The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-05-10
AMERICAN CHURCH LIFE.

1
| throughout the land in a general way
| And so we find the secular paper and
the literary magazine bristling with
facts and statistics touching the
growth of the church in America, its
| wealth and power. From all these the
average intelligent reader will not be
long in seeing that the power of Chris
| tianity is not waning, but that it is
| growing in a very vigorous and con-
| yincing manner. The statistician who
has control of the department of church
census of the government set out some
wonderful fact in the May number OF
the Forum, which cannot fail to inter
! est the political economist no less than
the church member. They include a
| great mass of figures concerning the
growth of the various denominations
between 1890 and 1895, and many COM
rarisons are made TO demonstrate the
truth of Mr.. Carroll's statement that
the churches are gaining rather than
losing. relatively TO the population of
the country. The plain meaning of the
statistics is altogether encouraging and
Cheering to the friends of Christianity.
In the half decade between 1890 and
1895 the increase in the membership OF
the Christian churches was 100000
in round figures, or about 20 per cent.
They had more than 100000 men,
bers in the latest census report and
q, 100000 in 1895. The greatest in
crease was reported by the Roman
Catholic church, which added 1,757, 04O
members. The various Methodist bod
les gained S63, 600. The Baptists $780,
coo. the Disciples $4,000, the Presby-
terians 10000, the Lutherans $4,000,
the Congregationalists $1,000, the Pro
testant EpiscOpalians $1,000 and many
lesser denominations enough, all taken
together. TO make an additional in
crease of 24S0O0.
Among the great religious bodies the
highest gain is shown by the Roman
Catholics, the cause being chiefly the
very heavy immigration, between 1890
and 1895, from the countries of south
ern and southeastern Europe, in which
nearly all of the inhabitants are con-
nected with the church of Rome. In
the same five years the number of I'M
migrants arriving from the Protestant
countries of northern Europe was COM
paratively small.
The growth Of the principal Protest
ant denominations presents two very
marked and curious features. One is
the small relative increase in the num-
Der of Baptists, and the other is the ex
traordinary rate of gain in the kindred
organization known as the Disciples.
In five years this denomination shows
g. growth of about Al per cent whereas
the BaptiStS report an increase of only
8 per cent. The first is the highest rate
found among the larger religious bod
les, while the latter is the lowest. In
1890 the number of Disciples in the
United States was less than half as
great as the membership of either the
Presbyterian or the Lutheran church,
but in the next five years the increase
in the first organization was far great
er than the growth of either of the
other two.
Mr.. Carroll thinks that the Baptist
statistics used for 1890 are very defec-
tive and that if a census were taken
by the government, as in 1890, it would
be found that the growth Of that de-
nomination had been much greater
than it appears to have been. AS for
the remarkable growth of the Disciples
of Christ, he offers no explanation
which seems to cover the ground salts
factorily. The fact is certain that the
denomination in finding great favor
with the common people in several OF
the principal states Of the Union, but it
is not clear why this should be so, to
such a special degree.
The gain of the various Methodist
bodies was just about as great, in pro-
portion, as the increase of all the Chris
tan churches combined. 1t fell little
below 10 per cent The rate of in
crease was 2S per cent in the Church of
Rome, II per cent in the Presbyterian
church, all branches taken together, IL
per cent for the CongregatiOnaliSts, |
nearly 10 per cent in the Protestant |
church, and less than Is per |
cent in the Lutheran churches. The !
army multiplied its members |
10y four. and the Mormons of different |
branches increased 40 per cent
The only religious organization of |
note which failed TO gain was the Uni
yersaliSt. That body showed a loss |
Of per cent between 1890 and 1895, |
but ii may fairly claim that this only |
means that people holding Universalist
doctrines On the distinctive point of /
general escape from unending punish
ment in a place of torment, find less
reason than formerly for leaving the |
which they are brought
up in or for any reason have been con-
nected with.
TO prove that the churches have been
gaining faster, relatively speaking.
than the population of the country. it
is only necessary to state that the rate
Of increase in the membership of the
religious organizations OF the United
States, for the five years between 1880
and 1895, was almost equal TO the rate
IF growth in the number OF inhabitants
1880 and 1890. The churches
probably grew at fully twice as great
4 rate, in the first half OF the present
decade, as the population of the repub-
lie. The enumerauons made in various
states in 1895 indicate that the increase