THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS SECTS A Comparison of Types BY Henry C. McComas, Ph.D. Assistant Professor , Preceptor in Psychology ', in Princeton University Author of "SOME TYPES OF ATTENTION'* NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyright, 1912, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 125 N. Wabash Ave. /Toronto; 2 4 Rtehmond St., W. 'London*: 21 Paternoster Square lOo/.Princes Street tto MY FATHER AND MOTHER WHOSE DEVOTION MADE THIS LITTLE VOLUME POSSIBLE 273396 PREFACE THIS little volume is an outgrowth of two very dif- ferent kinds of experience, a number of years in church work and a number of years in a psychological laboratory. The church work covered very dissimilar fields : slums on the east side of New York, a fashion- able church on the west side, home-mission churches, churches north, south and west. In this religious work practical success depended upon the ability to interpret human nature. A working basis for classifying differ- ent religious types grew up unconsciously. Some people must be reached in one way, some in another. A suc- cessful worker bases his efforts upon a successful classi- fication of religious types. A few years in the psychological laboratory brought out a supplementary truth. No two persons are exactly alike in their intellectual and emotional natures. The laboratory has many ways of measuring individual dif- ferences. One of the most fruitful branches of Psy- chology to-day is the study of Individual Differences. These are found in Attention, Association, Memory, Imagination, and, indeed, in every factor entering into human nature. The grouping of these differences into types has not yet been accomplished but promises to be one of the achievements of the future. The connection between religious types and these fundamental differences in human nature is so obvious that no one can come into contact with both sets of facts 8 PREFACE without becoming convinced that they are bound up to- gether. That is, the differences which appear in the religious life of different denominations have their only justification in the differences of human dispositions and not in any divine preferences. Nothing is more neces- sary to-day than the proclamation of this fact, for the heart of sectarianism is the belief that each sect is peculiarly a divine favorite. When all religious people freely acknowledge that their differences are matters of individual tastes and temperaments the real barriers to church unity will be brushed away. H. C. Me. CONTENTS I. INDIVIDUALITY . . . . . .1.3 Rembrandt's Genius in Portraits Based on Individ- uality of Countenances Greater Individuality in Brains Evolution of the Nervous System Its Re- sponse to the Demands of Its Surroundings Social Environments Modify Human Nature Effects of Events in Childhood upon Later Ideas and Feelings Individual Differences in Psychological Labora- tories Differences in Attention and Imagination Necessary Individuality in Religious Thoughts and Feelings. II. TYPES . 23 _ Types of Faces Galton's Photographs Physical Types of Human Nature in Sex, Race, Nation Le Bon on the French Type Gehring's Contrast of Race Types in Music, Literature and Art Differences Due to Span of Attention Types Resulting from Physical and Social Causes Some Familiar Types Social Laws and Types Religion in the Individual and Type. III. RELIGIONS AND RELIGION . . . 33 Types of Religion Not Due to God Pratt's Classes of Religious People Their Reasons for Belief Some Philosophers' Religious Types Definitions of Re- ligion Theories of Origin of Religion They Do Not Establish a Unity Practical Gauge of the Pres- ence of Religion The One Factor in Common in All Religions Unity and Diversity in Christian Faiths. IV. THE SECTS 47 Popular Idea of Church Growth Combated by \r Census Great Membership, Wealth and Activity of the Sects Cause of Weakness in Divisions io CONTENTS Evils of Sectarian Divisions Two Instances of Over- Churching Results of Sectional Spirit and Activity Rights of the Public Causes of Genuine Sects A List of the Sects. V. THE MAKING OF THE SECTS . 61 The United States a Fertile Soil for Sects Immi- / gration Old World Differences National and Ra- cial Differences The Civil War Sects Sects Aris-~ ing from Church Administration Influential Lead- ers Sects Arising from Protests The Spirit of Conservatism The Pioneer Spirit Revival Sects Doctrinal Sects Differences Due to Natural Reli- gious Types. VI. CLASSES OF SECTS ..... 76 A Classification of Sects Based on Their Origins and y Characteristics How National Stocks Affect Reli- gious^ History People of Northern Europe Lu- theran Bodies and Other Bodies of a Like Type The Negro Churches Revivals Produce a Certain Type of Sect The Doctrinal Group of Sects Ritualism Appeals to Certain Types Leaders of Sects Gather Followers of Their Own Type. VII. NATURAL SECTS . . . . .89 Natural Lines of Sect Cleavage The Calvinist Type The Typical Methodist -The Baptist The Unitarian Professor Giddings' Types of Mind and Classes of Sects Comparison of Classifications Shows Two Centres of Types Many Influences Obscure Natural Types Unitarian and Christian Science Types Contrasted Corroborations of Types Seen in Church Expenses and Their Locations. VIII. TYPES OF HUMAN NATURE . . 105 Ancient Explanations of Types of Human Nature The Four Temperaments Possible Physical Causes of Temperament Pyschology and Classes of Human Nature Malapert's Orders of Nature Giddings' Classes TThrgg^N^nt^i niVigirmc These Characterize Periods in the _-_ and of the __ Race ~ The Impulsive, the Emotional and the Intellectual . CONTENTS _ IX. ACTION TYPES Central Place of Emotions in the Religious Life Action Types Instinct and Action Imitation The Average Man of the Action Type Appeal Made by the Roman Catholic Church to This Type The Intellectual Action Type His Place in the Church Anomalous The Impulsive Type The Well-wisher Types Scattered Through All Sects. I X. EXPERIENTIAL TYPES . . . .134 The Meaning of Experiential Defined Emotions Enter into Experience The Worth of Life in Terms of Emotion A Classification of the Feelings The Feelings Depend upon Physical Organs Sex and the Emotional Nature Biology and Sex Characters Temperamental Differences in Sexes Sex Differ- ences in Religion In Boys and Girls In Adults Sex Preferences in Sects Suggestibility of Women Emotion and Suggestibility Suggestibil- ity in Hypnosis and Conversions A Conversion Type The Unstable Emotional Nature of Primitive People Professor James on Emotion and Inhibi- tion Emotion Spells Youth Types of Emotional Nature Optimist and Pessimist Relation of Feel- ing and Thinking" The Origin of Dogmatism The Difficulty in Unlearning Religious Teaching of Youth The Virtue of the Bigot. XL INTELLECTUAL TYPES . . . .166 Obvious Intellectual Disparities The Attention Its Relation to Church Services Quick and Slow Thinkers Their Range of Thought Ideational Types The Visualizer's Imagination The Audi- tory and Motor Types Theology Is an Expression of Religious Thought It Must Underlie Religion Itself The Direction of Religious Thought Is Guided by Types of Mind The Liberal and the Literalist Their Religious Lives Imagery and Ritual. XII. THE INDIVIDUAL AND HIS SECT . 186 The Three Great Types A Characterization of the Sects According to Type The Adventists The Baptists The Christians Coloured Denominations The Christian Science Church The Congregation- 12 CONTENTS alists The Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ The Dunkers The Evangelical Associa- tion The Friends Latter-day Saints Lutherans Methodists Presbyterians The Protestant Episcopal Church Unitarians United Brethren Universalists Tabular Comparison of Denomina- tional Types. XIII. LEVELLING FORCES . . . .203 Forces Which Level Down Inequalities in Society and in the Church The Public School Social Pressure Fashions Density of Population and the Spread of Ideas Education Makes Leaders of One Type The Mood of the Times Modern Scholar- ship Makes Agreement on Bible Doctrines Practi- cable Humanitarian Sentiments Make Unity of Viewpoints Spirit of the Times in Church Build- ings, Rituals and Sermons The Reflex Influence of Missions The Y. P. S. C. E. The Sunday School and Other Church Agencies Opposition to Closer Approach *of Churches Due to Their Officers The Greatest Levelling Force Is Public Opinion Public Opinion Fosters Certain Movements and Opposes Others The Kind of Public Opinion Which Fosters Divorce Fosters Christian Science The Need of Cultivating Public Opinion for the Spread of the Idea of Church Unity. XIV. POSSIBILITIES AND IMPOSSIBILITIES IN CHURCH UNION ..... 217 A Church of Thirty Millions Unity and Federation ' Reunion of Sects Made by Civil War rinagr 'Rfi^- tions Between, ftegt.s nf Different N fl t 1 'otin1itit>R Ra- ctaTISects and Missions A Catholic and Protestant Federation Doctrinal Differences Not Insuper- able Church Polity Not an Impassable Barrier A Comparison of the Natural Sects Groups of Sects Closely Related by Natural Traits First Steps Toward Unity. XV. IN CONCLUSION ...... 233 To Correct Some Natural Misunderstandings The Real Purpose of the Book. INDIVIDUALITY WHEN we study the genius of Rembrandt in those wonderful portraits, which look into our eyes with the sorrows and yearning, the wisdom and wonder of lives whose roles were played in the dawn of a new age, the conviction grows that the secret of the master lay in his discernment and portrayal of Individuality. We feel that we are in the presence of personality, not paint. This feeling is accentuated if portraits hanging near the master's are in the monotonous uniform style of so many portrait painters. How accept- able are the lack of symmetry, the presence of unflat- tering moles, warts, hairs and wrinkles in those old faces by Rembrandt ! Though we have never seen the originals there is a feeling that these copies are telling the truth about the originals, and to alter the lines would be to misrepresent them. Nor would it require much alteration to completely change their character. The turn of a line at the corner of a mouth, the darkening of a shadow under the eye would make as great a change in expression as the alteration of a letter makes in the meaning of a word. Such slight changes as these make the face of each man unlike that of his fellow. A sculptor accidentally injured the tip of the nose on one of the busts of Shakespere. The shortening of the 13 14 THE SECTS nose demanded a lengthening of the upper lip; with the disastrous result that the immortal bard assumed an ir- resistible Irish smile. When the numerous features composing a counte- nance are considered, it is no wonder that trifling changes produce an infinity of variety in countenances. If a chart in craniometry is studied carefully, it will become very evident that the length of lines and size of angles which go into the making of human heads are so numer- ous and so capable of variation that Nature has ample means for producing original countenances and has no need to duplicate. These external and obvious materials are comparatively scanty when the internal factors are taken into account. Every brain, like every face, has its individuality ; which has its source in a maze of brain-tracts. It would be far easier for two trees in a forest to be exactly alike in trunks, limbs, boughs, branches, twigs and leaves than it would be for two brains to have the same brain- tracts, the same connections between sensory and motor cells, the same synapses. While large and general simi- larities everywhere appear, the infinity of microscopic differences between two brains is incomprehensibly great. In connection with these physiological differences be- tween the brains of individuals, it is interesting to note the way in which the brain evolved in the course of ages. In every age it was a case of " demand and sup- ply." An organism needed the means for adapting itself to the requirements of its surroundings; and from its innate potentialities and the conditions of its environ- ment it developed the required structure. This process may be traced from the simple jelly-like, unicellular INDIVIDUALITY 15 animal life among the Protozoa to man. When life de- pended upon the formation of contractile tissues, and, then upon nervous tissues, to coordinate the movements of the contractile tissues, in these simple organisms the necessary structures appeared. Or, it should be said, more accurately, that the structures and functions ap- peared in many cases; and in these cases the species survived. Of course, there have been many forms of life which have disappeared because they could not meet the demands made upon them. Each of the end-organs, the eye, the ear, the taste and smell bulbs of the nerves ending in the tongue and in the air passages of the nose, the variously shaped nerve endings in the skin, giving sensations of touch, pain and temperature, all grew up as animal life needed to receive information concerning the universe in which it was trying to live. Some senses developed earlier in the life of one species than in the life of another. Along with this growth of the end-organs and nervous system went a corresponding growth of the " centres " of the nervous activities, the brain. In early forms of life the sense-organs for hearing, seeing, tasting and smelling appear at the oral end of the animal. They are situated near the mouth, as it is always the end seeking food and pointed in the direction in which the creature is mov- ing. This position of the principal sense-organs naturally brought the nervous centres, which received the sensory impressions and which coordinated them, into the same part of the organism. So the brain developed in response to the demands of the environment. This enables us to see why the various animal orders have such dissimilar brains and it hints at a reason why the human brain should vary so greatly. 16 THE SECTS Environment does not cease its influence upon brain and nervous system even in man. Here, too, the subtle hand of the creature's universe reaches in and shapes his being. No such obvious characteristics are evident in the difference between the brain of an Aus- tralian Bushman and an English scientist as between a bird and a fish; but the Bushman's brain is very dif- ferent from the Englishman's; and his environment plus that of his ancestors has made the difference. We may look for many of the minute differences between our fellows in the influence of their several environ- ments. This is more obvious in physical environments than in social. For many years sociologists have pointed out how the characteristics of the mountaineer, the plains- man, the sailor, the farmer and the merchant differ. In our own experience we have noticed the effect upon our lives of a sudden change of surroundings. Thus, an un- accustomed altitude quickens the heart, an unusually warm, moist atmosphere enervates us, climatic and dietary changes affect the entire physical system. But such factors are by no means a civilized man's entire environment. Indeed, they are the things of which he is least aware. His environment consists far more in those things which engage his thoughts and demand his constant activity. His daily occupation stamps itself upon his life. If he leans over a ledger all day, he breathes less than a quarter of the fresh air he would consume if he were a mason or a sailor. His thoughts, like the muscles of his eyes, become accustomed to focussing on one class of things to the exclusion of others. He develops his own especial sort of mental focus. Body and brain become bent to the prevailing INDIVIDUALITY 17 needs. As no two life-experiences are exactly alike, no two human beings can be exactly alike. True, similar environments would tend to produce likenesses in human nature, and do so; but slight differences in the original disposition respond to similar surroundings in such a way that twins who have a very great deal in common physically, frequently show the most marked differences. In their case the environment which has surrounded them from infancy up to maturity must be reckoned with. It has been shown that the thought-life of the child is the keystone which gives shape to adult thinking. The first impressions of the sea, of mountains, prairies, great rivers, or any of the wonders of nature, are the im- pressions which form centres for all succeeding thoughts upon these things. When the word " spring " or " pond " is mentioned, I think at first of the meaning of the word as it occurs in its context ; then, if a clearer and larger comprehension is needed, I find a visual image of a certain " pond " or " spring," connected with my earliest experiences, will come into mind. This is a very common experience. Some recent research in psychology tends to strengthen the belief that the earli- est impressions upon the mind run down into the thought- life of all later years. It is easy to see how a vivid ex- perience will start a series of thought-complexes forming in the child-mind which will be his and his only for all time. A rather striking case is that of the man who had an aversion for horses. He felt that the bite of a horse was especially dangerous, and rather feared a horse's head than his heels. He spoke of his persistent aver- sion to an uncle, who had known him in infancy, and learned that he had been bitten by a horse when he was i8 THE SECTS a very small boy and had always dreaded them. The recollection of the event had long since faded out, but the effects still remained. With many children, apparently commonplace experiences make lasting impressions. Henry Ward Beecher declared that he never could en- dure seeing anyone box a child's ears, as it recalled a cer- tain experience in his own mischievous period. Lincoln's repertory of stories was filled with scores of homely and quaint incidents which lasted in his mind throughout life. Everyone is aware that this treasury of early impressions exists. Not everyone realizes that many of his likes and dislikes, and much of the colouring of his thoughts, come from this source. So it may easily be seen how the home, the school, the play-ground, the work of each child give a touch to his personality. Each touch means a slight difference in the building of his thought-life; or, if we retain the physiologist's viewpoint, to the fashioning of his brain. Each experience of the years of plasticity enters into the fibre of his mental and temperamental being. It would not mean the obliteration of individuality if every human being on earth started with exactly the same native endowments, for so diverse are the experiences which enter into the separate lives of those living in apparently the same environment, both social and phys- ical, that each would acquire characteristics of his own. Of course, no such identity of natural faculties exists. Nature is anything but stereotyped. " We see infinite variability in the endless slight peculiarities which dis- tinguish the individuals of the same species, and which cannot be accounted for by inheritance from either parent or from some more remote ancestor. Even INDIVIDUALITY 19 strongly marked differences occasionally appear in the young of the same litter and in seedlings from the same seed-capsules." * With the higher and more complex creatures there is greater opportunity for these native differences. One of the most important methods of studying these differences is afforded by the Psychological Laboratory. Since Wilhelm Wundt established his laboratory in Leip- zig in 1875, his methods and ideals have spread to nearly every university in the world, with the splendid re- sult that a new body of scientific knowledge has grown up in a generation. From the material accumulated in these many laboratories, an intelligent investigation of the great principles of the human mind is possible. Not the least important part of this " New Psychology " is that which examines " Individual Differences." Some one characteristic of several persons is studied in detail and careful comparisons are made. Thus, by means of the chronoscope, an instrument which measures time in terms of a thousandth of a second, an experimenter can easily determine how long it takes a certain subject to perceive a light or a sound and to react upon his per- ception. Or he may measure the length of time it re- quires to discriminate between two colours or sounds. This would give a hint as to the quickness of the sub- ject's mental activity. In these simplest of experiments very wide individual differences appear. Some persons are longer in recognizing an object than others. Some are very much quicker in their decisions and actions than others. To correlate a large number of such peculiarities is one of the great tasks of the psychologist. Enough experiments have been made to show many * Darwin: "The Origin of Species," p. 8. 20 THE SECTS striking differences among men. For example, the length of time during which one may keep his mind upon a subject varies greatly from man to man. Not only does the time in which the attention dwells upon a subject vary, but the extent of grasp of the attention itself is very variable. One individual actually receives more or less into his mind during a given time than does another. The same landscape passing a car window be- fore two travellers, will not be perceived in the same pro- portions. Each man builds his mind with the materials which the grasp of his attention allows. More than that, when the materials which have actually entered the mind are recalled, each one uses his own method of re-collect- ing. Each finds his emotions Entering into his thoughts in a unique way. When several students were requested to tell how they recalled a certain event, each gave a dif- ferent scheme of recall and each had his own feelings attending his thought. One recalled the event entirely in terms of emotion, another in visual terms, a third in visual and auditory, a fourth found motor elements in his recollection. Nothing, therefore, is truer than the Latin maxim " as many minds as men." When the higher faculties of the mind are engaged, as in imagination and conception, the most vivid distinctions of thought appear. I have asked a number of men and women of education to solve a simple puzzle in me- chanics. Each one pursued a strikingly original method of attack. That these people lived different mental lives despite the identity of university training goes without saying. Nor is it different with all men and women. Any simple test will show these differences. Elaborate matters of imagination show vast dissimilarities. Thus no two persons have the same thought concerning the INDIVIDUALITY 21 world. To one the world calls up a map, to another a globe, a third thinks of foreign lands, and so the variety continues. It is only when each stops and recalls the salient facts known about the world, according to as- tronomy and geology, that anything like uniformity of conceptions appears. What, then, could be more obvious than that each human being fashions his own religious conceptions? The idea of God finds its material in the early teach- ing or thinking of each soul. Around the central thought gathers a host of impressions. In the " association test " I have occasionally given the word " God/' The first thoughts which came to the subjects were " church steeple," " the soul/' " mother/' and such dissimilar things. The central conception of God is, of course, very vague ; and around this the innumerable associations clus- ter, giving their colour to the great idea. Only theologians who have reduced God to logical and verbal formulas show any uniformity of conception, and their colourless abstractions diff er, unless they deliberately mould them in the same historical matrices. Among the people who are not professional experts in defining their conception of God, but whose lives are permeated with the inspiration of their thought of Him, there is a glorious profusion of differences. Indeed, where the figure of Christ is conceived as the great image of God, the innumerable likenesses of Him afford almost as large a field for choice of conceptions. Perhaps the thought which endeavours to make clear to the mind what is meant by God is no more individual with each person than the emotion which joins such thought. Here again the life-experience of each mortal weaves itself into his religious feelings. Love, fear, awe, even curiosity, mingle with a number of 22 THE SECTS indefinable emotions in the complex psychic state which entertains the thought of God. Nothing could be more futile than to seek to pattern all thoughts of God, the Soul, and Duty, after one per- son's conception. Each must fashion his own thought of these truths, and each must respond in his own way to his own God. This does not mean that there are many gods, any more than there are many worlds in which we live. But it does mean that there can be no censor, no Pope or church which can make our thought of God in whom we live. II TYPES THOUGH no two faces are exactly alike, every- one instinctively groups faces into classes. An ability to do this is a valuable asset to a man of affairs; for in many cases the face value of a person is the only value obtainable when a decision is pending. Then the practised eye discerns the alert and the phlegmatic, the vigorous and the incompetent with a remarkable precision. As experience in " character reading" increases, assurance grows. For, in spite of many errors, so many estimates are correct that nearly everyone directs his attitude towards strangers accord- ing to the impressions they make. Nor is this a hap- hazard method. Underlying the diversities of expres- sions there are general traits which are fairly constant. Thirty years ago Francis Galton endeavoured to put these vague and popular