The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-06-23
shippers do penance by attending SER
vices in such places on the Sabbath

L
day.
That there is Catholic mission
here is not surprising since this church
goes wherever 1t has any aderents, few
or many, and carries on its work wit
out reference to other denominations.
Leaving it out of consideration there
remain four Protestant denominations
with seven organizations divided on
| questions of doctrines and policy, sub
divided purely along racial lines into
German, Scandinavian and Danish
Lutherans. The followers of the great
reformer find their work retarded and
their influence weakened by just so
much. The last two We're originally
one organization, a schism having been
finally caused by the disparging re-
marks of the tactless old Norwegian
pastor who wounded the amour propre
of the Danes. So little does it take to
bring about division and so easy is it
to multiply organizations! Two Meth
| odish churches, North and South
though only one hundred miles from the
| Dominion of Canada, contending for
supremacy. Located on opposite COR
ners of the same block. with nothing
between them; the building of the lat
ter enjoys the pre-eminence of being
higher upon the hillside; but this adj
vantage is offset to some extent by
the greater height of the formers
| steeple.'
This, we believe, is fairly descrip-
tive of the difficulties that exist be-
tween Protestant churches. The diff
ferences Of belief and opinion that eX-
list between members of the same
Protestant congregation are often as
great or greater than the differences
claimed to exist between different Pro-
testant denominations. The writer
gives as reasons for the existence of
denominationalism THE presence in
most towns of small number of
bigoted sectarians who will have at
any price their own particular church;
the tendency to divide on social lines
as in larger places, the well-to-do in
one church and the poor in another:
division on the question of worldly
amusement; the craving of many to
surround themselves in a new country
with the same traditions, sentiments
and associations as in the east falsely
attributing the form of present condi-
lions elsewhere to the denomination
with which their church was identified.
whereas they We're really due to their
social environment; the buoyant hope
full spirit of the west where every lit
bility at least Of it's one day becoming
city, so that instead Of waiting for
growth and development, each denom-
nation rushes in and tries to forestali
the others; and last, but not least, the
unholy zeal of the field agents of the
different churches who skillfully make
use of the likes and dislikes of the peo-
pie. and wherever they can secure
half dozen adherents, urge them on to
organization"
The above recital of reasons for
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS contains fairly
true statement of the causes that go
to keep up the division in the ranks
of the Protestants, but the underlying
cause of denominationalism is over
looked by the writer. Denomination
alism is the direct and necessary re-
suit of individual selection and judg-
ment in matters of religious faith.
Whenever people are turned loose to
rely upon their own Interpretation and
to select for themselves that which it
pleases them to believe and to reject
the unpleasant, denominationalism nee
essarily results. The Catholic church
could not countenance individual rea-
son in the matter of faith and the
Protestant reformation was the result.
Protestants themselves are now begin
ming to realize after more than two
centuries of sectarian chickering's that
the principle for which they fought
in the beginning is now really leading
to the destruction of religious organi-
cation and practice. Each one of the
original Protestant denominations has
divided up several times. In some
cases the division has gone onto such
an extent that. there is really no Or
ganization. but simply a series of in
dividual church congregations united
by no ties of organization or of faith,
but possessing identity only to serve
as a basis of jealousies that destroy
practically all power for effecting good.
The article referred to says that one
would expect to find in small town
with so many churches wide preva-
lence of religious sentiment and high
standard of morals, but it is just the
contrary. A large portion of the pop
ulation, especially the male element,
does not belong to any of these organi-
cations and does not attend services
regularly. The low moral tone of the
town in question Is charged by the
writer to denominationalism which is
held directly responsible for the con-
tinuance of the condition. TOO weak