The Penn's Grove record., 1923-05-18
CHURCHES IN COUNTRY SHOW
BIG GAINS
Increase In Membership During Past
Year Is Placed At 1,22O,42o.
Methodist Are In Lead.

Methodist Are IN Ledu.
America apparently is growing more
religious, Figures made publlc recently
by DR.. L. o. Watson, statlstlclah u II
Federal Council of Churches snow thaI
the religious bodies in the ChlIeu
States made their greatest grown our
ing last wear. The increase IS l'--V'
42S members over the previous year
The present membership of all re-
ligious bodies, according 70 the AS
available figures, is 4I,4tl,o0H' iHI
increase is approximately % per IN
greater than the average for Ihe pr
cadinp five wears. There was q gam o.
S591 congregations and 15,252 MINIS
tors The total number of congfega-
tons is now 243,59 They are lea py
R14.5S3 ministers. c,uab
According to these hgufeS' N"UIoI
ra~nresentatives point out that each
- ~ 1000 an average of 3.345 per-
sons Joined the various religious pod-
pps. ~ ministers were ordained OF
licensed and 2G congregations were OF
gained. . NOT as
great as the fact that there ar
007 more congregations nan Inaai
would Indicate. Many pastors eSPecir
alIv in rural districts, have charge OF
+uyo or more congregations. BesldeS.
a number of missions ana IuIai
Churches are served by laNlheH, iH'S
activity on the part OF laEmen II ol'
CT the significant features OF ~
Owing to different methods adopted
nv the various bodies i'm computln@
their membership, it is hard TO MAKE
coronarisons. The Roman CathoIlc
church shows a membership of lS'loi.-
SO4 persons. Its figures fepIgS'lI'
estimated Church population ana m
c1ude all baptfsed persons.
.4z.4 CIr,Vrh4e show a MEMBER
shin of 27.454.0 They count com
sunicants My
Tbe 40 bodies related to the Federal
Council of Churches report d L9laI
membership of 2O.722,142 persons. IheH
have 1904 1876 congregations, served ny
1907 ministers. Their gam III - 49,
bership over last year is 500, 26l. IheIL
tota1 constituency is now 59,O2l,'lH
persons.
THE total religious constituency or
the country is placed at 5o'o'o''o'
persons. Church officials dehhe con-
stituency to mean all baptlseu ptrSoI'S
ali adherents and all those who, in the
supreme test of life or death, turn to
particular communion.
when figures of the various
Churches are placed on a comparable
tbasis thru methods agreed upon oy
Church and Government officiais' the
constituency OF the great bodies IS re-
ported as follows:
Protestant ........,... te'li2'iSi
Roman Catholic ........ *, ioI'sai
Jews l.boo,ooo
Latter Day Saints (Mor-
mons) ............... oof''N-
Eastern Orthodox Greek
and Russians) .......... f9b'oo4
The Jewish figures are the same as
used last year. They are computed on
n different basis from the various
Christian bodies because OF their great
variations in methods of computing
membership. The Jewish authorltleS
estimate the Jewish population OF the
United States a more han 9.3O0,eOV'
Though some of he larger bodies
have not reported on their eNpendi-
lures. the figures already in hand
show that the Churches raised $l6,-
628,S94 more than last year. The total
reported to date is $5G5. 052,97S.
The great increase in membership
is due largely TO the gains of the
Roman Catholic Church. which shows
an increase of 219,15S; the Methodist
Episcopal Church. 122,975; the South
ern Baptist Convention, 97,116, and the
National Baptist Convention, (negrol
1880. The Roman Catholic Church
figures Indicate a decrease in the rate
of gain as compared with the annual
average for the precedig five years,
which was 432,7G6. The Methodist
Churches have the largest constituency
in the country, their figures showing
23,25S,S 54 persons. The Baptist form
the second largest group and are press
ing the Methodist closely, with a con-
stituency of %. 1853. 09S persons. The
Roman Catholics are third, with IS
704 SO4 persons. The Lutherans make
I'D the fourth body, with 7,043,S54 con-
stituency, and the Presbyterian are
fifth. with 6,726.698 constituency.
Probably the most remarkable gain
. a. nam is that of the Eastern Or
fhodox Churches. which shows a 10
per cent increase, jumping from Ill
054 to 456. 054 members. This is ap-
parently due to the fact that the
Greek Orthodox Church is more effec-
lively organized and is reaching the
Greek immigrants in America. The
Methodist Protestant Church turned a
loss during the preceding five years
into an Increase of 5000 members.
while the Disciples of Christ and the
Congregational Churches both had a re-
duction in the number of congrega-
lions, they gained respectively S,S2b
and 1906 members.
The E~piscopalians doubled their in
crease of the preceding year. making
36,S1S. which is not quite 4 per cent,
which brings their total membership
to 1OS,560.
The Christian Science Church reports
1899 congregations and 3,59S readers,
IA ' ~ AS 'ANS 80
The statistics of the Adventists bodies
indicate a loss of 1857 members, their
present membership reported last year.
The Latter Day Saints (Mormons) show
a constituency gain of 16,164.
The last available figures regarding
memberships of the larger Churches
and their gains or losses during the
year are:
Adventist bodies. 1866; loss. 2,E67;
Northern Baptist Convention, 1.274.250;
gain. 13.S43; Southern Baptist COnven-
ton. 3.374.1G5; gain. 97,116; National
BAPTIST Convention (colored, 3.253I33
gain. 1850; other Baptist bodies, 265,-
3S7; loss, $3.50; Brethren German Bap-
fist Dunkers). 136,432; gain, 2,322;
Christian Church General Christian
Convention), 9f,153; loss, 1881; Church
of the Nazarene. 47,942 Ono gain indt-
cated); S~wedenborgian bodies, 7,O66;
gain, 776.
congregational Churches, S$S,271;
gain. 1906; Disciples of Christ, ~
O COH. TT,Etars,- nJt h nFVN