beliefs into systematic form by making composite photographs of different classes of people. He took several criminals, several persons suf- fering from consumption, and other cases of physical or mental likeness, and superimposed their pictures. As a result, the features in common stand out with consider- able distinctness. Enough similarity is evident to show why one instinctively declares " that is a criminal face," or " that person has tuberculosis." Recently, over a score of photographs of New York bank presidents were 23 24 THE SECTS thrown into a composite picture. Of course one could not say, " Here is a typical bank president," when look- ing at the picture. Nevertheless, the intelligence, char- acter and culture of a successful man were all in clear evidence. No one could mistake the lines of that counte- nance for a pugilist's, or a tramp's, or a debauchee's. Within certain limits, anyone could indicate the social and intellectual status of the man. As we saw in the preceding chapter, there is a certain correlation between the external form and the internal factors of personality. So, here, we may look for types of human nature as well as types of countenance. Only as such classes appear, can an intelligent study proceed. For it is the first duty of any research to classify. The success in classification measures the grasp of the sub- ject. When Linnaeus arranged his plants in the order of their structural similarities, he revolutionized botany; but not until the principles of evolution were under- stood, did a complete and accurate classification become possible. It is not enough to point out superficial re- semblances and to group them as " Types." Some un- derstanding of the forces which enter into the making of types is necessary. For this reason, several chapters will be devoted to the study of a number of elements which go into the forming of the great classes of human beings. Obviously, the wide physical disparity among people will be instrumental in shaping human nature in such a way that one classification will follow those lines. Such characteristic differences as those of sex cannot help dividing the human race into two great types. Some of these characteristic features will be discussed in later chapters. Suffice it, here, to call attention to the evi- dent physical disparity of sex; the skeletal, muscular, TYPES 25 organic and functional dissimilarities. So great are these that some writers declare the two sexes can never thoroughly understand each other. They point out how somatic sensations, which furnish a background of af- fective colouring to all thinking, are so unlike that the two types of mind never hold the same conceptions in the same setting. Less obvious are the physical types in races. Ethnologists show types in shape and capacity of skull, in height and strength of skeleton, colour of hair and eyes. Philologists show types of language which give some insight into the typical workings of the mind. Sociologists point out traits of racial natures arising from conditions of climate, topography and occupation. Historians find unclassifiable particular events, which also mould the spiritual life of races. Each angle of inquiry shows a feature delineating a type. Not all dis- similarities are clear enough to draw clear-cut distinc- tions, but that is also true in any classification. Enough are clear and distinct to indicate racial types, though the older, classical groupings may be untenable. National types have less apparent lines of cleavage. Here the changes and chances of history tend to obliter- ate old societies and create new. Local communities, clans or tribes, are ever assimilating new elements or separating into new groups. The constituencies of a nation are, also, in a state of flux. Nevertheless there are biological and physiological influences which tend to make national types. M. Le Bon declares " the mental constitution of a race is due to very simple physiological reasons. Each individual is the product not merely of his immediate parents but also of his race, that is, of the entire series of his ascendants. A learned econo- mist, M. Cheysson, has calculated that in France, sup- 26 THE SECTS posing there to be three generations in a century, each of us would have in his veins the blood of at least twenty millions of the people living in the year 1000 A.D. In consequence all the inhabitants of a given locality, of a given district, necessarily possess common ancestors, are moulded of the same clay, bear the same impress, and they are all brought back unceasingly to the average type by this long and heavy chain of which they are merely the last links. We are the children at once of our parents and of our race. . . . The formation of the mental constitution of a people does not demand, as the creation of animal species, those geological periods whose immense duration defies calculation. Still the time it demands is considerable. To create such a peo- ple as the French, even to the comparatively slight ex- tent accomplished as yet, the community of sentiments and thought that forms its soul, more than ten centuries have been necessary." * In Mr. Gehring's fascinating essays upon " Racial Contrasts/' some very noteworthy characteristics of the Germanic and Latin peoples are given. These appear very neatly in the musical compositions of the two. A distinguishing trait of Teutonic compositions is their liberal use of counterpoint. " Counterpoint was devel- oped among the Netherlanders, a nation partly Germanic and partly Celtic in their derivation. Two of the great names which mark the evolution of this method of com- position, O'Keghern and Willaert, are Germanic. Trans- planted to Italy, counterpoint bloomed forth in full splendor in the works of Palestrina; but its barbaric complexity soon led to a reaction among that people of classic tastes, which resulted in the invention of the * Le Bon : " The Psychology of Peoples," pp. 8, 12. TYPES 27 simpler monadic or harmonic style. Ever since that time, counterpoint has found a more congenial home among the masters of Germanic extraction. Bach was the greatest of all contrapuntists. Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Brahms were all masters of polyphony ; the Romanic races, on the contrary, have de- voted themselves preferentially to forms of composition which did not admit of florid contrapuntal treatment. . . . The essence of counterpoint is complexity. A sin- gle melody is clear and simple in nature; so is a melody with harmonic accompaniment. Although the harmonic basis comprises several tones, these are as a rule not per- ceived separately, but are incorporated with the melody, clinging to it indissolubly, like colour to a material object. In counterpoint, however, we have two or more inde- pendent voices running along side by side with or with- out harmonic accompaniment. The mind is in a divided state and fluctuates from part to part in the endeavour to hold all the elements together." This extensive di- versity of elements which calls for a large grasp of thought is an indication of what psychologists call a broad " span of attention " in those who take pleasure in this class of music. For the attention must needs take hold of many things at once. If it cannot do this, and occupies itself with first one feature of the music and then another, all the symmetry and balance dis- appear from the composition and the mind receives the impression of a jumble of unrelated passages; which, of course, is displeasing to any musical taste. Similar principles are to be found in literature. The Germanic abounds in figurative expressions which open out vistas to the imagination, they are so full of sugges- tions. Germanic style is prolific with detail. The drama 28 THE SECTS swarms with a multitude of persons, scenes, interests; witness Goethe's " Faust." Latin people prefer clearness. " Germanic sentences with their extreme length, em- ployment of auxiliary words, suspension of sense and crowding of intermediate parts with modifying adjec- tives, participles and dependent clauses," require a broad- spanned attention to keep all the factors of the thought present to the mind. Not only is a broad grasp of the attention needed, but a certain agility of mind; for the intelligibility of each sentence depends upon the ability to recall quickly and accurately the significance of each word. This seems to be a characteristic of the Teutonic mind. In German art, too, there was the peculiar crowding of compositions, and the multiplied and angular folds of the drapery, while not elegant, tended to increase the points of attention. Italian artists stripped their pic- tures of accessions. Many of the most famous among them, as a rule, introduced but a limited number of figures. Giotto, Bellini, Raphael and Titian are ex- amples. Michael Angelo criticised the Northern custom of painting " landscapes," with " many figures scattered here and there." Rubens, on the other hand, delighted in a bewildering profusion of elements. " The figures in northern art, as a rule, embody more individuality; they are more heterogeneous, while those in the South tend to homogeneity. There is much sameness in the faces and poses of the southern paintings. As a result, the mind is not engaged in so many directions ; a group of people can often be perceived as a single object, a mere group; the battalions of Meissonier, for example, ' sing ' in unison ; in the North, on the contrary, the con- stituent figures demand more attention." TYPES 29 Mr. Gehring's study shows how a few salient mental and temperamental traits, identified with a people, will shine out in their works. Everyone recognizes the pro- fundity of Germanic thought and the lucidity of Latin expression; but not many recognize the deep-seated psychological facts which give rise to these often noticed characteristics. Here, however, the trail-marks appear so clear that one may easily trace the influence of a mental endowment which differentiates two great European peoples. For the common characteristics, in the several means which are considered, of expressing the mental life can be due to but one class of ability; namely, that of attention. By which is meant the ability to hold in the " clearness area " of consciousness a number of impressions at a given time. Thus, one man catches the entire display in a shop window with a glance where another sees only a few details. A difference in span of attention accounts for this simple experience. On a larger scale, the same thing applies to the faculty of grasping an involved passage in music, an intricate sen- tence in reading, a large grouping of forms, or colours, in statuary, or painting. Much more will be said on this head in another place, but it must be added here that attention is the " clearest area" of consciousness, some- thing as the circle of light about a torch gradually dims into complete darkness. In the semi-light of attention many things are dimly apprehended. Vague impressions of the glass on the shop window, the colour of the sill, the curtain in the background, may stay in this " fringe " of the attention. When the attention is of the narrow- spanned type there will be little in this field. All that is clearly seen or heard will apparently be all that exists at the time. So a musical theme, or a problem in phi- 30 THE SECTS losophy, will have many or few tributary impressions as the mind apprehends through a broad-spanned attention with a wide margin, or fringe, or through a narrow- spanned attention with no surrounding and faint per- ceptions. Needless to say, the religious outlook upon the universe will be very different in these two types of mind. Another great cause of typical resemblances is in the family. The same heredity and home influence produce many noticeable resemblances among individuals. From generation to generation the same germ plasm carries the possibility of similar development. Mendel provec for the vegetal world that a proportion of the traits o] either parent were handed down unalloyed to their de- scendants, and, in some measure, the principle appears among human beings. Darwin and Galton showed man) instances of very important resemblances between par- ent and progeny. However, such resemblances are frorr groups too small to be of any considerable influence upon the social order, and do not materially affect the religious type. Beyond these Types, which are assigned to those agencies which form races and families, are many Type* whose character is determined by less easily recognized causes. For example, there is a criminal type, which i< the result of psychological weakness plus sociologica injustice; there is an artistic type, which springs froir a high development of certain faculties and a cooperative appreciation from society. Then there are the Tramp the Scholar, the Inventor, the Adventurer, the Mechanic and a host of others. All owe their kind to a combina- tion of social and physiological causes. The psycholog- ical causes are, in a measure, identical with those whicl: TYPES 31 enter into the making of genus and species the world over. The social causes are of a very subtile but equally effective kind. M. Tarde has explained at great length that human conduct follows the laws of Imitation in the same way that the animal kingdom repeats its species according to the laws of heredity, or as the vibra- tion in physics reproduces itself in succeeding vibrations. Whatever may be said of the philosophy of this theory, it is undoubtedly true that a great number of our ac- tivities, our pleasures and our beliefs are the result of imitation. Professor Giddings finds the cause of group- ing among all conscious creatures in the " consciousness of kind." Birds of a feather, and men of like tastes, flock together. Here is a clear and forceful reason for the formation and maintenance of typical groups of men. Everyone appreciates the influence of the same sort of occupation to produce fraternity of feeling and unity of outlook. The same kinds of traditions which give direction to ideas and purposes are potent in creating types of mind. Many other great influences, (which call for the same reactions among a large number of people, such as laws, customs, morals), have a great formative effect upon human nature and leave their unmistakable imprint. If the results of these influences are compared, it will become evident that the forces of nature and society are constantly gathering the innumer- able individualities of humanity into characteristic Types. In general, there are two great classes of influences acting to produce types of men. One is physical, the other is social. The former gives an inherent disposition toward the same sort of thinking, feeling and acting among people sharing the same heritage. It is not by 32 THE SECTS chance, then, that women respond to the appeal of re- ligion in the Christian churches and Buddhist temples more than men; nor is it strange that the people of the north of Europe, whose art, literature and philosophy show such a contrast with their Southern neighbours, should become Protestant so much more easily. The lat- ter, the social influences, give customs, morals and habits to the groups of people upon whom they act. These result in typical traits which are often easily recognized. The people, for example, in the conservative sections of the country where the influences of a former generation still live, still think and feel upon political and religious matters in a characteristic way. We may conclude, therefore, that each mind has its own life which, in detail, is unlike any other, but which, in its general cast, may be classed with many others. Nature and society conspire to create original individ- uals, and both physical nature and the social order con- spire to give these individualities characteristic uni- formities. These different natures show their individu- ality in the conception of religious truth, and where genuine types of religious nature are found, there appear types of religious experience and beliefs. Ill RELIGIONS AND RELIGION FROM the preceding chapters we are prepared to find a variety of religions passing under the one name, Religion. Each individual works out his own salvation. It is his, and his alone, though he shares its elements with a host of his fellows. As a bed of flowers draws its life from one blazing star, millions of miles distant, each plant receiving the same light, but each sending out its leaves to receive the light in its own way; so, in the hosts of human lives, each grows in its own way under the one Light. There is no need in this inquiry to study that Light, " which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," any more than the botanist, seeking to find the cause of the differences in the growth of his plants, needs to study the sun. If the warmth of sunshine is constant, shining upon each equally, it can- not be the cause of differences. These must be due to diverse and varying causes which act unequally upon plant or human nature. The present study is in psy- chology, not in theology. Our interest is in types of religious life and the factors which cause these types. If the Infinite Being is Father of all men, and makes His sun to shine on the just and the unjust, then the differ- ences in religious life have a human origin, and are to be studied by psychology. If there is no God and the religious life is spontaneously engendered, then, obvi- 33 34 THE SECTS ously, it is to be studied by psychology. Whether the theist or the atheist is right, religious differences find their origin in human nature! Individuality and types of human nature give birth to individual differences and types in the religious life. Professor James B. Pratt * has sought to find the bases of religious belief by having a number of people describe their religious life in response to a questionnaire. This questionnaire contains the following questions : First, what does religion mean to you personally? That is, is it a belief that something exists? Is it an emotional experience, is it an attitude of the will toward God or toward righteousness, or is it something else? Sec- ond, what do you mean by God? Third, why do you believe in God? Fourth, do you not so much believe in God as to want to use Him? Fifth, is God very real to you; as real as an earthly friend, though different? Sixth, do you pray, and if so, why? Seventh, what do you mean by spirituality? Eighth, do you believe in personal immortality? Ninth, do you accept the Bible as authority in religious matters? Tenth, what do you mean by a religious experience? These questions were answered by two classes of people: the one was what Professor Pratt called "typical church people," the other he describes as a " somewhat motley collection of intellectual people." In all there were sixty-eight re- plies. Among these sixty-eight people we find great differences in the religious life. Perhaps individuality shows in no other one department of life quite so clearly as it does in the religious experience. Professor Pratt finds these many diverse religious principles falling into five classes. The first class contains those whose reli- * Amer. Jour, of Relig. Psychol., 2, pp. 76-96. RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 35 giousJife. builds up. upon -intellectual factprs. That is, the reason furnishes the basis of religion. Such people can give a reason for the faith that is in them. They can supply you arguments why they believe as they do and why they live as they do. Said one, " I believe in God as an intellectual and moral necessity. Any feel- ings which I may have in the matter grow out of the perception of the realities which cause these necessities God is a reality to me as a rational being/' Said another, " I believe in God because I cannot conceive of a world like ours except as made and controlled by a person." The second class comprises those who believe in God because they have been so instructed and their instruc- tion has been urged upon them by those whom they con- sider authoritative. In such a class would fall the great majority of those who find the Church .the keystone of their faith and those who find the Bible the corner- stone of their belief. As one Roman Catholic remarked, " If I want to know about God I go to the Church as represented by some priest, for the Church is the author- ity in religious matters, just as the physician and teacher are in their sphere." Of course, there are multitudes of Protestants who would answer as one respondent did, " I believe in God from authority, as contained in the Bible in passages declaring themselves as God, as, ' I am God and there is none else; I am God and there is none like Me/ There are many other assurances that might be quoted." There are not so many church people who hold to the Bible's authority as is often supposed. Of the forty- four answers from church people, thirty accepted and fourteen rejected the Book's authority, twenty-two say- 36 THE SECTS ing that their religious faith and religious life were based on it. That is, exactly half of the typical religious people who answered the questions feel that their belief and their religion are dependent on the old way of viewing the Bible, the other half feeling independent for their religious life from its authority or rejecting it (in the old sense) altogether. The third class is made up of those who are religious because they have started in the religious life and have continued in its momentum, finding it easier to continue than to desert. This sounds cynical, but it is not. For our lives are made up of many tendencies which have become woven together, and to which we adhere un- reasonably. Here is a typical answer. " Entirely a matter of training. I was brought up in the Presby- terian Church took pride in being an Atheist all through my college course though always attended church and Sunday-school/' Another curious answer is, " My religion is a bundle of inconsistencies which I have long ago quit trying to reconcile." The fourth class contains those whose belief grows out of need. They believe in God and live in the strength of that belief because they find life is bettered and brightened by such a course. Said one, " Because I personally, subjectively want to believe in Him. I pray because I like to. I believe in immortality because I like to." Said another, after several years of scepticism and argument he came back "to the plain solid ideas which were drilled into us in childhood. Then comes a peace of mind regarding our religious status." It is from this class that the Christian church has always found a champion to defend the old, the established, and sometimes the absurd. RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 37 The fifth class is characterized by that most prevalent factor in religion, feeling. Dr. Pratt found that thirty- six out of his sixty-eight respondents belong in this class and fourteen of the remaining claimed, also, to have had some mystical experience. That is, fifty peo- ple out of sixty-eight firmly believed that they had been in immediate communion with God. This belief was based upon experience. The following are typical re- sponses. " His presence I find in the deeps of Nature and of human nature. I never feel so devotional as when in a great wood where I cannot see out, on the sea, on the seashore, or out at night under the stars." " In one sense He is real ; when I see the sunlight shining through the leaves or the forest trees and lighting up the ferns and flowers unseen by anyone else save myself, I have felt a nearness of God that I have never felt under the influence of any sermon." " God as my Father is very real. Have I experienced His presence? Yes, and more than once." " I do feel that I have experienced His presence very distinctly many times." " I came to Him a dying drunkard and He gave me re- pentance. I cried to Him and He saved me instantly. I have never wanted a drink, nor sworn an oath, nor stolen a cent since." We cannot draw very many deductions from the ex- periences of sixty-eight people; but one deduction we surely can draw and that is, there are wide diversities in the religious lives of different people. The question suggests itself, are these answers accurately descriptive of their author's religion? Every psychologist knows how difficult it is to " introspect." Indeed, it requires an exceptional talent to look into one's life and describe one's thoughts or feelings accurately. It is a very nice 38 THE SECTS question whether such a performance can be accom- plished at all or not. Certainly a miscellaneous group of people could not give us very definite descriptions of the most subtle experiences. Their answers are val- uable. They are studies from real life. They are snap- shots of portions of actual life. They certainly make clear the diversity in religion due to individuality and the rough resemblances between them are strongly in- dicative of types. Let us supplement these statements by a study of the careful statements of specialists in the field of religious thought. Professor JL^ba has gathered a number of definitions of religionTwHich come from the facile pens of several of our religious philosophers.