A
GIFT or
THE PROBLEM
OF
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS
DANIEL DORCHESTER, D.D
if
NEW YORK:
PHILLIPS & HUNT.
CINCINNATI:
WALDEN & S T O W E .
DC,
COPYRIGHT i3Si, FV
dfc HTJISTT
NEW YORK.
CONTENTS.
PROLOGUE (WHITTIER) .............................. Page g
THE QUESTION OPENED.
"The world going to the bad" "Spirituality declining in the
Churches" "A break between modern thought and ancient faith"
" Christianity outgrown by the population" "Protestantism out-
grown by Romanism" "Protestantism the generator of skepti-
cism" "Protestantism a deteriorater of morals" "A general
collapse of religious belief at hand" "A moral interregnum at
hand" .................................................... 13
THE PROBLEM.
Protestantism on trial, from within and without A favorable so-
lution indicated ........................................... 25
I. FAITH.
CHAPTER I.
BONDAGE.
Spiritual despotism Papal scholasticism Protestant scholasti-
cism ..................................................... 37
CHAPTER II.
LIBERATING FACTORS.
Modern skepticism Physical science Antitrinitarian Protestant
ism Modern philosophy ......... ......... ................ 53
383326
4 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
PHASES OF PROGRESS.
Threatening aspects Safeguards Encouraging indications.. 79
CHAPTER IV.
DELIVERANCE.
Restatement Vindication Rejuvenation The true ideal . . 113
II. MORALS.
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
Europe anterior to the Lutheran reformation England anterior
to the Wesleyan reformation The United States from 1700 to
1800 143
CHAPTER IL
THE PRESENT PERIOD.
Specific tendencies Sabbath observance Slavery and barbarism
Unchastity and divorce Impure literature Crime 189
CHAPTER III.
THE PRESENT PERIOD, (CONTINUED.)
Intemperance Dueling English morals New England morals
Immigration Irreverence, etc. Pauperism The economic view
Longevity Sanitary science Philanthropic agencies Penal in-
flictions Criticisms and testimonies. 255
CONTENTS. S
III. SPIRITUAL VITALITY.
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
The eve of the Lutheran reformation The eve of the Wesleyan
reformation The eve of the Edwardean revival The eve of the
revival of 1800-1803 35
CHAPTER II.
THE NEW SPIRITUAL ERA.
New life The new life organizing The new life aggressive
New lay activities City missions Home missions Young Men's
Christian Associations Foreign missions Imperfections Type of
religious character The outlook 331
IV. STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
CHAPTER I.
STATISTICAL SCIENCE.
Preliminary observations 37
CHAPTER II.
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS AND STATUS.
PROTESTANTISM AND ROMANISM.
In Europe In Papal America : South America, Mexico, the
British Dominion in North America, and portions of the United
States formerly papal 385
6 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IIL
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS AND STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES.
Difficulties of the situation. I. The actual progress : The evan-
gelical Churches The " Liberal " Churches The Roman Catholic
Church. II. The relative progress : The Churches compared with
the population The evangelical, "Liberal," and Roman Catholic
Churches compared with each other The Churches and higher
education Modern and early Christian progress Encouraging con-
clusion 417
CHAPTER IV.
FOREIGN MISSIONS.
Inception Papal and Protestant mission funds Foreign mis-
sions of the United States Foreign missions of Christendom Pa..
pal and Protestant missions Missions vindicated by testimony
Results 475
CHAPTER V.
THE WORLD-WIDE VIEW.
Christian populations Christian governments Papal and Prot-
estant governments Papal and Protestant areas The English-
speaking populations Civil supremacy of Protestantism The
ascending sun 513
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX,
ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS.
THE UNITED STATES.
