The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-10
From the New York Sun.


 1 HE count of the church attendance \OD on Sunday, November 29, in the
 districts of Manhattan lying between Fourteenth and Fifty-third streets, found something over 32 per cent of the population in the churches, or about per cent more than had been found on a previous Sunday in the churches to the east and west of the Central Park.
 Probably this larger church attendance in the lower districts was due chiefly to the circumstances that in that region are concentrated very many of the great hotels, visitors at which, especially nu- merous at this season, are disposed to attend metropolitan churches and to lis- ten to preachers of distinction. It is not reasonable to assume that any larger percentage of the resident population there go to church than in other districts. Similar censuses taken on a larger scale in this city and London have shown that the church attendance is about one in four of the population, and probably the percentage in those districts is not signi- ficantly different.
 That region of Manhattan Island con- tains about a quarter of the whole num- ber Of churches in the borough, among these many of the most notable, to which strangers in the town would be attracted more particularly.
 Of the total church attendance of 125,- 914, more than two-thirds, or S5,512 was in Roman Catholic churches. This cen sus therefore, affords another illustra- ton of the preponderance of that faith among the earnest religious believers of Manhattan. It also shows anew that Of the churches not Roman Catholic. the Episcopal are the most frequented. The attendance in these, 13,073, was nearly as great as that in Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist combined. which was 13,s17. If, however. we add to the Presbyterian the attendance on the cog nate Reformed churches, we get total only about one-quarter less than the Epis- copalian.
 None of these censuses of church at- tendance can be taken as accurate, but there Is so close an agreement among them in their percentages of the popula- tion that they seem to be near enough to accuracy to enable us to conclude that something like quarter of the people or the great cities go to church on Sunday besides. as Is the case of the district can vassed on the last Sunday in November, visitors to town. This would imply that three people out of four do not go 10 church; but, of course. the number count ed in the churches on a particular sunday cannot be taken as including all faithful religious believers. Instead of the present percentage being small. it is questionable whether, If we would compare 1t with that of a generation ago. for instance IL "ouio not be found to be fully as great. when even one-quarter of the people or com munity go to church it's religious senti- ment is still powerful. The habit or rehg- ious observance has not yet been broken up by the spread of religious indifference or downright infidelity.
 In none of the districts canvassed, it may be remarked. is the percentage of the foreign population as high as in the DOT ough generally; and in all 1t Is very much lower than in the East Sides below Four teenth street, more particularly. The av- craze in the canvassed districts is about a third. In the East Side district 1t was 5s.1 per cent, and in one. the Eighth, It was more than two-thirds. of 672 per cent. according to the Federal census of 1900. since which time it has become great CT by reason of the very heavy immigra- tion.
 As all the similar censuses taken re- gently have demonstrated, the greatest