* Here, too, we find a most bewildering diversity of opinions in which it is hard to find two definitions alike. Professor Leuba groups them : " On examining the definitions of re- ligion, one finds that a psychological classification in three groups makes room for them all. Several other classifications are possible. We give the preference to the following because it brings into relief better than any other the faulty psychology which enters for so large a share in this lamentable confusion of ideas about religion. In the first, a specific intellectual element is given, as the essence or as the distinguishing mark of religion. In the second, it is one of several objective feelings singled out as the religious differentia; while in the third group, the active principle, the cravings, the desires, the impulses, the will, take the place occupied by the intellect or the feelings in the other classes. Re- ligion becomes, in this view, an endeavour to realize a certain type of being, an instinct, a certain kind of * Monist, ii, pp. 195-225. RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 39 actions, etc." In the first group of definitions, in which the intellectual element dominates, we have Martineau, who defines religion as, " A belief in an ever-living God, that is, in a divine mind and will ruling the universe, and holding moral relations with mankind." Romanes' definition is, " Religion is a department of thought hav- ing for its objects superconsciousness and intelligent being." D'Alviella thought that " The belief in the exist- ence of superhuman beings, who interfere in a mysteri- ous fashion in the destiny of man, constitutes religion." The second group of definitions contains those actu- ated by feeling. Schleiermacher declared, " Religion can- not and will not originate in the pure impulse to know. It is neither thinking nor acting, but intuition and feel- ing." Herbart wrote, " Sympathy with the universal dependence of men is the essential natural principle of all religion." Daniel G. Thompson thought, " Religion is the aggregate of those sentiments in the human mind arising in connection with the relations assumed to sub- sist between the order of nature and a postulated super- natural." In the third group we find the following definitions. Bradley declared, " Religion is the attempt to express the complete reality of goodness through every aspect of our being." Another definition is that of Feuerbach, "The origin, nay, the essence of religion is desire; if a man possess no needs, no desires, he would possess no good." Marshall said, " The restraint of individualistic! impulses to rational ones (the suppression of our will/ to a higher will) seems to me to be of the very essence! of religion; the belief in the Deity, as usually found, isJ from the psychological point of view, an attachment toi rather than the essence of, the religious feeling." 40 THE SECTS It would appear from these groups of definitions, that the trained thinker finds as great a difficulty in agreeing with his neighbour's religious conceptions as does the average man. Perhaps the only difference is that the religious philosopher endeavours to universalize what he finds in his own religious experience. He judges others by himself. While the man on the street would simply look within and try to state what his own per- sonal religious life is. There is this agreement between them both, the philosopher and the average man may be classed in one of three groups. He will find his group in accordance with the dominance of some one element in his religious nature ; whether it be reason, or emotion, or the disposition for action. Some very interesting efforts have been made to find a unity in all religions by tracing back their history to- ward their origins. This is a thoroughly orthodox scientific proceeding. It is the comparative method. It has yielded magnificent results. Time was, not so many years ago, when the diversity of languages was a be- wildering puzzle. Comparative philology succeeded in tracing back the numerous dialects to their paternal languages and these parental languages back to one re- mote tongue; in the case of the Aryan languages. The Semitic languages seem to have a family tree of their own. In comparative anatomy and embryology, the re- lationship of the whole animal kingdom promises to be disclosed. From these striking precedents we are surely authorized to hope for great results when the compara- tive method seeks, in the evolution of religions, the remote parental religion. At present, however, the theories concerning the origin of religion are not very convincing. A generation ago Herbert Spencer sought RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 41 to convince the thinking world that religion took its origin amid the superstitions of primitive man. When the primitive man heard a voice resound from a moun- tain-side in response to his own cry, he knew nothing of the echo and so interpreted the reply as from an unseen speaker. When he dreamt at night, he thought the visions he saw were as real as the objects he beheld in the daylight. The face which looked up into his from the smooth waters of the spring was no human face ; but it, too, could only be explained as the echo, and as the vision of the dead in his dream, by an appeal to the supernatural. If we grant that the superstitions of primitive man originated in this way, which seems prob- able, we are still a very long distance from explaining the religious nature of man. For these interpretations would not be wrought into the fibre of human nature. Their influence would disappear as science appeared. Among highly educated families to-day, where these superstitions play no part in their religious develop- ment, there is a heart-hunger which seeks satisfaction. In many cases, such a satisfaction is found quite inde- pendently of that body of ideas which relate to the phenomena Mr. Spencer described. A much more seri- ous effort to explain the origin of the religious nature has been undertaken by McDougall.* His endeavour is to trace out the beginnings of the emotions rather than the ideas which underlie religion. He believes that the emotions which play a principal part in the religious life are admiration, awe and reverence. He seeks to show how these emotions originated in our ancestors. The primitive man lacked almost completely the con- *Wm. McDougall: "An Introduction to Social Psychology," Chapter XIII. 42 THE SECTS ception of mechanical causation. When bodies fell to the ground, when the wind blew, when the sun rose, when the lightning flashed and the thunder crashed, when the rain fell and extinguished the fire, all these phenomena had to be explained in some way. The one kind of causation with which he was familiar was his own voluntary action issuing from feeling, emotion and desire. So this naturally became the type upon which he modelled his theories of causation. The pestilence, famine, storm, disease and flood which worked such dreadful havoc must surely be caused by some sinister being. Naturally, he stood in awe of such a being or beings. " As soon as these powers began to be con- ceived by man as personal powers, they must have evoked in him the attitude and impulse of subjection and the emotion of negative self-feeling, which are rooted in the instinct of subjection. ... He not only feared and wondered at these powers but humbled himself be- fore them, and sought to gain and to obey the slight- est indication of their wills." This attitude gave rise to customs which sought to placate the unseen powers. As time passed, these customs would take on an ever- increasing strong hold upon man, they would have the sanctity and authority of antiquity, and they would be perpetuated as the people's most priceless heritage. As men rose to higher stages of culture, the fearsome aspects of their faith would give place to a better under- standing of Nature, and into their religion tenderer emo- tions would find their way." This change in the nature of the religious emotions among those peoples that have survived and progressed was a natural consequence of their success in the struggle of groups for survival. For the surviving communities are those whose gods RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 43 have, in the main, not only spared them, not only ab- stained from bringing plague and famine and military disaster upon them in too severe measures, but have actually supported them and helped them to overcome their enemies." In some such way as this, gratitude would enter into the religious emotion. Later, as social life became more complex, and ideas of justice arose, the community would elevate its god, and imputing higher attributes to it, the religious life would corre- spondingly rise. The criticism of this theory which instantly occurs to mind is this : it takes emotions already developed and groups them into an instinct. These emo- tions may become part of one's being and become trans- mitted to posterity, but a combination of such emo- tions could hardly be transmitted. Furthermore, when we look into the origin of the religious life in the indi- vidual, we do not always find the emotions McDougall mentions. I think of a case, with which I am very familiar, in which the religious life took its inception in a passionate love of the Divine Being. I cannot find that fear of any sort played any part in the upspringing of a religion which practically made a new character in this young man. Then, too, if we can rely upon the " theory of recapitulation/' to understand the early life- history of the race, there must have been something in the race-history to correspond with the adolescent period. McDougalFs theories might well be ascribed to a sort of pre-adolescent race-history. The storm and stress of the formative period of the race, in which our modern religious life probably had its origin, is not described in the experience of primitive man. Perhaps it should be said in passing that the theories advanced to explain the appearance of religion among 44 THE SECTS men havg nothing whatever to do with the validity of religion itself. In the minds of many people, any ex- planation of the forces which might have operated in the past of the race to induce religious thinking and feeling is more than an explanation. It is a destructive calamity. Surely this is absurd. One might as well claim that there could be no philosophy, no understanding of the universe because the brain of man may be traced, back to the ganglia of the protozoa. In view of the fact that we know so little about the relation of brain to mind, it is most ridiculous to set limits to philosophic truths in terms of nerve-history. There may well be com- munion between the finite spirit and the Infinite Spirit brought about in some of the astonishing processes in the evolution of man. When we recall that we draw our breath by means of an organ which in the remote past served as an air bladder for water animals, it is not incredible that the means by which we have our spiritual life should have served in the remote past some other and very different purpose. Whether religion has its spirit from natural and social forces, or comes from Spirit to spirit, it matters not. It is the supreme value in human life. Its value is not to be found in the Past, but in its worth at this hour. We are not antiquarians. We are living souls! The question in hand is briefly this, shall we speak of Religions or of Religion? Despite the diversity and the testimonies of the average man, despite the diver- sities of definitions of the religious philosopher, there is a widespread conviction that some people are religious and some are not religious, and that the religious people are characterized by something they have in common. That is, the word religion conveys a fairly definite RELIGIONS AND RELIGION 45 general idea. The confusion in which we find ourselves when we try to define religion in terms of someone's religion, is a confusion which appears whenever we attempt to understand the general through the particular. Throughout the world men are engaged in earning a livelihood. What a task it would be to explain what work is ! Such an explanation would have to include a South Sea islander shaking nuts off of a tree and Madame Curie making polonium. The panorama of all human beings doing millions of different things prom- ises ill for a definition of work. There is, however, this in common to them all; they are all urged on by the desire to live. This desire for well-being expresses itself in a myriad of ways. In much the same way, there is a desire for well-being among religious people. They seek this well-being in a host of different ways. The point is, that they seek it. It is not hard to dis- tinguish between the worker and the non-worker, and it is not hard to distinguish between the religious and the non-religious. It is not necessary to use a clear definition of religion. It is sufficient to remember that the religious man finds life incomplete and he seeks to round it out. He deliberates and represents to his mind certain " systems of truths/' and these make his world a more intelligible and inhabitable world. His heart hungers for a happiness which he cannot find apart from what he terms his communion with God; he is prompted to many courses of action which he would not take were he not actuated by a desire for spiritual en- largement. So the only unity we may find in religion is a unity of motive. This we do find, whether it is in the Indian beseeching his gods to give him skill in the chase that he may enjoy life and prestige among his 46 THE SECTS fellows, or whether it is a Gladstone seeking in the quiet of Westminster Abbey strength for the guidance of an empire. The motive is the desire for a more efficient Self as each one understands efficiency and himself. Of course, there is a unity in the Christian religion which is based upon its historical past. All Christianity employs practically the same body of writings, and in large divisions of the Church there is a unity due to tradition; tradition not only of interpretation but of thought, feeling and custom. Imitation plays a large part in levelling down natural differences. Indeed, some of the subtle spiritual experiences of the Christian, which often characterize a large number of worshippers, are due to an imitation of each other, unconscious but effective. Nevertheless, despite the same sources of instruction, the Scriptures, the Church, the customs of the past, there are innumerable differences to be found among those holding the Christian faith, these differences being based upon individuality which no levelling force externally imposed can obliterate. We shall find that these differences may also be grouped into types. IV THE SECTS IT is a very common opinion that the religious life in the United States is declining. There seem to be so many indications of this that it is rather rare to find anyone maintaining the opposite view. The many idle churches, the rows of vacant pews are con- stantly pointed to as arguments that the Church is los- ing its hold upon the masses of the people. More perti- nent to the close observer is the lack of vigour which characterizes religion. Pessimism within the Church, criticism of the Church, a widespread conviction that something is wrong with organized Christianity char- acterize the situation to-day. In innumerable ways this dissatisfaction expresses itself. One of the " Six Best Sellers " contrasts the life of to-day with ante- bellum days. The narrative turns upon the sharp con- trast between the customs, ideas and ideals of our forefathers and our own. One striking fact is strongly emphasized; in the language of the author we have " ceased to be a religious people." Such a sentiment goes unchallenged. It is simply accepted as one of the obvious things which everybody nowadays is familiar with. Against this general consensus of opinion, the gov- ernment " Report upon Religious Bodies in the United States for the Year 1906 " urges a tremendous argu- 47 48 THE SECTS ment. In the long columns of close-written figures an astonishing eulogy of the Church is wrought out. It appears that over thirty-two million people in the United States are communicants in the Christian churches. Compared with the population of 1906, there were 391 church members for every 1,000 people. In 1850 there were only 149 church members for every 1,000 persons. That is, the proportion of church members to the whole population has much more than doubled. This is a strange way for organized religion to die! In the last sixteen years the nation has been growing very rapidly; but the church membership has been growing more rapidly. In 1890, 32.7 per cent, of the population be- longed to the Church. In 1906, 39.1 per cent, of the people were enrolled in the churches. Of course, much of this great growth is due to immigration from Roman Catholic countries; but when that is deducted, we still have the significant fact that the Protestant membership in the churches increased from 22.3 per cent, in 1890 to 24.1 per cent, in 1906. These figures do not tell the whole story, for we must remember that a large portion of the population is ineligible to church membership; there are millions of children who by the rules of many churches cannot be members. Moreover, there are thousands of adherents to the churches who are not communicants. In many cases these people are faithful supporters of the churches and are frequently among its most devout subscribers. Another impressive feature in this great census argu- ment appears in the figures representing the wealth of the Church. Over a billion, two hundred-fifty millions of dollars are invested in church property. What a THE SECTS 49 tremendous power is represented there! Another indi- cation of the colossal power of the Church is this: in one year over thirty-eight millions of dollars were ap- plied to Christian purposes, over twelve millions went into the spreading of Christian ideals and the Christian life in missions at home, over seventeen millions were spent in educating the youth of the land, while eight millions more went into hospitals and asylums. An- other fund of over eight millions crossed the seas to spread the spirit of Christ in foreign lands. Had we only the statement of the census and no other data for our judgment, we should conclude that the Christian church of the United States was the most powerful organization in the world. With its colossal aggregation of people who have pledged themselves to follow Christ; with the immense wealth invested in their plants and the great sums continually applied in furthering their cause, surely, their influence should be irresistible. When we recall the effective work done by much smaller bodies, with much smaller resources, in every period of history, it would be but natural to expect the very greatest achievements from American Chris- tianity. Why is it, then, that the Church is so ineffective? Why is it that throughout the land there is a unani- mous conviction that the Church is almost a negligible factor in national life? Scores of smaller organizations with very much less wealth make themselves much more effectively felt. In the great moral issues, in the great ethical crises, this tremendous body of people seems supine and inert. The evidence of the Church's weakness appears also in the census, wrapped up with the evidences of its 50 THE SECTS strength. This great body is not a unit. It is a com- position of many factions. Instead of one great Church, it is one hundred eighty-six denominations. Surely it is a wonder that a house so divided stands at all. Nor does the spirit of the times seem to affect its disposi- to divide against itself. For in 1890 there were 145 denominations, and in 1906 there were 41 more. Not all of these, however, were brought into existence by schisms, though seventeen had their origin in the spirit of secession. If the denominations were arranged alphabetically in great families, we should find almost every one a victim of this unchristian malady. The Ad- ventists head the list, a comparatively young denomina- tional family. It is split into seven branches. There are the Evangelical Adventists, the Life and Advent Union, the Advent Christian Church, Seventh Day Ad- ventists, Church of God, Churches of God, Churches of God in Jesus Christ. The next great family, the Bap- tist, falls into sixteen divisions. The next denominational body, the " Brethren," contains a little over ten thou- sand people. These Brethren display their brotherly spirit by splitting into four branches. There are the " Exclusives," the Open Brethren, a sort of a high- church branch, and a fourth division which issued from this last in 1890. And so the denominational history goes. It is too long and too monotonous to follow through alphabetically. The five largest Protestant families are these: the Methodists with fifteen divisions, the Baptists with sixteen, the Presbyterians with twelve, the Lutherans with twenty-four, the Disciples of Christ with only two. The Disciples are one of the strongest and most rapidly growing churches in the country. Their comparative unity indicates the possibility of unity THE SECTS 5! among others. And it offers a strong argument against the devastating spirit of the sects. The outcome of these many divisions should have been foreseen generations ago. There is a seating capac- ity of over fifty-eight millions in the church buildings of these 186 sects; that is, there is room enough for nearly twice their number of members. A large por- tion of that billion dollars is invested in empty seats. In the language of the Trusts, " The plants in this organ- ization have been ruinously duplicated." This overlap- ping of church organization is a most obvious source of weakness, though a number of the sects take a pride in multiplying their plants. Indeed, some Home Mission Boards consider their effectiveness only in terms of new churches started. If the poor and puny lives of these little churches flicker and then go out, their demise is not attributed to a difficulty in church strategy, but rather to a lack of the Holy Spirit in the work of the little organization so foolishly started. Such sectarian zeal is well enough in many instances. It quickly puts a church of some kind into a new community, and that is valuable service. However, when a country is well settled, then a new church may be an evil. It may violate the law of demand and supply. The missionary society that forces a church upon a community which is already well churched, does so in the expectation that a demand for this church will appear later. In very many cases no such demand ever arises, and so such superfluous churches are not only a loss to the Christian cause but an obstruction to the work of the other churches. Though this evil is very widely spread throughout the country, it is not felt so keenly in the large cities as in the smaller towns; for in the large cities there is more apt to be a 52 THE SECTS greater field for the individual church ; though in down- town districts, where the church-going population has thinned out, this competition is often a serious matter. The following facts of church life or perhaps we should say church strife in two little towns of the West are very characteristic. In one town of 800 souls * in a far western state there are eight church organizations, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, three Lutheran, and two Methodist. There are five church buildings, all of them ugly, unpainted, ill-kept, poorly furnished. These inhospitable eyesores have been struggling for years to maintain themselves. Not one is able to sup- port a minister without generous donations from its parent denomination. The presence of the Catholic church is understood. The three Lutheran churches are divided along racial lines, German, Scandinavian and Danish. The two Methodist churches represent the Northern and Southern divisions. They are " located on opposite corners of the same block, with nothing be- tween them, the building of the latter enjoys the pre- eminence of being higher up on the hillside; but this advantage is offset to some extent by the greater size of the former's steeple." Organized Christianity in this little town has one Catholic and seven Protestant bodies. There is a constant succession of ministers who under- take to improve the moral and religious condition of the town and who give up in despair. There are long periods during which a pulpit will be vacant and the Sunday-school will try to keep up the church life. The services of the churches are very poorly attended and dispiriting, the best singers being scattered among the *Wm. Boyle: "Transplanted Denominationalism," The Out- look, 83, p. 323. THE SECTS 53 different churches. " An un-Christian spirit of envy and jealousy is aroused by the temporary success of any one of the churches." This large number of churches in so small a place does not augur a high moral stand- ard or widespread religious habits. For three or four months in summer all the stores are kept open on Sun- day. Four saloons do business seven days in the week, with their accompaniments of gambling and lewdness. When low shows visit the town they are very well at- tended. " The sensuous and the pleasure-loving spirit is everywhere in evidence." Mr. Boyle believes that " denominationalism is directly responsible for these con- ditions. Too weak to assert any influence alone, and too jealous to act together, the churches do not com- mand the respect of the community, and are unable to stand the tide of prevailing evil. Each minister is too timid to oppose the prevalent evil customs alone, dread- ing the reflex action of .possible sentiment on himself and his feeble church. ... Strange to say, the denomi- national spirit of the town is not strong. Whenever there are special attractions at any one church in the way of music or of a strange preacher, members of other churches do not hesitate to flock there, leaving their own minister to preach to empty pews. The Pres- byterian church has on its roll the names of men and women who have been connected with ten different denominations elsewhere, several of which are repre- sented here. Certainly in this case it is neither doc- trines nor form of government that brings them together. Members of one church frequently transfer their mem- bership to another church, for reasons having no connec- tion with doctrines or polity. A large majority of the members would be unable to give an intelligent account 54 THE SECTS of the distinctive differences in the belief of the different denominations." Another interesting study of a small town in the West reveals a similar situation.