TABLE
I. The Churches and ministers in 1775 ................. 537
II. Churches, ministers, and communicants in 1800 ....... 538
III. " " " 1850 ....... 538
IV. " " " 1870 ....... 541
V. " " " 1880 ....... 543
VI. Recapitulation .................................... 545
VII. Sunday-schools ................................... 546
VIII. Unitarian societies ................................ 547
IX. Universalist ministers .............................. 548
X. Universalist societies .............................. 548
XI. The New Jerusalem Church ........................ 548
XII. The Roman Catholic Church ....................... 549
XIII. Church edifices and organizations .......... ......... 549
XIV. The colleges and the Churches ...................... 550
XV. Foreign mission receipts ........................... 552
XVI. Home mission receipts ............................ 554
XVII. Religious Publication receipts ..................... 556
THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
XVIII. The Protestant Churches .......................... 561
XIX. Dissenters in England and Wales. .................. 563
XX. Romanism ....................................... 563
XXL Romanism, Protestantism, and the population in Ireland 564
8 CONTENTS.
TABLE PAGR
XXII. Romanism and the population in England and
Wales 564
XXIII. Romanism and the population in England, "Wales
and Ireland .... 564
THE BRITISH DOMINION IN NORTH AMERICA.
XXIV. The official census of religion 567
ECUMENICAL STATISTICS.
XXV. The Anglican communion in the whole world 571
XXVI. Baptists in the whole world 572
XXVII. Congregationalists in the whole world 573
XXVIII. Methodists in the whole world 574
XXIX. Moravians in the whole world 575
XXX. Presbyterians in the whole world 575
XXXI. The New Jerusalem Church in the whole world. . . 577
XXXII. Unitarian societies in the whole world 577
XXXIII. Sunday-schools in the whole world 578
XXXIV. Foreign missions of the United States in 1850 580
XXXV. " " " 1880 .... 581
XXXVI. " Europe and America, 1830 582
XXXVII. " " " 1850 584
XXXVIII. " " 1880 . ..585
XXXIX. States under Christian governments 588
DIAGRAMS.
Diagram 1 389
" H 456
" HI 517
" IV 521
PROLOGUE
PEOLOGTJE.
THE outward rite, the old abuse,
The pious fraud transparent grown,
The good held captive in the use
Of wrong alone
These wait their doom, from that great law
Which makes the past time serve to-day ;
And fresher life the world shall draw
From their decay.
O backward-looking son of time !
The new is old, the old is new ;
The cycle of a change sublime
Still sweeping through.
So wisely taught the Indian seer ;
Destroying Seva, forming Brahm,
Who wake by turn Earth's love and fear,
Are one, the same.
Idly as thou, in that old day
Thou mournest, did thy sire repine ;
So, in his time, thy child grown gray
Shall sigh for thine.
But life shall on and upward go ;
The eternal step of Progress beats
To that great anthem, calm and slow,
Which God repeats.
Take heart ! The waster builds again.
A charmed life old Goodness hath ;
The tares may perish, but the grain
Is not for death.
God works in all things ; all obey
His first propulsion from the night ;
Wake thou and watch ! the world is gray
With morning light.
12 PROLOGUE.
I, TOO, am weak, and faith is small,
And blindness happeneth unto all.
Yet, sometimes glimpses on my sight,
Through present wrong, the eternal right;
And, step by step, since time began,
I see the steady gain of man ;
That all of good the past hath had
Remains to make our own time glad,
Our common daily life divine,
And every land a Palestine ! . . .
O friend ! we need not rock nor sand,
Nor storied stream of Morning-Land ;
The heavens are glassed in Merrimack,
What more could Jordan render back?
We lack but open eye and ear
To find the Orient's marvels here ;
The still small voice in autumn's hush,
Yon maple wood the burning bush.
For still the new transcends the old.
In signs and tokens manifold ;
Slaves rise up men ; the olive waves,
With roots deep set in battle graves !
Through the harsh noises of our day
A low, sweet prelude finds its way ;
Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear,
A light is breaking, calm and clear.
That song of Love, now low and far,
Ere long shall swell from star to star !
That light, the breaking day, which tips
The golden-spired Apocalypse ! . . .
Flow on, sweet river, like the stream
Of John's Apocalyptic dream !
This maple ridge shall Horeb be,
Yon green-banked lake our Galilee !
Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more
For olden time and holier shore ;
God's love and blessing, then and there,
Are now and here and every-where. WHITTIER.
