were Protestant 10. los: Roman Cath
Ollie. l6l4, 0OG uncia>ailied. S.o14.11S. In 1S1
out Of Il population of 5S.l3S .3Il the Protest
ans numbered II ,0i1.4SG. Roman Catholics i.
600,U00 not classified. 9.9l6.So5. And in Tho
year 1850 out Of a total population which hac
>Welled 10 JO.l52 .Sti6 there were 3603l 81
frotes1ant>. 6.3Gl 900 Roman Catholics no
classified, 1,.33, $50. In 1900 the Protestant,
Were a per cent. of the population. Catholics
,, uncla>>itied a In 1870 the percentages in
the same order were 81 ! and b in 1870. 90
II and 70; in 1SS0, IL, H. and lG,.
PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY.
Some interesting figures have Just been made
public Illustrative of The progress and present
condition of Christianity. According to the
most trusted authorities the Christian popula-
ton Of the world in the year 1900 IF our era
was about 10000 900. In the next 800 wears
the numbers doubled. In the year 1900 there
were 200, 100000. and in the year 1880 IA 600
600 OF the human race were under Christian
government. According TO recent returns there
are over 303 900 900 of nominal Christians in
the British dominions alone. The population
of Europe in the year 1900 was 100 900 900. As
yet Western ChriStendom was undivided. Tie
Roman Catholics in the year Just named. repre-
>enting the entire Christianity of the West.
numbered S0,000,000 The remaining %, 000. 600
covered Greeks, Mussuhnans aud Jews. In
1850 the population of Europe had increased to
b ,102 coo. Of these there We're Roman Cath
olics, j9,315 ,l55; Greek and Eastern, 81 14S.-
062; Protestant. 16.GSS $50: Aiohammedan> D.
3'39S9; Jews, 4.1l3 425; not classified 524, 4G..
THE DIVINE IN MAN.
Among the men who now guide the religious
sentiment Of the British metropolis. few, if
any, are entitled TO be named before the Rev.
Oswald Dykes, The talented aud accomplished
minister of the Presbyterian Church. Regent
Square. He ministers to a congregation which
was built up by such men as Edward Irving
and James Hamilton. In a sermon Just pub
Ished, Dr.. Dykes points out some evidences of
the Divine in man. "Granted," he SAYS. '.that
the religious instinct is liable 10 morbid excess,
to self-delusion or to mysticism, is ii possible to
explain by such disorders of this religious ma
ture the religious nature itself, with all its
forms of worship, with all its enormous litel-
allure in every tongue, with all its record of in
dividual biography and with all its contribu-
lions to human thought and the elevation of
our race! If never at any time could the soul
OF any man have intercourse or sympathy with
those who gave him life. then has the noblei
half of the history and literature of mankind
been the product of stupendOus delusion. To
say so is to make an unscientifc attempt to
evade facts rather than to OFF, any rational ex-
PLANTATION of them.'