* Another little West- ern town of 1,347 inhabitants has eight different denomi- nations and seven church buildings, two of which are unused, and the third open only two or three times a year. Each of the English-speaking Evangelical churches hopes that the other will die and end the bitter competition. The feeble efforts for consolidation have failed, because of a few radical sectarians and the zeal of the mission secretaries. The population of the little city shows by the state census of 1905 that 65 per cent, of the people are born of foreign parentage, so only 475 are of American descent now. Studies in church attendance show that some 15 per cent, to 50 per cent, of the population is church-going. " Taking five as a normal family the number of possible English-speaking Evangelical church-goers in X is about 285; admitting that 50 per cent, of them attend church regularly we have 142 constant attendants. (This figure is above the real attendance.) Again using our average family we get 95 per cent, heads of households, 45 of which will admit as subscribers for church support. A church which raises $1,500 a year for all purposes is perhaps on a normal and possible basis; such a church needs 50 subscribers and an average subscription of $30 (which is again higher than the average for small towns). A priori the town is capable of supporting one live, self-respecting religious organization for its American population. The seating capacity of the English-speaking churches is 825, nearly double the American population. *A. J. Kennedy: "Religious Living," Independent, 64, p. 795. THE SECTS 55 The church buildings cost $21,300; $7,400 lies abso- lutely idle and worthless. The inner history of these forlorn churches is rather painful reading. A Congre- gational church was established in 1871. It has been assisted by the missionary society, and in 1906 the so- ciety had paid $10,504 for its support. A Methodist church appeared on the scene in 1873 and continued its work until 1902, receiving $3,700 aid. A Baptist church crowded into this little community in 1879, and in 1906 had received $3,100 aid. In 1882 an Episcopal church endeavoured to establish itself, but gave up the strug- gle in 1891. In all, these struggling little churches re- ceived $18,154 from their parent churches to carry on their ineffectual and demoralizing competition. " Such a condition as that outlined above brings re- ligion into discredit in the community; causes many to scoff at the Church; takes the heart out of zealous lay workers; and makes it difficult for a minister of religion to hold up his head. . . , The writer has been told of one missionary secretary who boasted before his denominational convention that while he had never dis- obeyed the rule of his church, which makes it necessary to have three persons to constitute the local church, he had organized many a church with one lay person, him- self and God. It is unnecessary to add that this de- nomination is notorious for the number of its dead churches." There is a crying need for some inter- denominational union work to decide what denomina- tion should enter into a new field. There is also a great need for a union of missionary societies to weed out dead churches. - The evils of over-churching a community are per- petuated. No church willingly gives up its career, for 56 THE SECTS this often means a loss of employment, a possible loss of property and almost inevitably a sacrifice of pride. When a church has struggled for years to maintain itself, it usually engenders a spirit of antagonism to- ward other churches. This antagonism frequently runs out into social cliques. So intense is the feeling in many cases that members of one church will not attend the services of another church should the missionary so- cieties close their own church doors. However, such spirit is so thoroughly anti-Christian that it would seem to make little difference whether people of that ilk had a church to worship in or not. Certainly it is a duty of those who have any control of the situation to starve many of these hostile little organizations into decency. The evil, of course, does not cease in the mere over- lapping of churches, in their own localities, but reaches back to the mother-heart of the parent church, where an appeal is constantly made for the means of spreading the gospel, and often the appeal is met with great gener- osity and noble sacrifices, in the misleading illusion that the money will be spent in spreading the principles of Christianity. If the real situation were presented to the people who help sustain these innumerable con- flicting churches, a remedy would not be far to seek. Perhaps the subtle evils are the worst. Diversion of attention from the central purposes of Christianity to the necessities of organization, can only mean a sub- version of great ideals. The tone and the temper of the work are vitiated. It is, also, a great loss to be deprived of the inspiration of fellowship in a great work, or a great movement. But it is an incomparably greater loss and far more dispiriting to champion the petty interests of a conflicting denomination. The inspiration alone THE SECTS 57 which would arise from a genuine cooperation of all the American churches would in itself far outweigh any particular sacrifices which might be occasioned. The welfare of American Christianity is a matter of acute interest to every intelligent citizen. The Church is one of many social institutions which go into the mak- ing of that form of society we call civilized. It is an institution for which no substitute has been found. Its many avenues of help to the afflicted, or needy, are like the irrigating canals of a dry land; when the reservoirs are full of water, fruits and flowers spring up all along the lines of the canals. When the water system is in disorder, meagre crops and withered vegetation are in evidence everywhere. The result of putting the church system in order would show immediately in many ways. Dispirited and hopeless little churches would give place to efficient and successful churches. Colleges crying for aid to keep up a denominational name would give their vigour to fewer institutions, but to more students. Hos- pitals would feel the boon of the savings (from the sec- tarian battles) which would minister to the sick. Men who have prayed in foreign lands for dollars, where dollars mean the new civilization, would have the desire of their lives answered. There is a " third party " in the warfare of the sects, the public. It has its rights in this conflict as truly as in the conflicts of capital and labour. The public cannot be ignored. It will take the situation in its own hands, if the leaders in the Church cannot lead the way out of the present chaos. The un- conscious drifting from the old attitude of respect and reverence toward the Church will become a con- scious and determined revolt against an aggregation of self-centred sects. Then some substitute will be tried, 58 THE SECTS perhaps found, which will make for unity in well-doing, if not in thinking. This the various orders of fraternal societies have almost succeeded in doing. A few more great movements of a similar character, and the Church as an organization will be too pitifully crippled to do the work expected of it. The 1 86 sects are an anachronism, and are out of keeping with the spirit of the American people. The very recital of the list of sects, as seen below, is an in- dictment of them and an aspersion upon their loyalty to the real spirit of Christianity. It tells a story of real danger to which both the patriot and the Christian must hearken. For it is impossible that the multitude of little sects shall continue to multiply, or, indeed, to continue to retain their separate organizations. The first step, of course, is for each denominational family to put its house in order. This would be a great step in advance, for there are many divisions in denomina- tional families throughout the list. The various sects are arranged below in the order of the last Religious Census. Number of Denomination Members ALL DENOMINATIONS 32,936,445 PROTESTANT BODIES 20,287,742 ADVENTIST BODIES . . . . . . . 92,735 Advent Christian Church 26,799 Seventh-day Adventist Denomination . . 62,211 Other Adventists (5 bodies) .... 3,725 BAPTIST BODIES ....... 5,662,234 Baptists . 5,323,183 Northern Baptist Convention .... 1,052,105 Southern Baptist Convention .... 2,009,471 National Baptist Convention (Coloured) . . 2,261,607 Free Baptists 81,359 Freewill Baptists 40,280 General Baptists . . . > .. . . 30,097 THE SECTS 59 Number of Denomination Members Primitive Baptists ...... 102,311 Coloured Primitive Baptists in America . . 35,076 Other Baptists (8 bodies) 49,928 CHRISTIANS (Christian Connection) .... 110,117, CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST 85,717 CONGREGATIONALISTS ...... 700,480 DISCIPLES OR CHRISTIANS 1,142,359 Disciples of Christ 982,701 Churches of Christ 159,658 DUNKERS OR GERMAN BAPTIST BRETHREN . . . 97, 144 German Baptist Brethren Church (Conservative) . 76,547 Other Dunkers (3 bodies) 20,597 EVANGELICAL BODIES 174,780 Evangelical Association 104,898 United Evangelical Church ..... 69,882 FRIENDS 113,172 Society of Friends (Orthodox) .... 91,161 Other Friends (3 bodies) 22,611 GERMAN EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT BODIES . . 34,704 GERMAN EVANGELICAL SYNOD OF NORTH AMERICA . 293,137 INDEPENDENT CHURCHES . 73,673 LUTHERAN BODIES . . . . . . 2,112,494 General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States of America . . . 270,221 United Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South 47,747 General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America ..... 462,177 Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of America 648,529 United Norwegian Lutheran Church in America . 185,027 Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States 123,408 Hauge's Norwegian Lutheran Synod . . . 33,268 Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa and Other States 110,254 Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ...... 107,712 Norwegian Lutheran Free Church . . . 26,928 Other Lutherans (14 bodies) .... 97,223 MENNONITE BODIES 54,798 METHODIST BODIES . 5,749,83$ 6o THE SECTS Denomination Methodist Episcopal Church 2,986,154 Methodist Protestant Church .... 178,544 Methodist Episcopal Church, South . . . 1,638,480 Free Methodist Church of North America . . 32,838 African Methodists 869,710 African Methodist Episcopal Church . . 494,777 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church . . 184,542 Coloured Methodist Episcopal Church . . 172,996 Other African Methodists (4 bodies) . . 17,395 Other Methodists (4 bodies) .... 44,112 PRESBYTERIAN BODIES 1,830,555 Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 1,179,566 Cumberland Presbyterian Church .... 195,770 United Presbyterian Church of North America . 130,342 Presbyterian Church in the United States . . 266,345 Other Presbyterians (8 bodies) .... 58,532 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH .... 886,942 REFORMED BODIES 449,514 Reformed Church in America .... 124,938 Reformed Church in the United States . . 292,654 Christian Reformed Church ..... 26,669 Hungarian Reformed Church in America . . 5,253 SWEDISH EVANGELICAL BODIES ..... 27,712 UNITARIANS 70,542 UNITED BRETHREN BODIES 296,050 Church of the United Brethren in Christ . . 274,649 Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution) ....... 21,401 UNIVERSALISTS 64,158 OTHER PROTESTANT BODIES ..... 164,287 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 12,070,142 JEWISH CONGREGATIONS ...... 101,457 LATTER-DAY SAINTS 256,647 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . . 215,796 Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 40,851 EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCHES 129,606 Greek Orthodox Church 90,751 Other Eastern Orthodox Churches (3 bodies) . 38,855 SPIRITUALISTS 35,056 ALL OTHER BODIES 46,655 THE MAKING OF THE SECTS THE exuberance of sect-life in the United States is exactly what any sociologist would expect. With such ideal conditions it would be contrary to the trends of history if only one great church spread over the states. Nowhere, in all history, have social conditions favoured the growth of sects as they do now and here; and, though the conditions themselves are not the direct cause of the sects, any more than the absence of the gardener is the cause of the spread of undergrowth in the garden, still such conditions as are found here are the most conducive to sect formation. Of course the most direct producer of variety in church organization is immigration. From all parts of the civilized world lines of pilgrims stream to this coun- try, bringing with them their own faith, which has taken on the fashion of their particular social life and racial nature. Here they may retain, throughout all time, the characteristics which belonged to their former home. No official pressure is brought to bear upon them to direct them into an established church. So the " Re- ligious Liberty," of which everyone who has caught the spirit of the New World is champion, may justly be considered the guardian of the sects. For not only does it welcome all comers from abroad, but it is equally hospitable to all additions to denominational families 61 62 THE SECTS here. Such additions are to be expected. One of the first lessons of sociology shows that new ideas, philoso- phies, schools, social movements, grow up where the population is not homogeneous, but where people of various cultures mingle. So the great water courses in ancient times were the seats of civilization. For along the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Nile, among the islands of the ^Lgean Sea, the ships and people of many places would meet and exchange ideas and customs as well as merchandise. This ancient principle is at work to-day. No other nation shows such versatility, such prodigality of invention, such a profusion of social movements. This restless, progressive spirit, however, does not affect Christianity as much as might be expected. It does en- courage numerous leaders to start innovations occa- sionally, and such leaders are allowed all the latitude they demand. It does keep the mind alert and incites the vigorous to protest against " wrongs," real or fan- cied. It does make for a toleration of opposing be- liefs, which cannot be found in an old country where the population has remained homogeneous and the con- ventions of centuries rest upon the people. It is the spirit of a new country, where there is room for all comers and all opinions. Not an unmixed blessing are the sects incubated in so genial an atmosphere. As has been said, such a spirit and such incentives will not explain the actual origin of the 186 sects. As a historical fact, the several nations which sent explorers to America in the sixteenth century are the forbears of the sects. Spain led the vanguard. She sent mission- aries with her explorers. They established church centres everywhere they went. This was to be a Roman THE MAKING OF THE SECTS Catholic country. When a little band of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians ventured to settle in a Spanish domain, it was speedily obliterated with the sword. Had this sort of intolerance continued, and had the Spaniards spread their domain north as well as west, there could have been no sects. With the coming of the English, Dutch and Scotch-Irish, a number of the denominations which issued from the Reformation found footholds here in colonial times. Fortunately, the country was large enough for all. Had it been so small that Puritan, Baptist and Quaker were forced to be near neighbours, it is probable that only the strongest would have survived. From colonial days to the present, the differences of nationality have been one of the most prolific causes of sectarianism. Differences of language, forms of wor- ship, systems of doctrine, are almost invariably involved. Even where the church doctrine, practice and heritage are the same, as in the Roman Catholic Church, dif- ferences of language will call for different services ; and in many Catholic communities, where the languages are not a source of separation, a natural attraction for like to like, a " consciousness of kind " often separates one people from another. The French wish a Church of their own, and the Irish do not want the Italians. Out of the friction the Catholic Church loses many adher- ents, though her skill in managing the situation is born of long practice. After a generation has passed and the children of the foreigner have gone through the American schools, these national antipathies disappear. If the jealousies and animosities, which so easily grow up between different people of different languages and traditions, could be wisely handled through one genera- 64 THE SECTS tion, the great cause of disruption would vanish. For the intermarrying and the levelling down of social inter- course reduce the artificial differences of nationality to something like a uniformity. Those genuine racial traits which remain, however, will not disappear, except after several generations of intermarrying. On the other hand, when factions grow up before the Americanizing influences, get in their good work, the organizations started tend to perpetuate themselves, passing down to successive generations sects which originated from a situation that no longer exists. Thus are the sects of the fathers visited upon the children long after the third and fourth generations. Nothing was more natural than the drifting apart of different national stocks in the growth of the great Lutheran Church, though the splendid work of Muhlen- berg shows the possibilities of resisting such a natural drift. In the beginning of the eighteenth century there were a number of congregations of Dutch, Swedish and German Lutherans scattered through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Each was jealous of its rights and privileges and tenacious of its inde- pendence. Muhlenberg succeeded in working these vari- ous, dissimilar churches into one great organization, despite the great obstacles of language, separate inter- ests, race prejudices and separation by great distances. As years went on, the various churches used English more and more, their interests became identified, the older forms of thought and custom which were identified with their foreign homes became more uniform and took the character of their new environment. A great Ameri- can church was the outcome. Unfortunately, issues arose which later resulted in secessions. Nevertheless, THE MAKING OF THE SECTS 65 the heroic work of the men who brought the straggling, colonial churches into one great brotherhood stands as a precedent and an inspiration, and presents the great issue of church unity squarely before the twenty-four bodies of the Lutheran Church of to-day. What was done nearly two centuries ago under the most adverse circumstances, could surely be accomplished on a far grander scale to-day. The Lutheran churches have much in common. They have very much the same creeds, doc- trines and traditions. They have the high honour of carrying the name of the founder of Protestantism. It is a stain upon their page in Christian history that they cannot bring their Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German and Finnish brethren into one church, as they become citizens of one and the same nation. The Reform churches, like the Lutheran, owe their diversity mainly to national differences, and, like the Lutheran, they should be able to organize much more closely than they do at present. One of the reasons for maintaining the characteristics of a sect which had its origin in national differences, is isolation. Thus the Bunkers were very largely farmers in colonial times, and their faith spread in rural districts, with the re- sult that they have changed very little up to the present time, and wish to change still less. To-day the immigration from countries where the Eastern Orthodox Church, i.e., the Greek Church, is dominant, is producing Russian, Servian, Syrian and Greek Orthodox churches. Closely allied to the schisms whicb grow out of national differences, are those di- visions in the Christian church which grow out of racial differences. Many writers do not draw a sharp line between racial and national distinctions; they fre- 66 THE SECTS quently use the words interchangeably. In the present instance, we shall mean by racial merely the Indian and African as contrasted with the white races. Among the Indians, the spread of Christianity presents a very interesting psychological study. The way in which the Catholic Church converted the Indian, and the resultant Indian Catholicism, is an interesting example of the possibilities, or perhaps we should say the impossibilities, gf imposing one type of Christianity upon an uncivilized people. Of course, a similar situation appears where Protestantism has spread among the Indians. It would seem that different tribes, with different possibilities of civilization, are appealed to differently by the dif- ferent sects. Before the war the negroes worshipped in the churches of the whites; they frequently occupied seats in the gal- leries of the churches where their masters worshipped. After the war, when the relations between the whites and the blacks were seriously changed, the negro began to establish churches of his own. These churches have grown splendidly. It is a pity that they did not grow into one organization. The Methodists have five divi- sions running through their coloured churches. The next largest body of coloured worshippers is the Bap- tists. Between the Baptists and the Methodists there are a number of differences such as church government, ritual and minor points in doctrine ; but these hardly out- weigh what they have in common, especially among the negro churches. For the negro type of religious life is so thoroughly characteristic of his race, and differs so little among his kind, that the differences which grew up in the sects of the white man have little significance for him. Surely, if there is a people to whom one general THE MAKING OF THE SECTS 67 type of church worship is congenial, these Afro- Americans are that people. If the two former causes of disunion, nation and race, are due to an act of God, then truly the cause we are about to study is due to an act of Satan. Fifty years ago the nation fought out the question of disunion. Long before the first gun was fired, the issue had arisen in the churches. There the nation had a right to witness the great questions discussed in a Christian spirit. The bit- terness which ran through the country should have stopped at the doors of the Church. It did not. Chris- tianity as represented by the sects of that day proved pitifully incapable of coping with the problems of the nation. The Church failed to lead the nation in paths of peace. Surely that was a bad enough failure, but to be leaders in disunion and antagonism was immeasurably worse. That was a discreditable chapter in church history. It is not so ugly as the chapters written and being written since. Long ago the country was re- united, but the churches are still divided, presenting the spectacle of the perpetuation through generations of an animosity which the world has forgotten, but which still rankles in the Church. Men who fought against each other in the Civil War fought together against a com- mon enemy thirty years later, but the churches of Christ which opposed each other in the sixties, continued to send out missionaries to compete with each other forty years after Lee surrendered. We saw in the last chap- ter how the Northern and Southern branches of one church were fighting each other, rather than a common enemy, in our own Northwest. Is it any wonder that leadership has passed out of the hands of the Church? 