Arizona republican., 1892-07-12
New Emgihnn L.agans.

Tho New England states are in q bad way, if we are to credit the word of President William Dewitt Hyde, of Bowdoin college, in The Forum. There is actual danger that New England will fall away from Christianity and go back to heathendoIn. This is not either, as one might suppose, the result of Boston culture; it is simply that the rural pop ulation is dropping out of the church. in Maine, for instance, which may be taken as a sample state, in fifteen coun- ties only half the families attend church at all The church seems to make little if any impression on the community at large. President Hyde thinks he knows the reasons for it too. The first one he gives as follows, Excessive emphasis on the transcendence as distinct from the immanence of God" This is sad indeed. It would be enough, one would think, to turn any common person into heather.
 But Mir. Hyde mentions as well good working reason which a common person can lay hold of with his mind. 1t is the prevalence of sectarianism in the New England states. The disposi- ton of the native New Englander is to think for himself and make other people think that way too; at least that is Mir. HyGc's opinion. Consequently the rural districts are split into feeble little rival congregations, each on the verge of bankruptcy and supported practically by club of women" The only remedy is for the large hearted ctsizens of community to sink denomi- national differences and unite and found a town church, regardless of what sect its pastor belongs to, provided only that he is an earnest, live Christian.
 What he believes to be typical New England rustic community Mir. Hyde describes below:
 In and about the village of K there arc between S0 and 1000 people. Tho religious opinions have always been pretty evenly di- vided between the Free Will Baptist, Congre- gational, Methodist and Universalist denomi- nations. For time all worshiped together in a union church, hiring in turn clergyman of each denomination. Thus each month ono portion Of the congregation had it's own theo- logical taste satisfied, although as one good lady remarked, you could not tell which was which by the preaching" Sectariau ambition, how ever, caused first the Universalists. then the Methodists, to withdraw, and alleged immoral conduct on the part of the Baptist clergyman compelled the separate organization of Con- gregational church. The latter were swim dled by their first minister who sold them the plans for their church at an exorbitant price. The Methodist church occasionally has resi. dent pastor, and some years it has none. The Baptist and Universalist churches are sup piled by ministers who drive over on Sunday afternoons from neighboring towns.
 The Congregational church has student from the seminary three months in the sum mer The strongest churches are the Univer- salist, with it's membership of thirteen women and one man, and the Congregational, with its membership of twenty women and four men. There is hardly a representative man in any of these four churches, though the Masonic lodge gathers from this and neighborng towns its hundred members.
 Each congregation has on Sunday from fifty 10 sixty persons. My informant reports that it would be useless for man to go there as pastor Of any church unless he would make up his mind to stay for period of years, for the immediate effect of any attempt on the part of one church to do work for the com munity would be to stir up all the others to fresh competition.