THE QUESTION OPENED.
THE
PKOBLEM OF EELIGIOUS PEOGEESS,
THE QUESTION OPENED.
A POSTLES of complaint and despondency
^~~^- stand even in the pathway of progress. With
lugubrious faces turned toward the past, they mut-
ter dark predictions of approaching disaster. Not
a new phenomenon, these seers constitute an unin-
terrupted succession, under changing forms and
names. Pessimism, the latest designation of this
spirit, atheistic in origin, but broader in taint, has
intensely pervaded the atmosphere of our times.
We have had not only the pessimism of skeptics,
but also of Roman Catholics, of Ritualists, of
Premillennialists, and of disaffected and desponding
Evangelicals.
Criticism is the exhaustless heritage of Christian-
ity. It has come both from within and without,
Especially has Protestantism been subjected to crit-
ical ordeals. " The Decline of Protestantism, and
its Causes," was the topic of an address to the citi-
zens of New York, by Archbishop Hughes, about
1 6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
thirty years ago, in which he asserted that " Prot-
estantism had lost all central force and power over
the masses of mankind." His uninspired auguries
were caught up and echoed in High-Church circles;
and in 1868 a bold volume "Protestantism a
Failure" appeared, from the pen of Rev. F. C.
Ewer, D.D., a very estimable and eminent ritual-
istic clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Three years later, a writer in the " Catholic World,"
in a somewhat elaborate article on the " Statistics
of Protestantism in the United States," with an un-
discriminating and unpardonable carelessness, drew
a comparison between two abnormal periods the
one, of unnatural growth, under the Second Advent
excitement, and the other, of declension, at the
close of the civil war and from this defective basis,
evincing a meager growth, made a suppositious
demonstration of the probable number of Protestant
communicants in the year 1900; and triumphantly
inferred that Protestantism is hopelessly falling,
and must inevitably fall, behind the progress of the
population. It is a fact, not to be omitted in this
connection, that the 10,844,576 Protestant commu-
nicants, in the year 1900, according to the conject-
ural calculations of this Roman Catholic writer, are
not much in excess, as will be shown in our future
pages, of the present number ; and twenty years yet
remain before the close of the century.
Father Thomas S. Preston, an ex-Protestant, now
THE QUESTION OPENED. 17
high in the counsels of Rome, as Vicar-General in
the Diocese of New York, has lately renewed the
charge, that Protestantism is a failure ; and so says
Pere Hyacinthe, in a recent lecture on Deism, in
Paris, declaring that " neither Deism nor Protest-
antism can be generally and permanently accepted
by the French people," and that " a reformed
Catholicism " confessedly a hitherto unknown ism t
and too uncertain a basis for theorizing " is the
only solution."
Besides Romanists and High-Churchmen, skep-
tical thinkers of various grades have represented
Protestantism as having seen its best days, and as
now rapidly losing its hold upon the world. Mr.
Buckle, in his " History of Civilization," reiterated
this view; and it has since been echoed in coarser
and more vulgar forms. The advocacy of Protest-
antism has been represented as faint and apolo-
getic an indication of a loss of heart and internal
demoralization. It is said that the scholars and
thinkers are arrayed against its peculiar tenets ; that
they are rapidly extracting from it the best part of
its social ethics, and gradually reducing it to the
lowest terms a kind of philosophic deism ; that
only Roman Catholics and a few " seared and shriv-
eled relics of Protestantism " now attend church ;
and that, henceforth, the Bible, as an authoritative
revelation, is to be discarded and laid upon the
back shelf, as " a queer relic of an ancient faith,"
2
1 8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
while the world moves on under the widening influ
ence of modern ideas.
In an elaborate address, in 1868, Rev. William
J. Potter,* of New Bedford, claimed to demonstrate
that the Protestant sects in the United States are
gaining very little, only five per cent., in ten years,
(1850-1860,) upon the population.
In 1872 Rev. Henry W. Bellows, D.D.,f dis-
coursed very eloquently upon the " Break between
Modern Thought and Ancient Faith and Worship."