68 THE SECTS Into what sort of a calamity would a nation fall led by a church actuated with such a spirit? The obstacles .which tend to prevent the reunion of over two million Methodists in the North with nearly a million and a half in the South, are difficulties which these great bodies could surely overcome, if they were animated by as moving a spirit for Christian union as they were by the war spirit of a generation ago. The same may be said of the Baptist Church, with nearly two millions of worshippers in the South and nearly a million in the North. What a magnificent army these churches would present if they marched together! If they took the initiative, it is probable that many of the other divisions occasioned by the Civil War would be healed. The " Presbyterian Church in the United States," which sought to be the Presbyterian Church in the Confederated States, would probably be truer to its name if the spirit of union and self-denial for the great cause of Christ became widespread throughout its churches in the coun- try. Indeed, the first step toward strengthening the Church, that it may regain its place among the great forces that direct the nation, would seem to be in a re- union of these long-severed family ties. Another cause of disruption is in the Church itself; it grows out of differences in methods of administration. Church government or polity has occasioned a number of different forms of church organization. This par- ticular type of disruption has not played a very promi- nent part in the making of the sects in America ; though it has been very influential in the history of the Church elsewhere. Time was when the question, whether a pope, a bishop or a presbyter should administer the affairs of the Church, presented an issue of the very THE MAKING OF THE SECTS 69 greatest importance. The great forms of church govern- ment were fairly well established before Christianity spread to America. Perhaps America's greatest con- tribution is one which grows out of the spirit of the country, and gives to each individual church an inde- pendence which is impossible in those polities which grew up in monarchical countries. Occasionally in the history of the American Church, a rebellion has occurred against a too-rigid church govern- ment. The Methodist Protestant Church took issue with its parent body upon the question of representation in the conference by lay members, with the result that this difficulty of our great-grandsires presents us with a sect of nearly two hundred thousand members to-day. Some- times the grievances of a minority are real, sometimes they are fancied. Now and then a union of churches occurs when churches of similar polity agree; as in the case of the Associate Synod and the Associate Reform Synod, which constitute the United Presbyterian Church of North America. Although church polity is not an important cause of rupture in the United States, it is a very important fac- tor in preventing the union of the churches. It is very difficult in many cases to alter the administration of the Church; offices must be abolished, church societies must be changed and a general rearrangement of the organ- ization must be made. Perhaps it would not be fair to say that much of the resistance comes from those hold- ing offices, from secretaries of societies, and men em- ployed in educational, publication or other activities of the Church. But it is certainly true that the great movement for church cooperation must come from the intelligent and determined laymen. When the thirty 70 THE SECTS million people who worship in the numerous sects of this country determine that matters of church government shall not separate them, it will not be long before polity will disappear as an argument against unity. Though America may not present many varieties of church polity as sources of sectarianism, it tan boast a number of remarkable leaders in the church history of the last century, whose efforts have built up sects con- taining hundreds of thousands of worshippers. In the first half of the nineteenth century, William Miller per- suaded a number of his impressionable countrymen that the day of judgment was at hand and the numerous Adventist sects were the result. Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont, began to have visions concerning the second coming of Christ when he was fifteen years of age; other visions followed which were recorded in the Book of Mormon. These formed a basis for a new sect. In more recent times, Mrs. Eddy and John Alexander Dowie succeeded in inducing many people to accept their convictions. Mrs. Eddy has over eighty-five thousand followers. These last two sects had little to say about the second coming of Christ. They based their claims upon practical achievements. It would be impossible to start a great denomination among the churches to- day upon any doctrine concerning the second coming of Christ. Doctrinal interests are not in the spirit of the times. To-day the stress of life, especially in our large cities, is so severe that many people break down and suffer ill health primarily from nervous disorders. Any means of strengthening their hold upon life is eagerly sought. Such a means the followers of Mrs. Eddy and Mr. Dowie profess to possess. This is one of the rea- THE MAKING OF THE SECTS 71 sons why the Christian Science Church has a larger pro- portion of members in the cities than any other sect. By far the most important cause of the divisions in the sects among the Protestant churches is the spirit of protest. This gave birth to Protestantism; indeed, it gave birth to Christianity. Protestantism, whether in the time of Christ, or in the time of Luther, or in the time of the Puritans, is always actuated by the same spirit. It seeks to supplant the barrenness and the in- efficiency of the religion of its time with something better. This spirit of protest may express itself in several ways; very frequently it seeks to find the better life by recurring to the past. It is a characteristic of human nature to hark back to the Golden Age of long ago. This is a trait of the individual memory, which always recalls the years of early life as the most beauti- ful of all the years ; and it is a trait of humanity, which loves to point back to the achievements of past history. So the Church often looks back upon the achievements of the Apostolic Age, or the Reformation. In the growth of the American sects there are many innovations made in this way. Thus the Primitive Bap- tists could not endure the worldly spirit which incited man to establish missions, benevolent societies and Sun- day-schools ! They sought the simple ways of the earlier Church. To-day their action does not seem reasonable. However, such an action is sometimes taken after mature deliberation, after a sober protest against the encroach- ments of worldly interests in the Church; and may, oc- casionally, be justified; though it would appear to be the part of wisdom and Christianity to reform the Church from within, rather than to add another sect to the already too-long list. 72 THE SECTS One of the largest sects in the country, the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America, arose some years ago, when a number of the members of the Lutheran Church felt that they were drifting from the historical moorings of their church. They started a movement to conserve the spirit of the earlier Church. They felt that the spirit of the earlier Lutherans had been changed in the mutations of modern life, and to bring back the vigour and vitality of the earlier Church they sought to return to its doctrines and customs. It does not seem to matter in what period of church history a protest occurs. It always can find a more re- mote period as an ideal. Menno Simon sought to lead his fellows to the simpler Christianity of the- early Church. That was back in the seventeenth century. From this came the Mennonite Church. After some years, one Ammon sought to bring the Mennonite Church back to the simplicity of Simon's teachings. From this came the Amish Mennonite Church. Again, in the seven- teenth century, the Pietists sought to bring the vigour of primitive Christianity into a rather barren Protestant Church. From this movement came the " Dunkers " or the " German Baptist Brethren." They sought to resist modern influences, and to return to the spirit of the past, and gave rise to the Old Order of German Baptist Brethren. Much the same history explains the appear- ance of the " Friends " and the " Primitive Friends." The one division from the Disciples of Christ, the Churches of Christ, was inspired by this same desire to return to a simpler religious life. So, too, the United Evangelical Church, in the latter part of the nineteenth century, sought to go back to the doctrine, spirit and THE MAKING OF THE SECTS 73 purpose of the earlier life of its parent church. The Free Methodist Church of North America arose from an agitation against the " worldly " Church of the early part of the nineteenth century. A number of smaller bodies, the Plymouth Brethren and the River Brethren, not to mention many others, have repeated these performances on a smaller scale. Akin to this spirit, which seeks the betterment of the Church by a return to past principles and practices, is a spirit which also seeks the betterment of the Church, but does so regardless of the past. It is a more virile spirit. It usually grows out of the enthusiasm from a great revival ; it is almost inevitably the product of some Stirling spiritual movement. As there is a trait in human nature which constantly looks to the past and extols those halcyon days, so there is. a trait, in a great number of men, which looks to the future for the Best. This is not characteristic of re- ligious people alone, but it is that characteristic of all men of all times which has divided them into conserva- tives and radicals. Every government of every country shows these two forces-. History is one long succession of the results of their conflicts. In the Church the radi- cal nature, when stirred with the enthusiasm of the religious spirit, is not long in seeking " novas res." In the eighteenth century, the revival started by White- field put new life into the churches. In some cases, an entire sect was stimulated. In some cases, a minority of the churches of a sect responded to the revival in- fluences. In the latter " Old and New Light " would shine with varying degrees of lightness or dimness, or, a portion of the sect, unable to live comfortably with its fellows, would break off and form a new sect. In such 74 THE SECTS a way the Free Baptists came into being. The Great Revival, in the early part of the nineteenth century, after the depression following the Revolutionary War, occasioned many changes in the churches. The Cum- berland Presbyterian Church could not endure the dearth of spirituality of the Presbyterian Church, and sought freedom and a new life in a separate denomination. This same general movement affected a number of devout and capable men and occasioned the up-springing of a number of churches which have since become great and strong. The Disciples of Christ, the Primitive Methodists, the Christian Connection, the Evangelical Association, are among the churches that took their origin directly or indirectly from this great movement a century ago. In the last decade of the nineteenth century a rather sporadic movement has appeared. It, too, takes the form of a revival of religious spirit. It is rather radical and eccentric, and gives rise to " various orders of Holiness Movements." It is a protest against the worldliness of the Church to-day, and an emphasis upon unique reli- gious experiences. Another source of eruption in the Church is differ- ences in doctrine. These differences are not developed in the United States as much as is often imagined. Of course the distinctly American contributions are those from Miller, Smith, Eddy, Channing, Ballou, Dowie and a few others, which have already been noted. The great doctrinal forces, which grew up after the Reformation, have come over to America, and are reflected in the creeds of many of the churches. No great American thinker and leader has formulated a body of distinctive doctrines, which have given rise to any great family of THE MAKING OF THE SECTS denominations. In America, the sects seem rather to take their origin in differences of religious experience than in differences of thought. The Universalist and the Unitarian churches are products of theoretical move- ments. They have been very influential, but they have not spread extensively. Theology does not appear to be a very important cause of sect origin; it is, nevertheless, a very great deterrent of church union. With the spread of educa- tion, many of the differences in doctrine are being levelled down, and it is not unreasonable to hope that in time devout and intelligent men may be able to agree upon the great fundamentals of Christianity. Beneath many of these causes of separation lies a deeper cause. It is the natural difference between man and man in the thoughts and feelings which go into the shaping of the religious life itself. Such differences are inherent in human nature. It is impossible to ignore them. As each individual works out his own intellectual life, influenced by others, so, too, does he build up his religious conceptions and seek his religious develop- ment under the influence of others. His native prompt- ings, plus these influences, give the direction of his re- ligious life. No two human beings would be at all alike in their religion, were it not for the mutual influence upon each other's thoughts and feelings. So, different types of religious nature are drawn together by the assistance rendered each other in developing the spiritual life. These natural types are the bases of several great sect-types, as we shall see later. VI CLASSES OF SECTS FROM the groups of causes which have operated to produce the sects, it may be argued that the sects themselves can be grouped according to their various characteristics. For the influences which give rise to new sects do not cease their activity with the birth of a sect, but continue to give direction to the new organization for generations. Thus a religious body which originated in a widespread revival, continues its course with much of the warmth of spirit and fer- vour of expression that gave it birth; another denomi- nation, whose beginning is traced to a doctrinal dis- tinction and to a stand upon positive convictions in theoretical matters, often continues in the doctrinal way ; while a third sect rises from the peculiar views of some one man who stamps his personality and his principles upon his followers, and these run through the life of his organization; still another sect will arise out of an issue connected with some feature of church worship, and the life of the sect becomes unique in some ritual. So, the origin of a sect is a very good index of Its general character, and we may well attempt a classifica- tion of the sects, based primarily upon this study of their origins. Of course a large number of sects have their inception in matters wholly external to their religious life; of 76 CLASSES OF SECTS 77 such are the sects formed by the issues of the Civil War, the divisions due to controversies over church government, or over the administration of educational institutions, etc. Only when the issue turns upon mat- ters directly connected with the religious life of the members, can the origin tell anything of the nature of a sect. Those sects, considered in the last chapter, which sprang from distinctly religious needs, may be grouped according to the traits they have in common. In such a grouping it is impossible to draw broad and clear lines between the bodies classified, for one church may resemble another in many particulars, but, also, resemble a third in a few other features. For this reason, we shall use the origins of the sects only as a general index of their characters, and we shall consider their careers, their inner lives, also, in making an estimate of their positions in the classification. One of the first things which attract the attention of the sociologist in a study of the people of America, is the distinctive trait which each nationality contributes to the complexion of the nation. Such traits arise in many ways; they may be due to genuine differences in the national stocks, or they may be due to peculiarities incident to social or natural environments. If they are due to environments which have operated upon the peo- ple for only a few generations, they will probably dis- appear. If they go deeper and run back to fundamental characteristics, they last for a very long time. These differences show themselves in a number of ways in the kind of work which these people undertake when they come to a new country, in their social customs and forms of amusement, their personal morals, and espe- cially in their religion, which is one of the most con- 78 THE SECTS servative factors in life. The Reformation took hold upon the peoples of northern Europe; it was congenial to them. The soil of their nature yielded fruit a hun- dredfold; but in the south of Europe the Reformation could not gain headway, and the principles of Protestan- tism never took root. Some reasons for this we have seen in a former chapter; certain minor differences are very apparent to the psychologist in the art, the literature, the music and the habits of the people of northern and southern Europe. These fundamental differences do not appear so clearly as you pass from nation to nation, as they do when you pass from the brachycephalic heads of the south to the dolichocephalic heads of the north. That the shape of the head shapes the religion no one can believe, but that the shape of the head goes with a number of other traits, among them religious traits, may very well be possible. A genuine difference exists be- tween the people in the north and the people in the south of Europe, and it appears in their religion. In America it is natural to expect a recurrence of this phenomenon, and we may well look for some characteristic which marks the sturdy stock which made the Reformation. A number of denominations in this country trace their history back to the people immediately affected by Luther's influence. Their lineage is not only doctrinal but human. For the very people who responded to Luther were the ancestors of many who stoutly defend his name to-day. The Lutheran Church is the greatest Protestant church in the world. The Lutheran Church in America would be one of the largest, if it were not divided into twenty-four divisions. Nevertheless, through these divisions one may see certain character- istics in common. The first is that all of these separate CLASSES OF SECTS 79 bodies look back to the Augsburg Confession as the constitution of their faith. Some of them accept in addition Luther's catechism, or the Smalkald Articles; or perhaps also the Apostolic, the Nicene or the Athana- sian creeds. Their central doctrine is salvation through faith in Christ, and their theology turns upon that. They are a people who retain the doctrinal tenets of the past, but have also a religious experience which runs parallel with their doctrines. They are neither as doc- trinal as the Presbyterian, nor as insistent upon the spiritual experience as the Methodist; but doctrine and devotion of a characteristic kind run through them all, despite national differences (see page 195). Nearly three hundred thousand members of the Re- formed Church in the United States, formerly the German Reformed Church, also trace their religion back to the in- spiration of the Reformation. Their constitution, if we may so call the doctrinal expression of the church, is in the Heidelberg catechism. This statement of faith, like many others of the period of its making, reflects the same general principles that are contained in the Augsburg Confession. The religious life of these fol- lowers of Luther is very much like that of the Lutherans. Indeed, with the religious life centring around the same ideas and taking its colour from the same racial tem- perament, it is hard to see why these two bodies should remain distinct. The German Evangelical Synod, which also has nearly three hundred thousand members, retains the Augs- burg Confession and the Heidelberg catechism, both as the religious expressions of its life. It would seem pos- sible, then, that all these German descendants of the Great Reform could have the same doctrinal basis for 8o THE SECTS their faith. The minor issues which a theologian might take exception to mean nothing to the average layman. The general tenets of a belief are all that influence the average worshipper. Here the general tenets are the same. Not only so, but the spiritual experience which runs along with these general convictions, takes much the same form in these people whose thought and an- cestry run back to one origin. Here, then, we have a group of sects which might well be called a type. Of course there are many ex- ceptions to the average, and minor diversities certainly appear in the Danish, the Finnish, or the Norwegian branches. One sect reflects a principle we find in many places. Among the Norwegian Lutherans a sect, under Hauge, sprang up in protest against the barrenness of the spiritual life; it lays more emphasis upon spirituality, and none upon creed. With the rank and file of these millions of worshippers, the general traits of their stock, in temperament, in belief and in worship, remain the same. Among other national strains in the great composi- tion of the American people, preference for certain forms of the Christian religion may also be traced. The Scotch-Irish stock, with its stalwart qualities; the Irish, so different in temperament; the English and the Dutch; not to mention a number of others, have given their trend to the sect-making. Still, these people are not to be compared with the Teuton, in their influence upon the church history of America. For they have been more susceptible to the influences which drew them into sects not bound by characteristics of nationalities. A very distinct group of race-sects is that comprised of negroes. Here there are very marked race char- CLASSES OF SECTS 81 acteristics, for the African race is well removed. Its temperament, its intellectual life, its emotional nature, its many primitive traits, all mark it off from the Cau- casian. Matters of doctrine play very little part in the religion of the negro, except as they stir his imagina- tion. The emotional nature is the actuating factor of his religion. Negro Unitarians are almost impossible. Indeed, all of those sects that have laid great emphasis upon the intellectual factors in religion, have made little appeal to the negro. The Presbyterian Church was not so much weaker than the Methodist and the Baptist before the war, but the Presbyterian Church, with its love of doctrine, has succeeded in sending comparatively few of the negroes to its altars, while the Baptists, with their insistence upon a regenerated heart rather than a regenerated mind, have won many of the negroes. Indeed, 61 per cent, of membership of all the coloured organizations is in the Baptist Church, 13 per cent, in the Methodist, and one-eighth of I per cent, in the Pres- byterian. Whatever may be said of difference in efforts on the part of these churches to reach the negro, what- ever discount may be made for their differences in size, it still remains to be explained why so few coloured people are in the Presbyterian Church, and so many in the Baptist and the Methodist. Surely, part of the ex- planation is in the fact that these two churches more nearly satisfy the negro's religious needs. There are greater differences between the negro churches and the white churches than there are between the different sects in the negro church. With the education and cultivation of the negro, the excesses which used to characterize his worship will disappear; but his real religious needs will remain the same, in great measure. He should not 82 THE SECTS be forced to fashion his church life after that of the white man, but should be encouraged to establish one great church having sufficient variety of forms of wor- ship to satisfy him, and to develop along lines most con- genial to his nature. In the study of the origins of the sects, we saw that the great religious revival which swept over the country, gave rise to divisions in the old churches and to the birth of new churches. Here, then, we have an appeal to the spiritual nature as the supreme incentive for forming a church. The response to this appeal came from those people who found the experience of religion a supreme factor in their lives. Theology had little to do with it. Doctrine was ignored ; only the great central principles of Christianity were considered. In the re- ligious awakening in the early part of the nineteenth century, the people who responded gave little thought to the theoretical differences of the different churches; they were absorbed in the great ethical and spiritual issues of the moment. We saw that the Disciples of Christ, the Evangelical Association, the " Christians," and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and we might add the " Winebrennerian," originated in this movement. Now, if we study the after-careers of these churches, we shall find that they have very much in com- mon. The Disciples take this position : " While agree- ing with all the Evangelical churches in the necessity of faith and repentance, we differ in this: we submit no other tests but faith and repentance in admitting per- sons to baptism and church membership. We present to them no articles of faith other than the one article con- cerning the divinity and Christhood of Jesus. . . . They are wedded to Christ and not to a set of doctrines CLASSES OF SECTS 83 or to a party." * This church insists only upon a re- ligious experience which makes for Christian living; it holds forth no creeds; it seeks the unity of all churches. The Evangelical Association has a like spirit : " There is nothing radical in our creed, we hold a common faith of Orthodox Christians." f In addition to the Articles of Faith of the Methodist Church, which constitute in gen- eral the belief of the Church, the Evangelical Associa- tion holds to an adoption of Christian perfection. " Christian perfection is defined as a state of grace, in which we are so firmly rooted in God that we have in- stant victory over every temptation the moment it presents itself, without yielding in any degree; in which our rest, peace and joy in God are not interrupted by the vicissitudes of life. . . . Yet no perfection of ex- perience is attainable that does not admit of higher and deeper and fuller participation in the infinite fulness of divine peace, life and power, but a constant expansion of spiritual capacity and enlargement of faith." The "Christians," or Christian Connection, also hold the Bible is the only source of their belief, and they have no need for a creed. Christian character i$ the only test of church fellowship. They, too, welcome church unity and the fellowship of all who share the Christian religion. