The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-08-18
"HEATHES' TEMPLES IN AMER-
ICA.
census Bureau Statistics Show There
Are More Than 200 Religious sects
In This Country.

Washington, Aug. f3.-Religioug
freedom In he United States shelters
under It's tolerant and ample folds
thousands OF representatives OF So
called heather beliefs. In addition TO
more than 200 Christian sects, ac-
cording TO Census Bureau statistics
dealing with the religious life OF the
country. The compilation, which Ia
the work Of DR.. Edwin NJ. Bliss, Will
give a sketch of each doctrine and
polIty.
The report shows that In 1907 the
Mongolian students in Coiumbia Uni
versity undertook to demonstrate
that Confucianism was a real religion
and established regular system Of
services. There are 62 Chinese and
z Japanese Buddhist temples in this
country, the former being distributed
over IL, the latter over 3 States
California shelters all but three of
the Japanese and more than half the
Chinese houses. About 40 went down
under the San Francisco cataclysm.
New York boasted 5 Chinese tenn
pies. buL TIC SIlHSSS nave
only one priest in this country and
conduct no recognized system Of wor-
ship. The only use for their temples
are as places at which individual de-
Votees may consult their patron saint.
The American-Japanese Buddhists
are Of the progressive Shin Shiu sect,
missionary in character. In 1906
their membership in this country was
2,387, of which 778 were females.
There Is no Shintoism in America,
an explanation of which is found in
the fact that this religion attaches it.
self too closely to the person of the
Japanese emperor.
! The Hindu religion is represented
! by organizations in New York, Pitts
/ burg, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
/ Oriental philosophers as taught by the
/ Theosophists have four bodies with
/ 1886 members in the United States.
A Christian church of Asiatic orig
in is the Armenian, which has 73
organizations in this country.
The Eastern Orthodox, or Greek
church, has 129,606 communicates
+ This is the state church of Russia
and Greece. Of the All churches
! here So represent the former nation
atty There also are ServiaA and
| Syrian branches. The Greeks have
334 organizations with membership
Of 90,751. twenty-five of the 5S
Russian churches are in Pennsyl-
vania.
The volume will tell of the various
! Christian sects considered more pure
! ly American. While there are only
81 main bodies there are 215 church
organizations, many protesting a
! faith only a shade different from
others. For instance, there are IT
Baptist bodies, "a Lutheran, 1 5 Meth
odist and II Presbyterian. The same
| is true of less known organizations.
! There are Is Mennonite, Z Advent
lists, bunker or Dunkard and
| Quaker or Friend bodies.
There appears no division in either
the Roman Catholic or Protestant
Episcopal church although it is shown
that efforts to modify their creeds
have resulted in the establishment of
independent bodies. They are desig-
mated as the Reformed Catholic and
the Reformed Episcopal churches, re-
spectively. The Reformed Catholics
number only 1880 communicates.
while of the Reformed Episcopalians
there are about 1852.
The cause of the origin of some of
the branches is indicated by the
name. For instance, there are Gen
eral Baptists, Separate Baptists,
United Baptists, Free Baptists, Free
will Baptists, United American Free
will Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Gen
eral Six-Principles Baptists, Seventh
and Two-Seed-in-the-Sp Predesti-
nation Baptists.
The civil war caused splits, giving
rise to Southern Methodist and South
ern Baptist bodies. In these churches
there is also color division.
Of other branches, besides the
Duck River Baptists, owing their
names to localities, are the River
Brethren and the Workers, both
branches of the Brethren denomina-
ton. The former began existence on
the Susquehanna river; the latter in
York County, Penn. The Brinsers,
also Brethren, are called after their
first bishop, as also the Schwecken-
felders.
Three of the newest churches men
toned are composed largely Of color
ed communicants-"T Church of
God and Saints Of Christ" Church
of the Living God" and "The Free
Christian Zion Church of Christ"
There were about 700 organiza-
tions in the main branch of the Sal
vation Army, with membership of
about $4,000. There were 455 or
ganizations of Spiritualists. with over
5000 members.