Speaking of " the Church and its creed, on the
one side, and the world and its practical faith on
the other/' he said : " An antagonism has arisen be-
tween them as of oil and water;" that "there are
some millions of people in this country, not the
least intelligent or useful citizens in all cases, who
never enter a church door;" that " Church religion
and general culture do not play any longer into
each other's hands;" that " the professors in col-
lege, the physicians, the teachers, the scientists, the
reformers, the politicians, the newspaper men, the
reviewers, the authors, are seldom professing Chris-
tians, or even church-goers ; and, if they do go to
church, from motives of interest or example, they
are free enough to confess, in private, that they do
* See First Annual Report of the Free Religious Association,
Boston, 1868, p. 56.
f " Christianity and Modern Thought." American Unitarian
Association.
THE QUESTION OPENED. ig
not much believe what they hear." Dr. Bellows,
nevertheless, expresses hope for the future of
Christianity.
But a later and more serious complaint has come
from Rev. Dr. Ewer, who, after a lapse of ten
years, has recently renewed his bold indictment
against Protestantism in several discourses* delivered
in Newark, N. J., " at the request of leading Epis-
copal laymen in that city." He says that Protest-
antism is only " a miserable raft, its fragments float-
ing apart like the flying rack of the heavens ;" thr.t
" the poor remnants only of the great nations are
clinging to its parted and broken logs, and earnest,
thinking men are at their wits' end to know what is
truth." He stoutly claims that " the solemn in-
dictment against Protestantism, drawn up " by
himself, in 1868, "in the fear of God, and in behalf
of dying souls, and uttered in Christ's Church, Mur-
ray Hill, New York, was not met by argument, but
only by a gale of holy malediction and impotent
scorn;" that the volume passed through several
editions, but has never been answered, and cannot
be answered.
Dr. Ewer says : " To say nothing of the specifica-
tions in those eight discourses, what were two of the
main counts in the indictment ? First, that where-
as, 250 years ago, the Protestant religious dogmas
held captive to themselves great thoughtful peoples
* " Complete Preacher," June and July, 1878.
20 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of the Germanic, the Swiss, and the Anglo-Saxon
man, those dogmas had failed to retain the hold
they once had, and have, to an overwhelming ex-
tent, lost at last the intellect of those peoples ; and
that, while 250 years ago Protestantism held the
masses as well as the intellect of those peoples, it
has failed to hold and has lost those masses as well
as the intellect ; that Protestantism, as a form of
Christianity, stands to-day breast-deep in torrents
of skepticism which itself hath let loose, which are
deepening around it, and in which it is drowning ;
and that it stands there to-day aghast and incom-
petent. This was one count in the indictment.
Gentlemen, you have seen that it has not been de-
nied. A second count was that the fundamental
religious premises of Protestantism were essentially
anti-Christian, and must end, by inexorable logic,
in infidel conclusions ; that if Calvin's and Luther's
and Zwingli's premises were to be accepted, then
Channing's conclusions were nearer right by logic
than Cromwell's, and Theodore Parker's nearer right
than Channing's, and Frothingham's and Adler's
the rightest of all, and quite unanswerable by a
Protestant ; that when the Calvinists burned Ser-
vetus at the stake they burned Calvin's own brain-
child. It was claimed that if this logical aspect of
Protestantism was correct, it ought to have shown
itself finally in practical historical results. And the
charge was made that what thus ought to have
THE QUESTION OPENED. 21
followed logically, had actually followed historically,
and was patent to all in the comparatively empty
churches and the wide-spread skepticism of thought-
ful Germany, America, and Switzerland. This was
another count." *
Dr. Ewer also calls " the Protestant movement '
" a wide-spread destruction ;" not an improver, but a
deterioraterf of morals; " not a reformation, but a
deformation, and a hideous destruction."
A writer in the "Atlantic Monthly," (October,
1878,) joins in this arraignment of the Churches.