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, com- ing from a theological stock, carried as much of the Westminster faith with them as they could; some of it they could not carry. Their hearts had been stirred by a great experience, and the old doctrines of Calvin- istic predestination did not fit their experience. So we * B. B. Tyler : " A History of the Disciples of Christ," p. 122. f S. O. Sprang : " A History of the Evangelical Association," p. 420, Vol. XII in the American Church History Series. 84 THE SECTS find this branch of the Presbyterian Church tending to hold to the Arminian doctrine of free will. However, this product of the great awakening in the religion of the nine- teenth century also lays very little emphasis upon doc- trine. It does not require subscription to the confession of faith by those who wish to join the church. These traits, which grew up as a result of the revival, became more common in the parent Presbyterian body as time went on, so that a reunion between the two was not impossible. The last church which we shall consider that grew out of this movement, is the Winebrennerian. Here, too, no written creed is required. The doctrine, so far as there is any doctrine, is Arminian rather than Calvinistic. The great emphasis is upon regeneration of heart and genuine practical piety. In this group of churches we have a set of common characteristics. They grew out of a movement which demanded a religious experience rather than a doc- trinal belief or a subscription to one form of worship and ritual. They have continued to hold to these prin- ciples. They constitute a very large portion of the Christian churches in the United States. They have so much in common, and are so willing to fraternize with all who have a similar " witness of the Spirit," that it seems improbable that they should long remain separated by the less important traits of church polity. Another group of sects might also be called experi- ential. In these churches the emphasis is upon the spiritual life. If we were to draw a sharp distinction, we should say that it is a feeling element in religion, rather than an intellectual element, which is the more empha- sized among these sects. That feeling element is very different in the Quaker and the Methodist. One is at one CLASSES OF SECTS 85 end of the keyboard and the other at the opposite ex- treme. To pass from the quiet, subtle promptings of the Spirit in the demure Quaker to the racking, ex- plosive demonstrations of the camp meeting, is to pass down the gamut of religious feeling. It is what one feels within that stirs him to express himself; his ex- pression is directed by that stirring. Somewhere on that gamut, we should have to find a place for the Bap- tist, who knows when he is regenerated ; for the member of the Salvation Army, who knows when he is con- verted ; for the " Holiness " Christian, who knows when he has been sanctified, or perfected, and for many others. Now, surely, the historical differences in the origins of these sects give some indication of the traits which have always characterized them; but we should be led astray if we looked only to the origins. Another great group with a very distinctive char- acteristic we might entitle the "Doctrinal Group." In these churches doctrines have played a preeminent part. Among them the Presbyterian holds high rank. Origi- nating as it did in the genius of Calvin, it has strongly adhered to that genius. It is the genius of logic. Calvin's " Institutions " were all written before he reached the age when Jesus began His public ministry. They were not based upon a life of religious experience ; they were based upon close-knit logical reasoning. Calvin was a man with very little feeling. He preached a rigid doc- trine and taught a rigid ethical system. The fervour of the Methodists had no part in his system. Taking an impression from the strong logical intellect of John Calvin, it always has put theoretical doctrine into its foreground. It has laid a stress upon doctrinal sound- ness as an element of wholesome church life, which 86 THE SECTS defends it from both Lutheran and Anglican Protestant- ism. Its weaker side, in this respect, has been an over- confidence in the adequacy of human logic, to bring the truth of the Scriptures into a systematic form, and to present a doctrinal scheme which the Bible does not furnish. Closely akin to the spirit of the Presbyterian Church was the spirit of the Congregational churches for many generations. This was preeminently the church of New England, where there arose a number of great thinkers, who have given us a New England theology. In these later years the Congregational churches have worked away from their doctrinal bias, but are still among the leaders in the religious thought of to-day. So similar were the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in their intellectual life a cen- tury ago, that their ministers passed from the pulpits of one sect to the other freely. It was felt that these two denominations were very close together. From the Con- gregational the Unitarians separated upon a theoretical question, whose roots run back many years in colonial history. The bitterness engendered by this has made the Congregational and the Unitarian churches appear to be very different in character. As time went on, the body which separated did the natural thing, insisted upon a certain form of intellectual statement of faith, which gave the sect an ultra-intellectualistic cast. The Universalist Church, another New England product, also had its inception in a revolt against Congregational theology. It, too, has claimed a disdain for the intrica- cies and deceptions of theology, but has, nevertheless, laid such emphasis upon its tenets that it has also taken much the same cast as the Unitarian. Such churches laying the primary emphasis upon the CLASSES OF SECTS 87 forms of thought, whether in creed or not, that express the religious life, and seeking to emphasize with this their ethical standards, constitute a distinctive type of sects. Still another type of denominations appears in those churches which turn to the church service, to the ritual as the dominant factor in their Christianity. The Catholic Church emphasized the importance of m the eucharist to such an extent that the mass became the most important thing in the church life. By means of the body and blood of the Saviour, mystically imparted to the believer, salvation was attained. Should it be impossible to administer the Sacraments of the Church, it would be impossible to maintain Christianity. These sacraments are the cornerstone of the Church. Under such a dispensation, one must attend the church service and receive from its ritual the means of maintaining his religious life. The Church, too, must hear his con- fessions, and through the Church must he receive his forgiveness. The Catholic Church is not a help to the religious life. It is an indispensable means to its fol- lowers. A very different class of men are attracted by its service from those who feel within themselves the ability to find their God, to know Him, to receive the assurance of His presence and His existence, inde- pendent of any institutes, and who use the Church as an auxiliary, not as an indispensable means to the religious life. That group of sects, founded by different persons in America, such as Miller, Smith, Dowie, Eddy or Crowdy, might well constitute another type of sects. They all take their origin from some interpretation of the Scrip- tures. They over-emphasize some feature of Chris- 88 THE SECTS tianity; or they graft on some misinterpretation of the Scriptures and develop it according to their humour. Though these sects originated under the inspiration of some dominating personality, the things for which they stand are so dissimilar that it is necessary in drawing the line around them to draw it very loosely. They may be classed from the point of view of psychology in rather a different way from that in which their historical origin would class them. These types of sects do not include all of the indi- vidual churches in the United States. There may be a church here and there which cannot find a place in one of these types. By far the great majority of them, how- ever, may easily be placed in some one of the above classes. Such a sect as the Swedenborgian, for example, does not originate in America, and could not be grouped as an American sect arising from the inspiration of an American leader ; but it is in many particulars similar to those sects which have so arisen, and have taken their stand upon the professed revelations of their leaders. VII THE NATURAL SECTS TWO sets of influences give rise to the sects; ex- ternal or circumstantial, and internal or natural. The latter alone is important, as the adventitious influences of the social order do not produce lasting effects, and sects formed by them may readily re-form into bodies which directly influence their religious prefer- ences. The native disposition to worship, believe and act in certain ways is fundamental. To find what these fundamental traits are, in the religious nature, is one of the tasks the psychologist has undertaken. It is a large and difficult problem, one which invites pitfalls. At present only large trends may be pointed out. How- ever, these trends are of great significance, and assist materially in acquiring a true understanding of the nature of the divisions which run through the American Church. Dr. Jean du Buy has made a very interesting com- parative study in the psychology of four different types of Protestants.* In it he shows some of the typical traits of the Presbyterian, the Baptist, the Methodist and the Unitarian. This he does by pointing out the characteristics of the founders of these sects, showing how these characteristics continue in the life of the or- ganizations. Dr. du Buy finds that the spirit of Calvin has been * Amer. Jour, of Relig., Psychol. and Educ., 3, pp. 165-209. 89 90 THE SECTS perpetuated in the Calvinistic churches. By the typical Calvinist he does not mean the average member of a present-day Presbyterian Church, but he means rather the characteristics of the laymen who were attracted to the movement when it was young. These main char- acteristics have been repeated in every genuine follower ever since. " The typical Calvinist is intellectual. Cal- vin himself was distinguished by an uncommonly clear and powerful intellect. The typical Calvinist dwelt on <^the intellectual side of religion. Calvinistic preaching )was didactic, and was an appeal to the intellect rather [than to feeling. The typical Calvinist is logical. Calvin's own mind was exceedingly clear and logical. He early formed a habit of arranging his thoughts logically, and of thus reducing them to order. The typical Calvinist is distinguished by his logical precision, as well as his keen analysis and sharp argumentation. The typical Cal- vinist is a systematizer of thought. Calvin himself had a genius for organizing thought. The typical Calvinist endeavours to erect a theological system by means of logical inference. His creed surpasses those of all other Protestants in systematical elaborateness. He is char- acterized by an over-confidence in the adequacy of logic to bring theological thought into a system. The typical Calvinist is an organizer by nature. Calvin himself had a genius for organizing. The typical Calvinist is a theologian. Calvin's main interest was in theology and in doctrinal soundness. The typical Calvinist puts theo- logical doctrine into the foreground. He is distinguished by his fine-spun theological definitions. His interest in dogmatical theology is intense. He is more interested in doctrinal questions than all other Protestants. The typical Calvinist is dogmatic. Calvin himself was THE NATURAL SECTS dogmatic. . . . The typical Calvinist is unemotional' Calvin himself was greatly lacking in emotion. He be- came early distinguished by a certain strictness and severity of character. . . . Calvinism has set up a high standard of intelligence both for its ministers and its laity. It stands for an educated ministry." His study of the " Typical Methodist " brings out some sharp contracts with the " Typical Calvinist." " The religion of the Methodist is a religion based upon personal experience, on the experience of the forgive- ness of our sins, on a sense of pardon of all past sins. Inseparably connected with this sense of pardon, is the new trust in God on the part of the convert. The typical Methodist insists that conversion be always pre- ceded by an overwhelming sense of personal guilt, by what is called conviction of sin, and that it be followed by a joyful assurance of reconciliation with God. . . . A typical Methodist preacher demanded of a man's con- version that it be a conscious experience, usually in- volving a conscious submission to God. . . . Methodist revival preachers were even loath to recognize anyone as truly converted who had not experienced a large measure of emotional excitement. . . . The typical Methodist is neither dogmatic nor controversial. There have never been any radical divergencies of doctrine among American Methodists. True Methodist preachers have not cared for theological controversies, because they were completely absorbed in the work of the con- version and saving of souls. The typical Methodist is distinguished by his zeal and activity, he is indefatigable. . . . The typical Methodist is distinguished by a cer- tain directness and aggressiveness. The typical Metho- dist is emotional. Early Methodism was a great outburst 92 THE SECTS of religious feeling. Typical Methodist preaching is highly emotional. Wesley's preaching frequently excited ungov- ernable emotion in the hearts of many of his hearers. . . . The typical Methodist is distinguished by his powerful fervency and religious enthusiasm. He is characterized by a fervour of address in preaching. . . . The genuine Methodist is decidedly a man of prayers. . . . He is an enthusiastic singer of hymns. . . . The early converts to Methodism were mainly members of the lower classes. They were chiefly poor, uneducated and even rude people. Indeed, Wesley himself intended his work mainly for the benefit of the lower classes in society. . . . The typical Methodist is emotional. Methodism naturally appeals to people of an emotional temperament. Thus an emotional woman will find in the fervency of Methodist preaching a response to the long- ings of her own nature. There surely is such a thing as a Methodist type of temperament. There is no mis- taking a typical Methodist for a Calvinist or a Uni- tarian." The analysis of the Baptist is equally interesting, though it does not bring out psychological differences so clearly. " The most fundamental principle of the Baptists is their demand for an exclusively regenerate church membership. The typical Baptist draws a sharp line of distinction between the consciously regenerate and those who make no claim to a regenerative change. He believes in the necessity of regeneration, and demands that regeneration should precede church membership. He insists that a church must be composed exclusively of regenerate persons, of individuals who are assured of their conversion. He rejects infant baptism largely because it is incompatible with a regenerate church mem- THE NATURAL SECTS 93 bership. . . . The typical Baptist may be a Calvinist or an Arminian in his theology. The Regular Baptists of America are Calvinists, but the Freewill Baptists of America are Arminian. A number of speculative think- ers among the Baptists have been Socinians and Anti- Trinitarians. The Regular Baptists of America have no creed to-day to which all of them have to subscribe. Submission to a creed is not a condition of membership in Baptist churches. The Bible is preeminently their creed. Neither Calvinistic doctrine nor any other theo- logical view is one of the essential characteristics of the Baptists. The typical Baptist is an advocate of abso- lute liberty of conscience. He believes that religion is a personal concern, a matter between the individual man and God. . . . The typical Baptist is distinguished by a peculiar literalness in his interpretation of the New Testament. Like the Calvinist, he maintains the doc- trine of the supremacy and the sufficiency of the Bible as the only norm of faith and practice. . . . The Bap- tists practise what they call 'believers' baptism,' that is, the baptism of adult believers. Repentance, or change of heart, and faith are the conditions upon which alone they baptize people. Those who profess repentance and faith are the only proper subjects of baptism, accord- ing to them. . . . Infants are not the proper subjects of baptism because they cannot experience the ' new birth ' ; the spirit of regeneration belongs to adult people." The Unitarian stands out in rather sharp relief against these other types. " Described in one word, Unitarian- | ism is an appeal to reason and conscience. The typical i Unitarian asserts the claim of reason in religion. He appeals to reason in the interpretation of the Bible. He 94 THE SECTS insists that no religious doctrine which is contrary to reason should be accepted. He contends for the free- dom of private criticism and of private interpretation, and is distinguished by independence of thought and by a tendency toward rationalism. The typical Unitarian is a person who wants to be unpledged to any prescribed theological doctrine. He does not recognize any creed, not even the simplest one, as binding him. . . . Has a strong dislike of dogma as well as of controversy. . . . Does not recognize the authority of any church discipline over him. . . . The typical Unitarian is un- emotional. Non-Unitarians have often made the charge of lack of emotion against him. They speak of his cold intellectualism. They are of the opinion that the re- ligious life of the Unitarian is wholly intellectual, with- out any demonstration ; almost entirely of the head, very little of the heart. They regard him as highly respect- able, but frigid in his piety. . . . Seems to be lacking in the religious life. Unitarianism appeals most strongly to people of culture. It finds its adherents largely in the cultivated class. The typical Unitarian is an edu- cated and cultivated man who has some wealth and having a good social position. . . . Unitarianism has never been a religion for the masses, the latter require a religion which is more emotional, and which empha- sizes the inward moral struggle against temptation and sin." The most interesting thing from the point of view of psychology, in this study, is the distinction which appears between the Presbyterian and Unitarian on the one hand, and the Baptist and the Methodist on the other. This would seem to be due to native traits. The former, though wide apart theologically, are near together psy- THE NATURAL SECTS 95 chologically. Both Presbyterian and Unitarian are of the intellectual type as distinguished from the Baptist and Methodist, who lay more emphasis upon the experiential factors in religion. With the former two sects, the interest revolves around what is thought; with the lat- ter two, their interest centres upon what is felt, experi- enced. Professor Griddings makes a more elaborate study of the sects, and endeavours to classify all of them under five heads. He has the four following mental types.* " Idio-Motor. This is the lowest type of the human mind. Its activities are for the most part instinctive. Sensations, simple ideas and motor reactions are in this type not merely the materials out of which mind and practice-activity are built, as in higher types, but they are a chief content of conscious life. Intellect does not develop much beyond perception and conjecture. Be- lief is determined mainly by incident, habit and auto- suggestion. The disposition is aggressive and the char- acter forceful. Examples are afforded by the lowest savages, and in several populations by the physically active but ignorant. " Idio-Emotional. This is somewhat weakly but almost continuously emotional rather than physically active. Its intellect is imaginative. Its beliefs are largely deter- mined by external suggestions, and it habitually rea- sons from superficial analogy. It is instigative in dis- position and convivial in character. Examples are af- forded by all the higher savages and barbarians, and especially by the negroes. In civil populations the type is found in two gradations: one, the emotional volatile minds, not dsn&ely ignorant but of comparatively little * F. H. Giddings : " Inductive Sociology," pp. 84-89. 96 THE SECTS intellectual development, and two, the sensuous, imagi- native, artistically creative minds, of higher intellectual development. "Dogmatic-Emotional. This type is marked by an extreme development of preferential attention. The mind is fixed upon some one dominant idea or group of ideas or beliefs. Such controlling ideas arouse great volumes of emotion, which, in turn, create a habit of intolerance. Belief, in this type, is suggestively deter- mined by emotion, movement and temperament. Rea- soning is habitually deductive, and, while much nice at- tention may be given to the logical process, premises are seldom subjected to a searching criticism, but are usually accepted on trust. Disposition is domineering and char- acter austere. Persons of this type have often been use- ful to the community as reformers or even as martyrs, but they are seldom temperate or judicious in their methods. . . . "Critical-Intellectual. The highest type of mind is that in which the Idio-Motor, the Idio-Emotional and the Dogmatic-Emotional activities, never suppressed, much less destroyed, are habitually kept under the con- trol of a critical and vigilant intellect. Clear percep- tions, sound judgments, objectively determined by evi- dence and taking the form of common sense, careful reasoning, deductive or inductive, a habit of subjecting premises no less than logical processes to a searching examination these intellectual activities constitute a major part of the mental life, and keep all of the lower processes in due subordination. Intellect in this type may be deductive and critical, or critical and inductive. Disposition is creative and character rationally con- scientious." THE NATURAL SECTS 97 Using these types of mind Professor Giddings finds that the denominations fall in the following lists.