St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-08-13
The Working People and the
Churches.
BY WASHINGTON GLADDEN., d. d.

iDgm of my own city respecting
their church attendance. Sixty letters
from representative working-men in
] this city presented strong testimony to
increase of church neglect OH the part
of the people of their class. This was
the well-nigh unanimous opinion of my
correspondents, and it was strongly
supported by the figures which some
of them furnished.
In the same inquiry | sought the
reasons of this tendency !; and the
working -men have freely given me
their opinions. The readers of the In
dependent will be glad to get their
view of the case. 1t will be evident,
doubtless, as these reasons are re-
hearsed, that many of them are neither
cOgent nor profound. They are eXcus-
es rather than reasons, and rather
tiimsy excuses at that. They are pre-
| texts, behind which the real causes are
concealed. But, such as they are,
they must be heard and considered.
Their very tiimsiness is phenomenal.
One of my correspondents explains
his absence from church on the ground
that it costs too much to support the
churches lie cannot afford to go. This
is evidently a pretext. There are, I'M
doubtedly, in all our cities, churches
| that wOrking-men cannot afford to at
! tend but there are plenty of others, in
which the expense, even for IA self-re-
speeding man who wishes to pay his
own way, would be merely nominal.
| Another letter accounts for the alb
sence of working men from the
churches on the ground that the min
listers sometimes preach politics. The
number of those who are kept away
by this cause is probably very small.
Several of my correspondents say
that many of the working men stay
away from church because they want
| the day for rest and retreshment. 1t
those who are now closely confined
| through the week could have Saturday
afternoon for recreation, one excuse
for Sunday ball games, and excursions,
as well us for neglect of worship, would
be removed AS to the assumption of
one letter that man ought to stay at
home on Sunday, if he can ''enjoy him
self more at home, the working men
who make this plea adopt "A philosophy
which is popular enough in all circles.
But it would be well for them to con
slider whether Immediate enjoyment is
| the main thing; whether there are not
duties that must be done, and needs of
the soul that must be attended to, even
though small enjoyment may directly
accrue.
One witness testities that many stay
away from church "because they pre-
fer to spend the day in saloons and
beer gardens" and another declares
that some of those who absent them
selves from the churches ''seem to think
| that there is no God" The absence of
tipplers and atheists from church is not
! ineXplicable but it is Il question worth
asking, whether this tipping and this
unbelief are not due, in part, to causes
over which Christian people have some
cOntrOl-tO the same causes, indeed,
which tend to produce church neglect /;
whether, in removing as far as we can
the reasons for church neglect, we shall
not strike most effectually both at
drunkenness and ut doubt.
But the difficulties of many of these
church gOers are connected, in
some way, with the clothes question.
"On making inquiries of some of my
acquaintance" writes one of my cor
respondents, "as to the reasons for not
attending church, one said that he was
a regular attendant at one of the
churches in this city until his family
had grown SO that he was unable to
dress his children as well as others !;
and then he quit, as he did not want to
go and have himself and family snub-
| bed on account of their clothes. He
further said that nine-tenths of all who
do not go to church have the same rea-
! son.
Zone reason of their absence" writes
another, sis their inability to clOthe
themselves in manner to make il re-
| spectacle appearance i'll church, owing
to the starvation wages paid to them.
When their weeks work is done, and
| they are paid for the same, the wants
of their family must be attended to.
Out Of coal, perhaps; out of prOvis-
ions rent is due and must be paid.
These are necessities of life, and must
he met. Very little out of their scant
wages is left for clothing. They may
have the second suit but il is so
coarse, and perhaps threadbare, that
they do not care to enter church
Besides, the church, they say, is too
stylish. They dress so fine, so tony,
that they the wOrkingmen--wit their
common clothing are looked down up
on placed in back seat, and no fur
lHCi I'dtlu W
These are only samples. There are
many more of the same tenor. But
this is not the most serious complaint
of the workingmen. They charge upon
the churches snObhery and exclusive
ness they say that they are not want
ed in the churches. II heard lady of
this city" writes one of my correspond
ents-"a lady who has in the last few
years come from poor circumstances to-
wealth-say i'll one of the churches of
this city, when poor but respected
lady went into the same pew that the
wealthy lady occupied, that she
thought it too bad that there was not IA
separate part of the church for the poor
people, SO that they wOuld not have to
sit with them" Several other letters
recite facts or express opinions of the
same nature.
But, far deeper than all these griev-
ances is the feeling that arises from
the present conflict between employers
and employees. A few years ago BOs-
ton reporter undertook to interview a
large number of the churchless, to find
out their reasons for remaining out
side and one of the persons interview
ed, ga tired-loOking shop girl,n an
swered his question by saying "My
employer goes. He is one of the pill
lars of the church. That's reason
enough why | shouldn't go. l know
how he treats his help" This shop
girls answer condeBses into four short, |
singing sentences the substance of !
many OF my letters. Beyond ques-
ton. this is the great reason for the |
growing alienation of the working peo-
pie from the churches. They think |