Omaha daily bee., 1910-08-14
RELIGION IN UNITED STATES
Census Bureau Complies Book About
Sects and Denominations.
OF ORIENTAL TEMPLES
New Persian Sect Has Twenty-Four
Places Of wOrship--Rensons for
Divisions of Different
Christian sects.

Christtnn sects.
WARRINGTON, Aug t3-Reigious free
dom in the United states shelters under its
tolerant and ample folds thousands Of rep
rosentntivee OF the so-called heather be
liefs, in addition to moro than 800 various
reefs Of Christianity. according TO census
bureau statistics dealing with the religious
life Of the country. Among the former are
Buddhists. Confucianists and Bahaists. who
arc engaged in an organized way In the
spread OF their doctrines in this country.
The data forming the basis of the volume
In question was gathered in 1905. It IL now
in proof, but there IL no assurance as to
when II will be given TO the public. In ad-
dillon to statistics Of the various denou1in-
ations. the work will present brief history
OF each; also the pertinent facts regarding
their doctrine and policy. The compilation
IL the work OF DR.. Edwin n. Bliss.
Chinese and Japanese Temples.
Up 10 the time OF the invest CATION there
had been no effort to affect any organiSa-
tlon for the promotion Of aConfueianism,
but the text tells Of society OF the Chinese
saGes followers which was organized in
New York City in 1907 among the Mongo-
Han students In Columbia university. Con-
tending that Buddhism is only a system
of ethics, they undertook to demonstrate
that Confucianism was a real religion and
so a regular system OF services was estab-
lishod by we'll defined organization
The organised followers OF Buddhism are
Chinese and Japanese. Their churches
known officially as temples" by the lr-
reverent are referred TO as Joss houses.
There are sixty-two Chinese and twelve
Japanese temples in this country, the
former being distributed over twelve and
the latter over three states. California
shelters all but three OF the Japanese and
more than half OF the Chinese houses
About forty. which went down under the
San Francisco cataclysm. had remained in
ruins to the time Of the enumeration.
Three Chinese Deities.
New York boasted fifteen of the Chinese
temples, the remainder being scattered over
ten states mostly In the west. The Chinese
Buddhists have only one priest in this
country and conduct no recognized system
Of worship. There is no record Of member
ship; they have no sermon; keep no Sab
bath and have no religious service. The
only use for their temples are as places at
which individual devotees may consult their
patron saints, Three deities are recognized
in the American temples, the god Kuan, q
mighty duke of the ancient Han dynasy;
thu GODDESS Of Fortune and the Goddess
OF Mercy.
The American-Japanese ,BuddhIsts are of
the progressive Shin shiu sect which is
missionary in character. They discard the
ascetic practices OF the more austere Bud
dhists Of Asia, allow the priests to marry
and have no ban on meat or other food.
This a0CtAfiAS vvnn
having priest. General headquarters are
In San Francisco and they have both Jour
nails and schools devoted to the propagation
OF the faith. In 1906 their membership in
this country was 2,3s1, OF which 77s were
females.
There Is no ShintoiBm an explanation of
which Ia found in the fact that this religion
attaches itself too closely to the person OF
the Japanese emperor.
In way the Hindoo religion is represented
by the Vedanta society with organizations
In New York, Pittsburs, San Francisco and
Los Angeles. 1t was organized by some
Hindu teachers who came here In 1893 ia
the Worlds fair It's name. from an
ancient Hindu philosophy, meaning the
end OF all wisdom" 1t is nonsectarian.
seeking TO harmonize all religious systems.
Oriental philosophers as taught by the
Theosophists. have four bodies with 1855
members in the United States.
New Persian Sect.
While Bahaism. strictly speaking, is nom
Christian and foreign tbs followers are
native and. not necessarily un-Christian.
1his IL o comparatively new sect erowfns
out OF the teachings Of Psrslan leader OF
the middle OF the last century nansd Al,
Mohammeds He claimed to be the fore.
runner "of him whom God would mani,
fest and called himself Bah" or 'the
Gate" Later came BAHIA UlIa, who claimed
TO be the one whose coming mad been fore
told and from him the real name of the
body Is derived. In 1906 he had $50 follow.
ers In the United States, who worshiped in
twenty-four places through fourteen states
they teach tolerance love. charity and re-
gard all religions as divine. Hence, thew
profess not to Interfere with the ordinary
docsrinal beliefs OF their members.
Another church OF Asiatic origin, but still
Chr1snan' IL the Armenian. which ha,
neVentS-three organizations in this country
most OF them In the eastern states, twenty.
nine In Massachusetts alone Their com
municants are generally Armenians. many
OF whom fled to this country to escap,
persecution.
N-SSteFh aOEth00OX churches.
The eastern Orthodox churches, or Greek
church. has 120i6o6 communicates This 1,
the state church Of Russia and Greece
or tho All churches here fifty-nIne repre-
sent the former nationality. There also ar,
serYian and Syrian branches. The Greek,
have SS4 organizations throughout III,
country, with New York.. Illinois anC
Massachusetts, leading. The Greek member
ship is sa76l. Twenty-Five of the flfty-nln,
Russian churches are in Pennsylvania.
The volume also will tell OF the variou.
Christian seets which are considered NOR,
purely American, and win show the varlou,
branches thereof. II will show that Will,
there are only tifty-seven main bodies
there are 2l6 church organizations. man,
OF them protesting faith only a shad,
different from others. For instance. Their,
are seventeen Baptist bodies. twenty -fou
Lutheran, fifteen Methodist and twelv,