Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-08-25
CENSUS OF RELIGIOUS BODIES.
Church Members Numbered Nearly
33,OOO,OOO i'm United States.

quarter dollars invested IN church
edifices.
Every day eight new churches sent
their spires skyward.
Males formed considerably less
than half the total church member
ship.
A larger per cent of Catholic males
nthan Protestant males were members.
In sixteen States the majority of
the total church membership were
Roman Catholic.
or the grand total of church mem
bers reported for the United States
61.6 per cent were Protestants and
36.7 per cent Roman Catholics.
These are the salient and conspic-
uous facts appearing in the proof
sheets of a United States Census Bu-
reau bulletin, prepared by Chief Sta
tistician VIM. c. Hunt, of the divi-
sion of population, of the United
States Census department.
The bulletin will be issued this
month. 1t is in the. nature of an
abstract OF the comprehensive re-
port, now in press, giving the re-
suits of the fifth census of religious
bodies in the United States.
Fewer Male than Female Members.
1t is stated that United States CEN
sus statistics of church membership
by sex were collected for the first
time in 1906 or the total number
of members reported by the various
Eeligious bodies and classified by sex
<A43.1 per cent were males and 56.9
per cent females. Among the Pro-
testants the difference was greater
only 1913 per cent being males. In
the Roman Catholic churches there
were relatively more males, the num-
ber forming 49.3 per cent Of the to-
tai membership.
Fewer males than females were
found among the Latter-day Saints,
the Lutherans, Disciples, Methodists
and Baptists, Presbyterians and Pro-
testant Episcopalians, the percent
ages of male members decreasing in
the order shown, and there being but
copalians. Among the Christian Sci
entists only 27.6 per cent were males,
and of the Shakers but 21.3 per cent;
but Ii the Greek Orthodox church
93.9 per cent were males, as practi-
cally AL Greek immigrants have been
males.
Proportion in Total Population.
or the total estimated population
OF continental United States in 1906
the church members formed 39.1 per
cent, as against 32.7 per cent for
1890, amounting to GA per cent more
in 1906 than in 1890. or this CA
per cent insrease the Roman Catholic
church is credited with A per cent,
and the Protestants with IS per
cent, the remainder being divided
among all other denominations.
1t is stated in the bulletin that the
total number of members reported by
the various religious bodies for 1906
was 32, 2,936,445, of which number
the Protestants were credited with
20,287,742 and the Roman Catholics
with 12,079,142. OF the Protestant
bodies the Methodists numbered
.&,749,S3S, the Baptists 5,662,234,
the Lutherans 2,112,494, the Presby-
terians with 1,S3O,555, and the Dis
ciples or Christians, 1,142,359.
OF the total Of 32,936,445 church
members, 61.6 per cent were Pro-
testants 36.7 per cent Roman Cath.
olic; and IT per cent members Of
other religious organizations. The
rate OF increase shown for the Roman
Catholic church is 93.5 per cent,
which is more than twice that for
all the Pr testant bodies combined.
Methodists reported It's per
~2Sent, of all Protestant chulch mem
bers, the Baptists 17.2 per cent.
Increase in Number of Organizations.
The total number of local relig-
ious organizations in 1906 is given
as 212,230, an increase since 1890
of 47,079, or 2S.5 per cent. The
Protestants are credited with an in
crease in this particular amounting
to 27.8 per cent; the Roman Catho-
lie church, 21.9 per cent; the Jew
ish congregations, 23.9 per cent, and
the Latter-day Saints, 1873 per cent.
The Methodists reported the larg-
est number Of local ORGANIZATIONS
64,701; the Baptsts reported Sd
he