* DISTRIBUTION BY SECTS MIE. EIM. IEM. IME. Type of Mind I s 6 I H Q 0*3 -M C -H ""* IS % 6 V O t-t g ^ P 202 THE SECTS religious types are quite close together. But the tenets they hold are far apart, so far, indeed, that the real similarities of the types are obscured in ordinary obser- vation. The table cannot show all the relations of the sects in all their traits. The very scheme of the arrangement precludes that. Also, the traits of the Literalist and of the Liberal are not shown. It is not designed to tell any such an exact story as Mendel-eefFs table of chemical elements, where the character of the elements changes as you read across the table, and changes with precision and certainty. Our table is suggestive of great, though subtle relations. Time and research will unquestionably modify it in many details, but not in the general truths which it obviously teaches. XIII LEVELLING FORCES IN nature the most conspicuous forces are the cataclysmic forces. They rend and heave and twist the rocks and lift the mountain crags. Less spec- tacular are the forces which level down ; they smooth the hills away and fill the valley hollows. The great forces that make for irregularity are met the world over by the forces which make for regularity. The mountain heights are slowly swept away to make the level fields of the valley. So in society, war disrupts, immigration thrusts in new social strata, dissension gives rise to opposing parties; these and other forces make the differences in the social order. Opposing them are the forces which heal differences, smooth over disparities, that both level up and level down. In the preceding chapters the differences between re- ligious people were emphasized at considerable length. The way in which the differences of the Old World came over into the American Church, the way in which the Civil War disrupted the Church, the schisms of polity and doctrine and, most important of all, the nat- ural differences in human nature, were all presented and fully discussed. In the midst of these descriptions of disruptions and secessions nothing was said of the great agencies which are at work in healing the scars of con- 203 204 THE SECTS flict and in bringing peace and harmony among those whose differences arise in so many ways. In this chapter some of these levelling forces will be pointed out as they spread in society in general, and in the Church in particular. In America unquestionably the public school is the greatest institution for levelling down differences in the social order. Here the English language is an indis- pensable means of bringing the children of all nations together in thought. It is the vehicle of Anglo-Saxon ideas, ideals and achievements. With the same lan- guage children whose parents came from Northern Europe and from Southern Europe enter into the litera- ture of America. It is of the very first importance that the newcomers to our shores thinKT their thoughts in our language as well as receive their thoughts from our litera- ture; for a common language helps to mould thoughts, in common. Other studies are taken up by the children of all countries and from all kinds of homes, and to- gether they mature in their education. This maturity is something they share with each other, they feel they have grown in their intellectual lives and that their growth is a possession which they hold in common. Working together makes for mutual understanding and mutual good- feeling. In the recreation hours these chil- dren with their diverse heritages mingle and engage in those games which are characteristic of American chil- dren; games which call for fair play, for treating each player upon the basis of his natural merits only. There is no place for pretensions here. Quick wits and good muscles, whether possessed by Swede or Italian, make the leaders. The most important factor is the teacher. From her the best that America has to give is imparted LEVELLING FORCES 205 to the young. Often these public-school teachers are women and men of very fine character. More than their information is imparted to their pupils; their good nature, frankness, civility and even courage are con- tagious. Thus, a number of subtle forces play upon the future citizens of the nation and smooth down the dif- ferences incident to birth; and impart many qualities which in later life mark them as typical Americans. These youths often come to our colleges and universities, and so thoroughly has the work of the public schools been done that it is impossible to tell what nationality is repre- sented if it were not for some peculiarity in the names, which tell the story of ancestors' homes in Scotland, Sweden, Germany or other lands. After school life, when these children of foreign par- ents begin to earn a living, they naturally drop into or- ganizations; trade or labour unions, social and fraternal orders. In every society the " peculiar man " is taboo. So the unusual individual seeks to imitate the ideas and feelings of his fellows. He merges into his set and be- comes a part of the great whole. Less visible are the unorganized agencies, especially what is called " social pressure." Fashion is the great example of this. The styles of ten years ago seem ab- surd, they actually look ugly; styles of to-day are un- doubtedly just as ugly. Why do they not appear so ugly? The reason seems to be that great numbers of people approve them; what is admired by many becomes a standard for the individual and a sort of mutual as- sistance is rendered, each one lending another aid in admiring the unadmirable. So of important things. Be- liefs which fifteen years ago were extravagant are now quite possible. Many a man who held that the tenets 206 THE SECTS of socialism were unthinkable admits to-day " that there is something in them." Or, to go still further back, how hard it is to imagine the convictions of a slave- holder ; though we know that excellent and educated peo- ple did own slaves. Public opinion, the social mind, brings individuals into line. Not ideas alone, but taste may be imparted by public opinion. Compare the plays, operas, newspapers and recreations of different peo- ples at different times. The aesthetic feelings may be cultivated in an individual by his social surroundings. Not a few people have acquired a taste for classical music because others of their social set frequented the operas. The moral feelings, too, are educated in the in- dividual by the society in which he lives; there is to- day a growing sentiment concerning the responsibility of each individual to his fellowmen. One can detect the increase of this sentiment in the last two decades. We must conclude, therefore, that our age impresses certain ideas upon the minds of people and also inspires them with certain feelings. In both the intellectual and the emotional life social environment manufactures citizens of a certain great type. How easy jt is to detect an American abroad! How quickly we recognize his thoughts and his feelings; they are so characteristic of the nation from which he comes. This social environment exercises its influence only where there is a certain density of population. In thinly settled parts of the country there is very little of this. Cities are the centres of social influence. Isolation assists individuality and increases, or at least maintains, diverse types. Communication, constant interchange of thoughts and purposes, shape people to mutual resem- blances. The cities tend to fashion their inhabitants LEVELLING FORCES 207 after one general pattern, giving them certain fashions, manners, customs, morals and ideas. A new concep- tion will spread through the inhabitants of a city and leap to other cities. The American Revolution, the move- ment against slavery, the single tax, socialism, all origi- nated and gathered headway in the cities. Of old, Chris- tianity spread first through the cities. The country peo- ple, the pagani } were the pagans. What bearing has all this upon the religious life ? How does it affect the problem of the Sects? It shows that, despite the various ideas advocated by the different de- nominations, there are forces at work which are slowly clearing away these differences. The public schools are giving the citizens of the country a common attitude to- ward the questions of life. Men who have been edu- cated from the same books are very apt to acquire the same way of looking at things. Millerism could not spread to-day as it did a half -century ago. The educa- tion of the times would not support it. Some concep- tions spread easily and widely through our nation be- cause they are congenial to the conceptions which were inculcated during the years of education. Others can make no headway at all among the American people. Among the leaders of the Church this sameness of edu- cation has had a very beneficent influence. I recall a group of clergymen, Baptists, Congregationalists, Pres- byterians and Methodists, who were in thorough accord in their thoughts and purposes. Their training in school, college and university had been much the same, and their habits of thought were naturally very much alike. Among laymen the schools and the newspapers, maga- zines and populajr books give much the same mental habits to everyone. Questions are discussed from very 2o8 THE SECTS much the same points of view, issues are presented in very much the same way ; there is a striking sameness in the spirit of our novels, magazines and papers. Of course it is not possible that any sameness of education or of intellectual impressions from sameness of literature should produce exactly the same sorts of minds. That is not claimed. I do maintain, with Spen- cer, that many of the conceptions of our fathers are not held by us to-day because of what might be called our intellectual mood. No specific arguments are forcing the older conceptions out of our churches, but a sort of mood makes it impossible to receive many of the older notions and to hold them as true. There is no reason why we should not believe in witches if we believe in the Bible, nor is there any reason for not believing in demon possession. Nevertheless, many who thoroughly believe in the Bible do not believe in these absurdities. They cannot give you a really good argument why, but the simple reason is that such beliefs are not in accord with the intellectual mood of to-day, even among the rigidly orthodox. The results of Bible scholarship and the mood referred to have undoubtedly done some harm, yet every fair- minded observer must acknowledge that this newer Bible scholarship has made it impossible to hold to some of the peculiar interpretations of the Bible upon which a num- ber of Sects have built, and also make it impossible to champion certain practices. No young minister with an honest mind who has carefully studied in the light of present-day scholarship could ever think of the Bible as maintaining and defending any doctrine of Church Polity, Close Communion or Apostolic Succession. The old methods of argument and contention are "now inef- LEVELLING FORCES 209 fective. Intelligent and educated people are coming to an agreement concerning doctrines upon which the Fathers differed. What a Reformation it would be if all those who agreed in their conceptions of things re- ligious threw off their sectarian differences and united in the cause of Christ! In addition to a change in creeds there has also come a change in spirit. Not only is it impossible to believe what was commonly believed twenty-five years ago, but it is also impossible to feel as the generation before us felt. Why are there no sermons on Hell? The temper of the present will not tolerate them. We do not hear much about Calvin's doctrines of predestination and the wholesale condemnation of the heathen. No minister would dare present such things to his hearers. This is not due to a change of convictions resulting from argu- ment; it is due to a change in feeling. We have seen elsewhere that as tribes become more cultivated and more humane toward each other their religious concep- tions are less brutal. The humanity of to-day seen in thousands of the hospitals, libraries and charities will not tolerate conceptions which were brought forth in an age when wars, duels and tortures were in keeping with the spirit of the people. In the churches, then, the spirit of the age has brought about a great deal of the same sort of thinking and feeling. This may be seen in the similarity of tastes which appear in many church services in the cities. The music strives toward the same end. That is, towards a high class of music, very different from chanting psalms or shouting rollicking revival hymns. The church archi- tecture runs along similar lines. The taste of to-day calls for bright, cheerful interiors. The dark, funereal 210 THE SECTS woodwork of our fathers is giving place to a lighter and more attractive finish. There is a marked increase in the use of the ritual, beautifying and enriching the service. What a shock it was to hear a choir sing the Lord's Prayer! That may be heard to-day in a Metho- dist, Presbyterian or Unitarian church. More conspicu- ous is the change in the tone of the sermon. It is adapted to the age by being practical rather than doctrinal ; when doctrines are treated they usually have an ethical bear- ing and are intended to appeal to practical people. One may go into many churches of different denominations and fail to discover in the services any peculiar, sectarian traits. Within the Church itself several agencies have appeared which work toward levelling down sect differ- ences. One of the most important of these is the wide- spread interest in missions. No one can realize the con- ditions in foreign countries where our missionaries struggle to impart the simple rudiments of Christianity and desire to hamper their efforts by injecting sect differ- ences. The great evil of the divided church is so con- spicuous that, rather than insist upon one's own type of church, any Christian would prefer that another denomi- nation should occupy a field and advance the cause of civilization. Returning missionaries often bring with them the spirit of kindliness and fellowship which should bind all the sects together. In the presence of a great common enemy the little differences of sects disappear. Perhaps in the coming years the reflex influence of the mission fields will do more for the Church than any- thing else. The spread of the Young People's Christian En- deavour Societies has been a great assistance to the LEVELLING FORCES 211 spread of church unity. When thousands of young people meet in their great national meetings and share each other's Christian aspirations it is sheer folly to inject anything sectarian; it would not be tolerated. These young people do not ask each other, " What de- nomination do you belong to ? " but rather, " What is your Society doing? Have you any new ideas to give us?" It is very easy for anyone brought up in such societies to pass from one denomination to another. The earnestness of these young Christians is doing a great deal toward breaking down the barriers between the churches. The Sunday-school is a great leveller. Children of very different types of mind and of emotion, of very different types of human nature, attend the same Sun- day-schools. They grow up and grow into the church whose Sunday-school they have been attending. Their natural preferences are not considered, indeed they are hardly felt. A youth does not know what he wishes to do or to be, he does not understand himself. When his religious life awakens he is very apt to join the church with which his parents are connected. As the majority of the members in any church come from the Sunday-school it is obvious that the Sunday-school is a means of the very first importance in bringing people of very unlike temperaments into the same church. The exchange of church letters between different de- nominations helps to break down artificial barriers, but it is not a practice which makes entirely for uniformity. In such a country as ours where the population is con- stantly growing and shifting, there is a great deal of changing from one church to another. Often a member will take his church letter and join some church which 212 THE SECTS appeals to his type of religious nature. This tends to strengthen church types. A better spirit among clergymen is helping to bring a uniformity into the churches. Ministers' meetings where men of different creeds meet and exchange ideas, help to broaden their sympathies and bring the churches closer together. The habits of exchanging pulpits, of uniting services during the summer, of cooperating in civic work, all make for a better feeling and a closer sympathy between the churches. Where there is cooperation between the official boards of different denominations, as, for example, in some Home Mission Boards, there is the best sign of a genuine move toward church federation. It is a great pity that no widespread national cooperation between the boards of the different denominations has yet been started. As a whole, the gravitation toward unity of Christian life and thought makes itself felt more in the ranks of the Church than among the officers. In the laymen is the great hope. It is natural that pastors and secretaries of boards should give their efforts to the work immedi- ately in hand and should lose sight of the greater work of Christianity as a whole. Denominational leaders are very slow to see the need of their going out of office in order to give place to great leaders representative of all Christianity. It is very difficult for a secretary in some one sect to see the necessity of his office going out of existence in order to merge his work into the work of Christianity as a whole. Undoubtedly, many men are Christians in heart who cling to their means of a liveli- hood at the expense of progress towards church unity. Unfortunately, the great leaders in the Church are not leading toward unity. Occasionally we hear pronounce- LEVELLING FORCES 213 ments to the effect, " Our denomination stands for unity, we have always been desirous of church unity; we open our arms to receive all into our fold." This sounds hypocritical to a plain man. It is all " come to us." There is not even a frank willingness to compromise dif- ferences. These evasions give the colour of Christian breadth and charity, but they are more misleading than positive opposition. At heart many church leaders abhor union. Among those of their own profession, they ac- knowledge their prejudices and defend them by urging the peculiar worth of their variety of Christianity. This would be well enough if they acknowledged that the peculiar worth of their variety lay in the fact that there are temperamental differences in religious natures and their church answers certain natural needs. This would be honest and would open the way to cooperation, for it would acknowledge that church differences are based on human differences, and would escape the old super- stition that each sect is peculiarly the child of God. Not the least obstacle is a fear of something like church socialism. Great buildings, valuable sites, wealthy churches, large and successful publication houses and a number of other interests, it is feared would all have to go into a great melting pot, out of which fusion should come the future church. It is, however, a mere bogey. No such movement is necessary, or prob- able. The trend toward church unity will work out a much simpler and more effective method of cooperation. Nevertheless, the force of public opinion is undoubtedly the force which must bring about the cooperation be- tween Sects and whatever of unity shall be achieved. Something of this sort is actually being accomplished. Social pressure is bringing the churches closer together. 214 THE SECTS Indeed, this is where each individual should put forth his efforts. Let each one seek to spread the conviction that the sects are an evil and menace the life of the Church, that cooperation, and not competition, must be the active spirit in Christianity. Then the soil is pre- pared for the spread of the great movement, when at length it shall get under way. Public opinion may be cultivated and prepared to receive certain conceptions just as the soil may be prepared to receive certain plants. Every sociologist knows that the spread of different fashions as well as different beliefs depends upon the social soil. In studying the principles which seem to govern the spread of the Church in society some very interesting things come to light. One of these is the curious fact that the kind of public opinion which permits the spread of divorce is the kind of public opinion which also fosters Christian Science. Now, Christian Science does not cause divorce necessarily, and certainly divorce does not cause Christian Science. They are no more related than the pine and the scrub oak, but both pine and scrub oak flourish in the same soil. In comparing the spread of the social custom and a religious faith it is impossible to make comparisons of large sections of the country. Thus a state may have many Christian Science followers in the Protestant population and also have such a large number of Roman Catholics that its divorce rates will be very small; on the other hand, a state may have a high divorce rate but if it has very few cities it will have comparatively few Christian Sci- ence churches. The only safe comparison is between cities, and even here the figures are for the city and the county in which the city is situated, for divorce rates; LEVELLING FORCES 215 while fcr Christian Science membership the figures are for the cities only. However, the city usually has such a large proportion of the population of its county that the remainder living only in the county is negligible. The following eighteen cities have been selected because they had a number of Christian Science churches in them and are representative of different portions of the country. New York, which occupies several counties, itself, is left out; and Boston, which is the centre of Christian Science, is also left out. 18 Cities arranged in order of largest number ^ of Christian Science per 100,000 population Kansas City, Mo. Minneapolis Denver Indianapolis Portland St. Joseph, Mo. Cleveland Chicago Toledo St. Paul, Minn. Buffalo Detroit Milwaukee St. Louis, Mo. Cincinnati Richmond Baltimore Philadelphia 18 Cities arranged in order of the largest numbers of divorces. 100,000 in county containing city Kansas City, Mo. Indianapolis Denver St. Joseph Minneapolis (Chicago) same rate (Toledo) for both Portland (Cleveland) same rate / (Detroit) for both St. Louis Milwaukee Cincinnati Baltimore Philadelphia Buffalo Richmond In the first six cities in each column five are the same and in the last six cities of each column four are the same ; so at the head and at the foot of each list we find the same cities. If these results are studied carefully it 216 THE SECTS will be found that they can hardly be due to chance.* Here then is an instance where public opinion, the social conscience, makes possible or impossible the diffusion of a given practice or faith. If the educated Christians of this nation began to address themselves to the great necessity of union among the denominations the sentiment would spread first in the cities. City churches of great strength and noble reputation would become centres of the new movement; just as the great cities in ancient times became the rally- ing points in the growth of Christianity. The move- ment would spread easily in some sections of the coun- try and slowly in other sections. Its spread would de- pend upon the enlightenment and earnestness of the laymen. *C. C. Spearman: " Footrule for Measuring Correlation," Brit. Jour, of Psychol., 2, pp. 89-108. XIV POSSIBILITIES AND IMPOSSIBILITIES IN CHURCH UNION A /"AST church of thirty million members has in- finite possibilities. Nothing could stand the impact of its attack. The momentum of such an immense army would carry everything before it. In a decade deep-seated abuses would be swept out of the nation, in two generations there would not be a town or tribe the world around which would not live under the shadow of the cross. The present horde of sects marching in every direction with no concerted ef- forts would become an irresistible army, with a con- tinuous firing line, with every camp in order and definite plan of campaign. Each individual church would have a place to fill, a work to do, and it would feel that its efforts were counting. This union of forces would keep the singleness of purpose throughout Christendom in prominence. Petty dissensions would dissolve and dis- appear in the heat of great achievements. The spirit of Christ would rest as sunlight upon all human lives. Surely, the inspiration of such a conception should fire men with a zeal for its realization. Already there are movements toward church union; the term " Church Unity " is becoming familiar. There is considerable vagueness in the use of the term. Church union may mean a unity which imposes the same gov- 217 218 THE SECTS ernment, doctrines, worship and practical activities upon all the constituent churches. It may mean, also, the voluntary association of different sects for certain pur- poses, such as civic work, or mission work, or the founding of educational institutions. This latter is rather a federation of churches than a union. Unity is possible to many denominations, federation is possible to all. If churches of widely unlike tempera- ments unite they are practically sure to separate eventu- ally. Such a calamity would set back the sentiment of church unity a whole generation. To try to merge peo- ple whose church life is full of feeling with those cooler tempered doctrinaires would be to invite dissension. When the life of a church is seen, in the light of its past history and its present interests and practices, to have a certain definite tendency, it is obviously absurd to try to direct this tendency in a direction not congenial to it. At the present time there is no little danger that several denominations moved by very proper impulses may form a union. Overtures for such a union are al- ready under way. The past of these sects has been quite different and the levelling influences at work upon them have not yet reduced them to a sufficient homo- geneity. They could reshape their creeds and refashion their polities, but it is hardly possible that they would reshape their religious temperaments. Before a thor- oughgoing unity is attempted the first step should be a federation. This would enable the work of each church to proceed without hindrance and at the same time would avoid unnecessary friction. As the churches understood each other better, as their pulpits would call the ministers of other sects in the federation, and as members would pass easily from one sect to another the temperamental CHURCH UNION 219 differences would either become understood and allow- ance made for them, or they would gradually disappear; in the latter case genuine church unity is possible. A federation of some sort is possible among practically all of the sects. It should start with a frank recognition of differences. An honest consideration of the differences in mode of worship and life would quickly make clear that the issues between the churches do not go back to God but to human nature. As soon as men realize that their church has succeeded in a peculiar way, not be- cause God has peculiarly favoured it and ignored others, but because it has met the particular needs of certain types of men, the attitude toward other churches will be vastly improved. We need to recognize that the very first disciples were not men of one type and that Christ never tried to make John like Peter, though He loved them both. More specifically, what is the present situation ? What can be done at the present time to further the unity of the churches? Obviously some things are practical and easily possible while other things are entirely out of the question. Perhaps the first and easiest achievement would be the reunion of those sects within sects mentioned in an earlier chapter. The old issue of slavery is long since dead and there is no justification for Northern and Southern branches in the same denomination. If the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches would heal these old schisms, it would be a splendid step toward bringing all the denominations together. When the Southern States seceded, one set the example and the others followed in quick imitation. Imitation is a social force of great power. Could these great denomina- 220 THE SECTS tions show the world how differences may be forgotten, how problems of administration may be solved, and how unity can be achieved, their success would inspire many other similar efforts. As matters stand now the old issue lives on to the detriment of the whole Christian Church. The possibility of bringing sects together which dif- fer because of national heritage is much more difficult. These national churches carry with them the impetus of past traditions. Especially is this so in the churches in smaller communities and in the country. Time will wear down these differences and make church unity possible. But in the meantime the strategic years for spreading Christianity in foreign lands are slipping past. It would certainly be practicable for the larger churches in the great cities to start a movement toward federation and to seek true federation, to infuse a spirit of unity throughout their own sects. A number of intelligent and capable laymen in each sect could spread a sentiment which would make the future union of churches easier. It is not necessary to change doctrines and worship, but only the spirit of distrust. That must be changed. It should not be hard to work for the spread of Christianity independent of sect interests. Only a few men would resist such a church movement; for the average man is willing to believe in the genuineness of his neighbour's religion whether he be of the same national stock or not. Racial differences are much harder to manage. Frank- ness and fair dealing will accomplish a great deal toward overcoming friction between different races in the Chris- tian church. As Christianity spreads over the world different races must come together. What shall be the relation of one to the other ? There is no place for race hatred in Christianity. Every genuine Christian is will- CHURCH UNION 221 ing to cooperate with his brother in spreading civiliza- tion. There is no need for attempting to bring race tastes together. Where the races naturally gravitate to- gether there is no problem, but where they gravitate to- ward different centres it is possible only to have a fed- eration and not a union. Such differences as those that appear between the Roman Catholic and the Protestant churches depend in no small measure upon differences of religious type. Often it is not a question of types, but of doctrine and worship so unlike that the very purpose of the church is distinct. If Protestantism means imitating Christ in character and conduct, simply using the Church as a means to accomplish this end, if Catholicism means the identification of an individual with an organization and the acceptance of its particular sacraments, then the pur- pose of these two great bodies is the same only in ethical issues. In these they may act together ; but in the spread' of their beliefs there is, at present, little hope for federation. However, with the increase of educa- tion even these barriers may be lowered so that some sort of cooperation may be possible. The doctrinal differences which characterize a number of sects in the Protestant Church are not so dangerous as is often imagined. Creeds to-day are not the serious hindrance to unity that they were in the past. If the laymen of the Protestant churches were to write their beliefs down in black and white it would soon be seen that there are not sufficiently great differences to warrant different sects. It is the work of the specialist, the doc- trinaire, which does the harm. Men who know no more about doctrinal matters than did the immediate follow- ers of Christ can easily get together and work together. 