New-York tribune., 1901-11-17
EAST SIDE RELIGIOUS. CONDITIONS.
FACTS GATHERED BY THE FEDERATION OF
CHURCHES THE XHNITH AND XXVIIITH
ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS.

The Federation of Churches and Christian Organ
izations of New-York City. which has been engaged
in a canvass of the upper East Side. has recent!
added two more Assembly districts to It's list. VIZ
the XXVIth and the XXVIIIth. These districts
include the region lying between Sixty-ffth-st ana
-fourth-st, Lexington-ave. and the East
River Their population, according to the Federal
Census OF 1900 103,o05 or, roughly. twenty
thousand families
The makeup of this vast population is in striking
contrast with that found IN the two districts I'M
medately to the south. viz. the XNIId and the
XXIVth The three great religious bodies Which
divide the ecclesiastical interests OF the city
among them viz the Protestants. the Catholics
and the Hebrews. occupy much equally the
territory north of Stxty-hfth-st. than that to the
south of 1t. In the XXIId Assembly District the
Catholic Church holds the allegiance Of 63 per cent
of the population the Protestant bodies only 80 per
cent or less than half. while the Hebrews figure
out a bare per cent. In the X%INth Assembly
District proportion has changed to Catholic, %
per cent; Protestant, 362 per cent: Hebrew, ABOUT
u per cent; while in the XXVIth and HNNlllth
districts together the relation alters still further
to Catholic 45S per cent: Protestant. 1.4 per cent
Hebrew, 22.S per cent.
further curious fact in the relation especially
of Catholics and Hebrews comes to light in the
matter of church attachment In the XHiad I,Ia ana
ton. the amazing extent of 80 per cent; Was .h
startngly low per cent of only 40 In these upper %
districts the other hand. this startling featuIe
in numbers in religious fervor. registering oniy
So per cent a much smaller proportion OF Lne
population as practical Catholics while the he
brew twice the former percentage Oh
population drop down from 40 per cent to 5412 per
cent In the matter of synagogue connection. Inc
religious demoralizing value of numbers wnlcn
appears be the first inference from this fac' @ Is
rdly however a sufficient explanati ton OF IT, lot
part of this disproportion is doubtless to be ea
plained by further fact which is at the same
time perhaps the distinguishing feature of the
population of these districts, viz that here Is me
rhmerican Bohemia" Nearly 72 per cent of the
XXVIth Assembly District is Of foreign birth ana
the outstanding nationality Is Bohemian.
The percentages Of the churched and unchurcHsso s
show some variations from those discovered In the
two lower districts AS in the others. however.
the Reformed Dutch, though represented taeIe
bv a comparatively small constituency. stand mrs.
in the matter church attachment. registering VI
per cent of their population in church homes.
Next come the Episcopaans with s55 per cent
next Methodsts, with So3 per cent then me Call-
olics So per the Presbyterians 80 per cent'
Rantists 73 per cent: the Lutherans $50 per cent,
and the Hebrews with only "a per cent of their
people acknowledging synagogue homes ihe req
erafioD has again added TO It's missionary record
hv referring ali the unchurched of these ana he
other denomina found TO their proper oe,
nominational homes 1t has In addition distributed
+o church oversight the names OF nearly nVe mum
dred families of unclassified Protestants.