The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1901-04-03
The Twentieth Century Religious
Prospect.

R. M PATTERSON, d. D.. in The Presbyterian Bonner.
Nineteen centuries have passed since the Christ
appeared on earth In his name and by his authority
his apostles organized a religious society which it
was claimed was eventually to control the world and
which taught the only way of eternal salvation.
AS enter the twentieth century of the era of
Christ, how do his disciples stand numerically abso-
lutely and in relation the subjects of other rel
gons?
1t is computed that there are now about 500 900
900 people in the world There are seven great re-
lgious systems, with their adherents as follows:
Christianity, 477,oooooo Confucanism, 100000 900;
Hinduism, Ioo,oooooo; Mohammedanism 10000
900; Buddhism, 100000; Taoism and Shintoism,
100000; Judaism, 7,ooo,ooo; and large number
of diverse heather religions. Hence, Christians
largely outnumber any of the other religionists
though with one exception the others are far older;
and they number about one-thrd of the inhabitants
of the world They have outstripped all others.
Moreover, the Christian growth has been in a con-
stantly increasing ratio The computation has BEEN
made that the number of its adherents in the year
1000 was 5ooooooo in $780, 100 100000; in I7oo 1885,
100000; in 1900, $50, 100000; and now 477ooo,ooo
During the FIVE centuries from to 1900 the num-
Der ezly doubled itself; during the single nineteenth
IT mas almost doubled itself While nearly
$4,000, 600 are classed the adherents of Chris
tianity, about 100000 arc the subjects of
under Christian governments.
The adherents of Christian churches are divided
as follows: Roman Catholic 23o,oooooo; Protestant
I43,ooo,ooo; Greek o8ooo,ooo; Abyssnian 5000 900;
Coptic, 10000; Armenian 100000 HISTORIAN and
Jacobite, 10000. The Roman Catholics numerically
lead the ProtestantS, but the Protestant national
control greatly leads the Romansts. About 100000
600 of the 8ooooo,ooo ruled by Christian powers are
under Protestant control Two centuries ago in
1900, only 100000 thus subject; while $4,000
under Greek, and 100000 were under
Roman Catholic governments
One series of comparisons more will close the
statistics from which we shall make deductions for
the future IN the beginning of the nineteenth CEN
fury 81 100000 people spoke French 10000 900 Ger
man; 100000 Russian; 100000 Spanish; TO-
100000 Italian; 100000 English But now English
is spoken by 100000 French by 100000; Ger
man by 100000; Russian by 100000; Spanish
by 100000; Italian by 35oooooo I'm other words
during the century, English has risen among the
languages named not only from the fifth place to the
first, but has gained enormously in relative magn-
ude expanding from thirteen per cent of the total
to over thirty-two per cent from one-eghth nearly
one-thrd"
From a human standpoint the impression may be
very natural one that to have now as its nominal
adherents, after nineteen hundred years. only one
third of the inhabitants of the globe shows but slow
progress in a religion which the Almighty designs 20
be the universal religion. God, whose existence is
eternal now does appear to to move slowly
He permitted four thousand years to pass from the
Fall and the promise of the Redeener before the
Redeemer came to earth for our redempton and all
that time the knowledge of him was almost confined
to small nation In contrast with that the progress
of the nineteen Christian centuries has been wonder
full and could we go behind the throne and see as
God sees the interaction of causes and effects the
whole would doubtless appear most glorious.
And we enter upon the twentieth century