New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-15
AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY SLANDERED.


The London Guardian" has just published
remarkable letter from an American CORE
spondent entitled THE Outlook Of Christianity
in the United States" '"rhe Guardian" Is the
most influential of all the Anglican Journals,
holding IA position among churchmen equivalent
to that which "The London Times holds among
secular English journals. 1t Is edited with con-
spicuous ability and care. and every effort Is
made to insure accuracy in It's statements.
1t Is therefore the last place where one would
| expect to see the article to which we have re-
| ferred; for it Is merely farrago OF misstae-
ments, so grotesquely untrue that only very
stupid bigot could have written 1t. mo one can
doubt" he says, that Christianity as a belief
as rapidly losing its hold OF the American peo-
"plc" AS proof Of this astonishing assertion he
adduces an alleged report Of young japanese
student to the Buddhlss Of Toxic, to the effect
that materlalism has swept this country, leaving
1.-THE majority without any whOle-hearted belief
in any creed whatever" No evidence whatever
Is furnished to show that this young Oriental
knew what he was talking about; and yet on this
nmsy basis the anonymous correspondent OF
The Guardian indicts and condemns the
Christianity Of America. Whole tracts OF New
England and portions Of the West, he adds,
"haye lapsed into heathenism." lie declares DIR.
Gailor. Assistant Bishop (EpiscopaD Of Tennes-
see. to have asserted that 90 per cent Of the
population Of the United States "disavowed con-
nection with any religious body whatever" ac-
cording to the last census. 1t Is doubtful If
Bishop Gallor ever said this. But If he did he
msread the census, for 1t says nothing of the
kind. as Dr. H. X. Carroll, who had charge OF
the religious statistics Of the Census Bureau,
shows in THE Independent" On the contrary,
the figures in the census indicate that the re-
lcous population OF the country embraces all
except about 100000 Of the total population.
This remarkable correspondent then goes on
10 saw that while some Of the ''sects"-eyidently
he is churchman Of the variety known AZ
"good'-while some Of the 'sects" show great
vitality" and are liberal with their money, what
thcy suppose to be religion IL mere materiasm
under the guisc Of philanthropy" OF course the
"Disscntlng Churches" are .not really Churches
nj all: they are simply Social clubs" formed
not 50 much to worship God as to promote the
nhyslcal welfare OF the lower classes. In fact,
sovs this good churchman,' outside Of the
cotholr Church and the Church hardly
cent is given to anything purely religious"
Then follows the summing up Of the whole
matter. as follows:
Among all these Dissenting bodies there has
heen during the last haf-century most marked
f,uinq-on OF attendance at even the Sunday SER
vlces. and In the great cities In the best and
densev inhabited portions. consolidation OF .two or
more OF these corporations Is frequently taking
place.
rrhe foundations OF Protestant Dissent In America
have been shaken pieces. and Professionalism
49, a religious belief a thing of the past the
bvtsrians OF to-day would have been burned by
calvin and the Lutherans OF to-day would have
baon vulaed by Luther and yet these are the only
two denominations that have made any attempt to
preserve orthodoxy.
would say that while in the whole OF the
t,i,el states the ratio OF the number OF protesting
christians to those making no such claim Is daily
and rapidy growing less. the proportion OF Church
mon IN the gross total Of the populatl ton protesting
CHRISTIANITY is rapidly growing greater.
As an outlook" Of Christianity in the United
States. this would be a huge joke If 1t were not
n niece Of callow lnsolcnce. This unknown SLAM
dercr IL a dlscredlt to the Church OF which he il
a member; and we believe that fair minded and
decent Eplscopalans would he among the first
IN say So The men whom he represents in that
Church are an obscure junta of reactlonaries.
who have no real standing in the Church, and
who have been rebuked by such thoroughgoing
High Churchmen as Bishops Doane. Paret and