He says : " The disintegration of religion has pro-
ceeded rapidly. . . . The Church is now, for the
most part, a depository of social rather than relig-
ious influences. Its chief force is no longer relig-
ious. There are still, of course, many religious
people in the Churches who sincerely believe the
old doctrines embodied in all the creeds. But
these are every-where a small minority, and they
are mournfully conscious that the old religious life
and power have departed from the Church. . . .
They are alarmed to find the atmosphere and tone
of the Church becoming more and more secular and
business-like. These people, who thus represent
the better elements of a former state of things, are
the real strength of the evangelical Protestant
Churches, so far as religion is concerned, and their
* " Complete Preacher," June, 1878. p. 145.
f "Complete Preacher," July, 1878, pp. 223, 224.
22 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
character is one of the most wholesome and truly
conservative forces of our national life. . . . But
they are too few to regenerate the American
Church, though their influence is highly valuable in
resisting some of the evil tendencies of the age.
Most of them are old, and they have few successors
among the younger people. They have already
done most of their work, and their number and
strength diminish from year to year."
" The morality based upon the religion popularly
professed has, to a fatal extent, broken down.
Multitudes of men who are religious are not honest
or trustworthy. They declare themselves fit for
heaven, but they will not tell the truth, or deal
justly with their neighbors. The money of widows
and orphans placed under their control is not safer
than in the hands of highwaymen. There is no
article of food, medicine, or traffic, which can be
profitably adulterated or injuriously manipulated,
that is not, in most of the great centers of trade,
thus corrupted and sold by prominent members of
Christian Churches."
One of the latest of these gloomy utterances is
that of Professor Goldwin Smith, who, in a thought-
ful article, in the "Atlantic Monthly," for Novem-
ber, 1879, discoursed upon "The Prospect of a Moral
Interregnum," consequent upon the supposed de-
cadence of religious faith. He says :
" A collapse of religious belief, of the most com-
THE QUESTION OPENED. 23
plete and tremendous kind, is apparently now at
hand.j^ At the time of the Reformation the ques-
tion was, after all, only about the form of Christian-
ity ; and even the skeptics of the last century, while
they rejected Christ, remained firm theists ; not only
so, but they mechanically retained the main princi-.
pies of Christian morality, as we see plainly in
Rousseau's * Vicaire,' l Savoyard/ and Voltaire's
* Letters on the Quakers.' Very different is the
crisis at which we have now arrived. j~No one who
has watched the progress of discussion, and the in-
dications of opinion in literature and in social inter-
course, can doubt that, in the minds of those whose
views are likely to becomel and in an age when all
thought is rapidly popularized sure to become
["the views of society at large, belief in Christianity
as a revealed and supernatural religion has given
way. . . .]
" All English literature, even that which is so-
cially and politically most conservative, teems with
evidences of a change of sentiment, the rapid
strides of which astonish those who revisit En-
gland at short intervals. . . .{There is perhaps an
increase of church-building and church-going, but
the crust of outward piety is hollow, and growing
hollower every day.''
From such assumed premises Mr. Smith pro-
ceeds to prognosticate the disastrous " effects of
this revolution on morality."
24 1'ROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Mr. James Anthony Froude, in the " North Amer-
ican Review," December, 1879, treats Protestantism
as an exhausted factor : " Protestantism has failed.
It is a hard saying. Protestantism, when it began,
was a revolt against lies. It was a fierce declara-
tion that men would no longer pretend to believe
what in their hearts they did not and could not be-
lieve. In this sense Protestantism has not failed,
and can never fail, as long as there is left an honest
man upon the globe. But we cannot live upon ne-
gations ; but we must have convictions of a positive
sort, if our voyage through earthly existence is to
be an honorable and successful one. And no Prot-
estant community has ever succeeded in laying
down a chart of human life with any definite sailing
directions. In every corner of the world there is
the same phenomenon of the decay of established
religions. In Catholic countries as well as Protest-
ant ; nay, among Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists,
Brahmans, traditionary creeds are losing their hold.
An intellectual revolution is sweeping over the
world, breaking down established opinions, dissolv-
ing foundations on which historical faiths have been
built up. Science, history, philosophy have con-
trived to create universal uncertainty." Neverthe-
less, he adds, " Christianity retains a powerful hold,
especially over the Anglo-Saxon race."
