Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-03-28
Caste in the Church.
People Kept Away From Church by
Social Differences.
The Church is Confronted by Serious
Problem.

The cause of non attendance at church
is one of the vexed questions about which
the most divergent opinions are daily ex
pressed. Most people have a remedy for
the so called evil, but most remedies have
as yet failed.
Il think it has been conclusiVeIy prov
ed said the Rev. DIR. Utter in discussing
the subject, shat church attendance is
but little dependent upon the ability of
the preacher or the quality of the doc
triues preached. The world has creeds
enough to satisfy everybody, aud there
are grades of ability enough in the pulpit
to settle the question as 10 the stamp of
men required. Congregations have been
fed with intellectually and with emo
tional ecstaey, with dogmatic theology
and with free thought discussions, with
homilies, essays, exhortations, and what
not. Some preachers have streWed out
truth in plain, unadOrned way, and 9TH
ers have attitudinized before the public
and brought to their assistance a wealth
of oratorical power. This thing mas been
going on for years. Even in Chicago
leading clergymen have come together to
devise some scheme to reach the masses,
but ell to no purpose. There are church
organizations in this city that would dis
charge their pastors and engage othea
men, fit up their church buildings NOR
sumptuoLsly or deplete them of orna-
menUation, if they could but fill the pews.
"The fact is that church attendance is
not measure of religious interest, nor is
lack of church attendance a measure of
ministerial lnetticiency. The two prime
reasons why people go TO church, think,
are to profit by or enjoy its social fea-
lures, and to be amused. The education
al, the moral, the spiritual interests are
mln1mlzed. In other words, church going
IS habit in the maintenance of which
considerations of social well being over
ride all others. On the other hand, social
dlferenoes-the inability of one member
to meet another on a social and financial
equality-constitute a great reason why
people do not attend divine service. This
reason may seem far fetched and INSULT
clent, but L am satisfied that it is the
right one and that unless some move
ment can be got up in which social diff
ferences can DO ignored or lost sight of
there will be little difference in the size
of our congregations.
ut does not seem just right that caste
lines shoCld crop up in the church and
initiate against its influence, but such is
cans have are those of wealth, and the di-
rect tendency of the age is to different
ate the church, making one body an
aristocratic and another a plebeian or
ganizatiOn. There are practically but two
types. Churches are either fashionable.
wealthy, the religious home of those who
can pay literally, or they are the poor
mems churches. The middle men-those
earning from $1,000 TO 81 200 year-are
practically without churches. They can
not put on the style of the wealthy bod
les, cannot afford to pay their relative
share of the expenses of the church. and
yet they reel as good and as proud as the
better circumstanced. Personal pride
keeps them from taking what to their eyes
would be second or third rate station.
On the other hand they want something
better than the churches that are patron
lied by men and women not their equals
IN wealth and social standing. The need
of the age Is a middle mems church, where
the great mass of well-to- do but eth not
wealthy people could assemble without
beng made to feel thet they We're out of
place.
"The need of such a church may be
said to betray u perverted state of affairs.
That may be true, but if the evils now
complained of are TO be righted we must
face actual facts and make the best of
them. OF all the churches lining Michi-
gan avenue l believe there is not one
that would not gladly welcome the middle
classes l have been talking about, and
still believe there is not one in which
man earning, say, only, $1,000 a year
would feel at home. All are welcome
among such congregations as that which
attends the Chicago Avenue church but
they will not go because they want some
thing different. Were the eight churches
supplied so that social contrasts would
not be SO marked there would be no
higher grade of preaching, no changes in
theology or in religious services, and L
apprehend that the church attendance
would be better. Atleast caste lines are
cause of the troHble, and it is to them
that the remedy is to be applied"