The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-16
CHURCH UNITY PROBLEM
LAITY OF THE WORLD SEEMS To BE
WORKING 1T OUT.
Constant Ebb and Flow of Member.
ther-some Surprising Figures.
to the Indianapolis JournsI.


CHICAGO, Aug. 15.-Christendom, the
new high-class literary weekly OF this city,
will publish this week proofs of the fact
that tremendous changes are taking place
in the memberships OF all religious bodies
in America. These proofs are not put forth
in a sectarian. but rather in a sociological
way. They affect all parts of the country,
but data in detail are given concerning
churches in New York, Chicago, Boston,
ST. Louis. Philadelphia. Pittsburg. Indian
apoIis. Cincinnati. Cleveland. Louisville,
Providence. all of New England. the entire
Northwest. etc.
These data show. by references taken
from records of many individual churches,
not only that people pass freely from one
Protestant body to another and from Prot
estant to Roman Catholic. but that also
Roman Catholic laity in large number go
into membership in Protestant churches.
Furthermore. many Protestants attend Ro-
man Catholic services because they like the
service itself. while many Roman Catholics
attend Protestant churches because they
like the sermon. While the leaders in the
various bodies are discussing Christian
unity. members of all of them have solved
the problems of such unity by joining the
one that suits them best. and that, appar-
emily, without great regard for dogmatic
religious tenets.
The Catholic Converts League of New
York has a membership of 900. but as Cath
oiics are welcomed into membership. not all
OF the five hundred are PrOtestants. The
largest number of converts come from the
Protestant Episcopal Church, but the
league has members from Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists. Unitarians. Congre-
gationalists and ~agnostics. The member
ship steadily increases. An official Of the
league estimates the number of converts
from Protestants to the Roman Catholic
Church per year, in the United States alone,
at $1,000, and quotes the late Archbishop
Corrigsn's estimate of LOCO a year as the
number of converts in New York city alone.
In Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs of
New York city the official records of 403 out
~ . total of 767 Protestant churches were
esa mined. In this 400 only nine Protestant
eiUrches were found that did not have in
iheir membership persons who declared.
u on uniting with them, that they. were
Roman Catholics. These former Catholics
were not individuals who had Protestant
husbands or wives. but whole families. and
in some cases whole congregations. Among
the number that did not show former Cath
olics in their membership was st. Ignatius
Episcopal Church. famous for its ritual and
teaching. both declared by the parish's crit
les as going farther in some respects than
Rome itself.
Proportionate numbers OF Protestant
Church records were examined In Chicago,
st. Paul, st. Louis. Boston, Philadelphia
and the other cities named, and from 2 to
. per cent. of total memberships were
found to have come from Catholic sources.
One Baptist church was found that had
ffty-two former Catholics out Of a total
membership of 475. Protestant churches
having these memberships are not those in
poor quarters of cities. or those sections
where there are nc Catholic churches, but
they are churches of the best class. Some
Of them are the Third, Fourth and
Covenant Presbyterian. Chicago: the Home
~wood-avenue Presbyterian, Pittsburg; the
Broadway Baptist, Louisville; Compton
Hill and Pilgrim Congregational. ST. Louis;
IS. PauI's Episcopal. Indianapolis: Arch
street Methodist, Philadelphia; Trinity
Methodist. Springfield. Mass: Trinity Epis-
copal. Boston; Henry Ward Beecher's
Plymouth Church. Brooklyn. and so on.
Pauiist Fathers, New York, collate and
publish lists of Protestant converts to
Rome. yet every Protestant church I'm the
vicinity of the Paunst Church Of st. Paul
he Apostle, New York, including the
Church of the Strangers, and Horace
Greeley's Unirersalist Divine Paternity, has
in It's membership persons who said upon
joining that they were confirmed Catholics.
rrhr0sa.hntrf Nan E,n-fa-S 49, 49, o roa
French Canadian Baptists. all former
Roman Catholics. In New York city one
Baptist pastor immersed in ten years 1ol
Roman Catholics OF German parentage.
Italian and German Methodist congrega-
tions. made UP wholly of Roman Catholics,
exist IN many cities. and throughout Penn
sylvania. northern Ohio and northern ILL.,
nois are many Polish and Hungarian con-
gregations. formerly Catholic. but now
Protestant. The Rev. DR.. Rainsford, st.
Georges. New York, has received into
membership 15o Catholics since he came to
st. Georges twenty years ago.
Records examined show that churches
most pronouncedly evangelical and demand
ing most In the shape Of personal expert
ence or. conviction OF sin, get the most
Catholics into their membership, while
ritualistic Episcopal churches get fewest.
The Rev. DR.. w. 8. Plumer Bryan, Chi
cago; the Rev. DIR. G. c. Williams. Augusta,
Ga; the Rev. DR.. c. s. Mills. Cleveland,
and others point out that they have many
Catholics among their w~orshipers whose
social and domestic relations restrain them
from breaking the old ties. The article In
.Christendom" concludes:
Church records show that changes in
membership are taking place not alone
among Protestant bodies, but also to and
from Reformation and Roman communions.
Without purpose to show which way the
tide Is stronger, 1t can be said without
prejudice that accessions proclaimed by
either Protestant or Roman bodies are bal
anced by accessions which might be pro-
claimed. were it worth while TO do so, by
the other body"
WILL HOLD AN ASSEMBLY.