222 THE SECTS With the sameness of viewpoint which characterizes educated men to-day, and with the desire for practical achievement which characterizes Americans, a platform of doctrinal unity could readily be drawn up by capable and devout laymen. Church polity is not an insuperable barrier. Though it makes unity difficult it does not render federation im- possible. As a matter of fact, a century's experience in different church polities has shown that each has its value and each has its defects. Probably no church is unwill- ing to make certain modifications for the better in its polity. Certainly few laymen would insist on their churches' polity at the expense of Christianity. Resist- ance to changes in polity comes largely from the office- holders, and this resistance would soon disappear in the presence of an earnest, determined movement for unity. The great problem, indeed the greatest problem of all, is how to bring different natural types of religious ex- perience together. It is obviously impossible to mix people who are naturally incompatible. Though dif- ferences which stand out rather conspicuously in church government, doctrines and practices may be ignored, the subtle differences of temperament and disposition which are often much less conspicuous cannot be ignored. From the study in the preceding chapters it is possible to map out very roughly what religious bodies might be ex- pected to enter into more intimate relations with each other. If the reader will turn back to page 201 and study the natural groups of the sects, it will be seen that, so far as the nature of the religious life is concerned, the parti- tions which have been thrown up around the various sects can easily be broken down, and from the remains CHURCH UNION 223 a few large denominational walls may be erected. It is not necessary that any high sectarian walls should be raised, but it is very natural ; and if they are to be erected at all, let them be erected along lines of natural differ- ences. Such natural differences show very clear as one reads across the table. The first thing which catches the attention in a study of this table is that the majority of the members of the Christian churches in America are found in those types which range from the emotional through the dogmatic into the intellectual. Here we probably have an Ameri- can type. From this great central type others reach out in two directions, one towards a conversional type, which merges into that peculiar nature which is so susceptible to suggestion, that in turn fades into the impulsive and imitative type; in the other direction this central type leads off into altruistic and intellectual types. The problem of assorting these various religious bodies is not a simple one. Of course they are all related, but the question of their similarities and dissimilarities is an exceedingly difficult one. Indeed, they overlap in so many places that the selection of a group for some one set can be made with no great certainty. However, if one begins to study the table in the upper left-hand corner and slowly reads across through the groupings of the sects down to the lower right-hand corner, a conviction will certainly arise maintaining the obvious unity of large groups of these sects. The Roman Catho- lic Church falls very largely in that class which may be instinctive and imitative, though its membership spreads through nearly all of the types. The Catholic Church in this country is undergoing many changes, the levelling influences have not succeeded in bringing this sect suffi- 224 THE SECTS ciently into the spirit of modern times, as yet, for it to become soluble in any large merger of the denomina- tions; this church, therefore, must stand in a group by itself. The coloured churches with a preponderance of the emotional and convertible types have also their insoluble features which have been discussed. They may well con- stitute another group. The next sect is that which has been so much dis- cussed, the Christian Science. Probably this sect will be absorbed into the others in time ; for the great source of strength which the other sects possess is denied to it; that is, the Sunday-school, which builds up a normal, healthy religious life and supplies recruits to the church, has no proper function in Christian Science. The mem- bership is largely composed of those who have been members of other churches and have been drawn to Mrs. Eddy's doctrines after they had already become Christians. When the lesson of the Christian Science Church has been learned by the others, it will no longer have any raison d'etre. The next two sects whose types run well into the suggestible and convertible are the Methodists and Evan- gelical Association. The emphasis of these sects is upon spiritual experience, the faith and the life they develop should bring these two sects together. The Methodist includes more types than does the Evangelical Associa- tion. Many people in the Baptist churches could be equally comfortable in the Methodist, though the limits of these two sects among the different types do not coincide. Inasmuch as the Baptist denomination includes men of the dogmatic and intellectual types it might be advisable CHURCH UNION 225 to group another lot of denominations with the Baptists ; that is, denominations which are composed of about the same types as those entering into the Baptist churches. Among these types are the Adventists, the Christian Connection, the Disciples of Christ, the Churches of Christ, the Dunkards, the Conservative Friends and the United Brethren. All of these sects have a large ma- jority in their memberships which are of very much the same religious nature. There is more diversity of type in the Baptist churches than there is between the average Baptist and the average member of the other denominations in this group. Another large group might well be headed by the Presbyterian churches. Here, too, there are a number of different types ranging from the dogmatic in which intellect and emotion are interlocked, through the al- truistic to the dominantly intellectual. In this spread of types the Lutherans may easily find a place, though a minority of the Lutherans certainly runs out into the emotional types. Their adherence to their theoretical tenets proclaims their kinship to the Presbyterians. The Protestant Episcopal Church is composed of many peo- ple of exactly the same type as those in the Congrega- tional and Presbyterian sects. President Charles Cuth- bert Hall once declared that he had been amazed to find so many people who had been Presbyterians now in the Episcopal fold. In the Congregationalist we have a type very close to the more liberal wing of the Presbyterian Church. Ministers and members of Congregational churches pass into the Presbyterian churches very often and very easily. Truly this gathering of Congregationalists, Episco- palians, Lutherans and, let us dare to add, Latter-day 226 THE SECTS Saints, looks like a combination which would result in an explosion rather than in a cement. That, however, is a superficial estimate of this group. Beneath the dif- ferences in ecclesiastical vestments are members of the same family. What deceives the eye is the outward appearance, and truly the outward appearances of these sects are very dissimilar ! But within we find people of the same great types; people of the same tastes and abilities in other courses of life. Great partitions are those be- tween these sects, but they are not formidable; once down, the sects themselves would find the majority of their members very congenial fellow-worshippers. This applies, of course, to the native Americans in the Lu- theran churches. As for the Latter-day Saints their tenets will probably exclude them from uniting with any other denominations for some time to come; neverthe- less, the average man in that sect is not unlike the aver- age member of a Western Congregational, Presbyterian or Lutheran Church. Some of the members of the Friends and the Dunkers might well go into this group, while the less progressive wings of those two sects might find a more comfortable home in that group which the Baptist denomination heads. The Unitarian and the Universalist churches are so evidently similar and so thoroughly of the intellectual type that they might easily unite into one body. This would be a very becoming and proper performance, as both of these sects have been leaders in many matters. Why should they not lead in practical church unity? Though these groups have in them sects which from a theoretical point of view are not even first cousins and whose polities are not to be found on the same family tree, nevertheless the people who make up the sects are CHURCH UNION 227 of one parentage. It is the nearness of type rather than doctrine which establishes a unity that can endure. We have seen many instances of the same doctrine and the same polity spreading up into factions. Unity is not to be found in any artificial similarity. These bodies, the Catholic as one great division, the Afro-American churches as another, the Methodist and Evangelical Association as a third, the Baptist and their affiliated bodies as a fourth, the Presbyterian and its affiliated bodies as a fifth, and the Unitarian and the Universalist constituting the sixth, would have within their walls over thirty-one million members. Such a vast church, or rather such vast churches, could sway the world. I said at first such a church, for I am convinced that these great groups, formed because of their natural similarities of spiritual nature, would not act as inde- pendent churches but as branches of one vast church. When men can bring themselves to believe that the church to which they belong owes its existence as a separate sect not to any act of God, but to a natural preference of men, then the attitude of distrust and sus- picion disappears. Sympathy and fellowship appear. No artilleryman would claim that the artillery defends the country more efficiently than the battleship. No cavalry- man claims his superiority to the marine in the defense of his country or in its esteem. All these are branches of one great common cause. Each man serves his coun- try where his talent and ability best fit; it is talent and ability which determine his place, human preference, not divine. So in the army of God, let the human dis- positions be frankly recognized and every member of the Christian church will see the whole body of his fellow- worshippers in their true perspective; there will 228 THE SECTS be no "chosen of God," for all will be equally chosen of God. It is impossible to hope that this frame of mind will become common in the very near future, it is something which education alone can bring about. Once it is achieved church unity will be accomplished easily. Could a series of great sects be formed, based on their natural similarities, many of the obstacles to the progress of Christianity would disappear. Among them would go that oft-heard criticism, "What is Christianity? What church is really the Christian church?" The spirit of competition which is the curse of the churches in so many small towns and villages, would necessarily fade away and the attitude of suspicion, almost of hos- tility, would give place to a far better spirit. These advantages are nothing like so great as the tremendous advantage of administering the wealth and strength of Christianity in such a way that Christ's cause is ad- vanced and not impeded. In the present age the advan- tage which looms largest lies in the mission fields. Here some sort of unity is simply indispensable. In the Report of Commission VIII on Cooperation and Promotion of Unity for the World's Missionary Confer- ence, 1910, the demand for unity cannot fail to impress even the most casual observer of church affairs. The Re- port shows that in China, Japan, India and Africa many conferences have been held among representatives of dif- ferent sects. These conferences were the outgrowth of general needs. They often covered large sections of the mission fields. So great is the difference between Chris- tianity and the heathen people that the microscopic dif- ferences between Christians disappear for everyone but the most near-sighted and narrow-minded sectarian. " For the accomplishment of this overwhelming task it CHURCH UNION 229 seems essential that the Christian church should present a united front. Its divisions are a source of weakness and impair the effectiveness of its testimony to the one gospel of the Son of God which it professes. The issues are so great that there can be no trifling in the matter. The evangelizing of nations, the Christianizing of em- pires and kingdoms, is the object before us. The work has to be done now. It is urgent and must be pressed forward at once. The enterprise calls for the highest qualities of statesmanship and for the maximum efficiency in all departments of work. It is not surprising that those who are in the front of this great conflict and on whose minds and souls the gravity of the issues presses most immediately, should be the first to recognize the need for concerted action and closer fellowship" (p. 131). What a shame it is that the work of Christ should be impaired by those who are endeavouring to further it because of artificial differences in church polity and in historical creeds. " It is evident that so long as mission- aries are sent out and controlled by missionary societies in Western lands, and the churches planted by them main- tain connection with these home societies, movements to- ward unity in the mission field cannot proceed far with- out the cooperation and support of those responsible for missionary administration at home. Several of our cor- respondents state quite emphatically that the chief diffi- culty in the way of effective cooperation has been the lack of support on the part of societies at home. Further, it is obvious that since the missionaries working in any par- ticular area of the mission field often belong to different nationalities, cooperation at the home base to be effective in all cases must be not only of an interdenominational but also of an international character" (p. 119). 230 THE SECTS Some definite steps could be taken at once in the direc- tion of church cooperation in foreign lands. If the groups of churches mentioned above could decide that they would act together in the spreading of the gospel, it would be altogether practicable to plan their missionary combination and direct the advance of Christianity with great efficiency. One very practical movement might be set afoot at once. There is no great centre for all mission activity. Such a centre could well be established, every denomination cooperating. Our missionaries go into foreign lands not knowing the language they are to use, often not understanding the people they are to meet, frequently having no idea of what sort of preparation is necessary. It requires years for them to overcome these handicaps. An institution should be endowed which would enable those determining to give their lives to missions to spend several years in direct preparation for a certain work in a certain field. This institution should be the centre of missionary interests for every denomi- nation. With it, every mission board should cooperate; and every theological seminary should be in close touch with it. Here, missionaries who have laboured for years could bring the treasures of their, experiences. Years of mistaken effort would be avoided by a few years' work- ing in such an institution. In the place of the regular theological course given to those who intend to be pas- tors in our own country there would be courses in preparation for active work in mission fields. It would be possible for the mission Boards to determine, if they acted in cooperation, into what fields they would send new missionaries. This would enable anyone determin- ing to devote his life to missionary work to prepare for work in some particular line. Its language could be CHURCH UNION 231 acquired, the traits of its people could be studied, the needs of the country could be learned. The man who went into a field knowing what was needed would un- doubtedly have some practical knowledge at his dis- posal based on the needs of the people, for different countries are appealed to in different ways. He would know something about agriculture and agricultural im- plements and would be in a position to carry some of the modern advantages of our civilization; he would carry with him a knowledge of some of the sciences which are indispensable to our age. In short, instead of filling his hours of preparation with useless information about creeds and dogmas and church history and dead lan- guages, he would fill his time with a preparation which would apply directly to his work. From such a centre as this, to which all Christian churches contributed, would flow in return an inspira- tion for Christian fellowship and Christian service which cannot be measured. A large program has been mapped out; perhaps someone will substitute the word " visionary " for " large." All great accomplishments are visionary be- fore they are accomplished. After their achievement they are said to be in line with the natural evolution of civilization and inevitable. Two things are inevitable, either a great calamity in the churches, and a so-called Christian civilization losing its one great faith and fol- lowing other peoples in a division of faiths, or the native strength and spirit of American Christianity may rise above the difficulties which beset it and prepare itself for greater efforts. The strategic years are slipping away. What is to be done must be done quickly. No mistake will be made if those denominations whose re- 232 THE SECTS ligious natures are closely akin break down the ancient walls and rebuild along the lines of least natural re- sistance. This would give six or eight great denomina- tions. These are all for which any justification can be found. There is absolutely not one word of defense for sectarianism apart from the natural differences in hu- man beings. When these differences are frankly recog- nized and every man worships God in his own way, recognizing that it is his own way, then the dawn of the new era has begun. No greater mistake can be made than to attempt to unite church sects that are naturally far apart. Indeed, the natural separation which one sees in the Dunkards, the Friends, the Disciples and a number of others, is a separation which must be recognized frankly. These great groups would allow just such differences of type as those which cause such separations. There might easily be a changing from one large group to another on the part of those who find themselves out of sympathy with the denominations with which they are affiliated. No hard and fast lines can be drawn. Time alone can work out the best details, but in working out these details the large lines of differences in type of religious life must be observed. XV IN CONCLUSION A FEW paragraphs are necessary in conclusion to correct certain misunderstandings which I believe are almost inevitable in a reading of the fore- going chapters. In constantly insisting upon the physical basis of dif- ferences in temperament, and, therefore, in religion, it is very easy to lose sight of the spiritual character of re- ligion itself. Several works have appeared in Religious Psychology in which the avowed intent was to assist religious people in an understanding of their religious lives, but which unfortunately left their readers with the impression that religion can be analyzed in terms of nerve action! Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the conviction of the author that what the old theologians called the Holy Spirit is an actual working reality in the world of man. This conviction has not been defended in this work, as it would be out of place here. What has been said may be accepted by the Theist or by the Atheist, as it has had to do with ob- servable facts. The chief question at issue has been how the sects have been formed and sustained. This ques- tion has called for Sociology and Psychology, but not for Theology. To revert to an old figure ; the lilies with their stems reaching into the black earth at the bottom of the pond and lifting their white petals above the green 233 234 THE SECTS scum are alike, or they are different, because of the materials from which they are built and not because of the life-giving sunlight which rests upon them. It is the same divine spirit which enters into all religion, but it is conditioned by the nature into which it enters. Another sort of misunderstanding may well arise in a book of this character. Many books consist of close- knit arguments; break one of these links and the whole work falls to pieces. That is not so of this work. Many an error may creep in unobserved, but the central truths remain unaltered. For example, the grouping of the sects probably is not correct in all details, but the fact that the sects differ in nature and tJtat some are closer together than others still remains. This is not intended as a text-book. It is pioneer work. It seeks to do nothing more than to blaze a trail. It does not boast that the surveyor who comes after will find all the lines straight, but it does maintain that its general direction is true and that its final destination is sure. No book can begin to cover all the ground which the preceding chapters have touched upon. To do full justice to every phase of the subjects treated a series of volumes would be necessary. Among the details of the chapters the one central truth for which the book is written may be obscured. May one closing word make that truth stand forth! Never has there been a sect made by God. Every group of worshippers has been drawn together by influences which may be explained naturally. If the sects were social or political bodies these in- fluences would be acknowledged instantly. But among religious bodies such social and psychological principles are obscured. However, this very obscuration is easily IN CONCLUSION 235 explained. No man with a fair mind and with an average education can read of the formation and the perpetuation of the sects and still cling to the superstition that they are the work of God. Clear and unmistakable is the evidence that human nature alone made and maintains the sects, in religion. Obviously and incontrovertibly the perpetuation of the sects is a menace to Christianity itself. No greater satisfaction can come to the author than to know that these pages have done something, how- ever small, to bring to realization the prayer of the Founder of our faith : " That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." 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