Such are some of the allegations against Protest-
antism and the times.
THE PROBLEM,
THE PROBLEM. 27
THE PROBLEM.
IT is an important preliminary inquiry, What is
comprised under the term Protestantism ? and
what does Protestantism claim ?
In the foregoing arraignment we find two com-
plex and widely divergent parties on the one hand,
Romanists and men of Romanizing tendencies; and
on the other thinkers, who stand avowedly outside
of Christianity, and those who, under the more
indefinite name of " Liberal Christianity," maintain
an attitude of criticism toward the generally ac-
cepted Protestant theology. And yet the latter
portion of both of these classes are connected with
denominations, which, in the broad sense of the
term, are Protestant. In the course of modern
progress, the term Protestant has undergone some
modification in its common use, although it still
stands, historically, as the name given to all bodies
of Christians which have sprung up out of the
Reformation " the totality of the Churches which
separated from the Romish communion." It also
embraces those secondary protests against original
Protestantism, such as Quakerism a protest against
its ordinances ; Arminianism a protest against its
Calvinism ; Methodism a protest against its Cal-
28 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
vinism and its formalism ; and " Liberal Christian
ity " a protest against its Trinitarian and sacrificial
theology. But these are only the- subordinate di-
visions of the great Protestant body, now, as ever,
maintaining an unfaltering protest against the hier-
archical prerogatives and exclusive functions of Ro-
manism, which constituted the leading issues of the
Reformation.
In its broadest definition, then, and as the term
is used by Dr. Ewer and the Romanists, Protest-
antism embraces all avowedly Christian bodies out-
side of the Roman Catholic Church. Jews and
Mormons, professedly rejecting Christianity, are ex-
cluded ; and Universalists, Unitarians, Christians,
etc., are included. The tendencies of modern re-
ligious thought, regarded by Dr. Ewer and others
as so baleful, and as logically and historically the
outgrowth of Protestantism, necessitates such an
inclusion of the " Liberal " Churches. We accept
this definition, and shall adhere to it, so far as pos-
sible, in this volume ; but a narrower definition will
sometimes be necessary, restricting the term Prot-
estantism to those Churches distinctively holding the
sacrificial and Trinitarian theology, which gave vital
impulse and moral unity to the Reformation, and
which even now identifies them with that period.
The reason for this is twofold : firstly, the scanty
statistics published in the *' Year-books " of the
" Liberal" Churches, entirely omitting many items
THE PROBLEM. 29
furnished in the "Annual Minutes" of the Evangel-
ical or Orthodox Churches, make it impossible to
carry out, at many points, on the broader defini-
tion, comparisons which are important in testing
the question? of progress, spiritual vitality, etc. ;
and secondly, because, in the foregoing indict-
ments, eminent representatives of "Liberal" relig-
ion have sharply arraigned the " Evangelical "
Churches, and made heavy allegations of their de-
cline, decrepitude, disintegration, and decay.
We have seriously pondered the foregoing
charges, scrupulously scrutinizing the tendencies
of the times, collating exact data, reviewing the
origin and progress of Protestantism, internally and
externally, and its relation to Christianity, as a
whole, in its entire history, and are fully convinced
that the foregoing indictment is both faulty and
false ; that it is predicated upon wrong assumptions
as to the genius and mission of Protestantism ; that
many of the assumed facts are only hasty and un-
discriminating collections of the most meager data,
many well-attested facts and statistics being wholly
overlooked and ignored.
That part of the indictment which comes from
Romanists and Romanizing Ritualists implies that
the Christian religion has had a perfect ideal devel-
opment in the Church on the earth ; that this de-
velopment existed at some time in the past ; that
the aim of the modern Church should be to attain to
3o PROBLEM o^ RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the ancient ideal ; and that there can be no future
unfolding of any thing richer or deeper in the spirit,
the import, or the power of Christianity, because
the fullness of its meaning was exhausted long ago.
It also supposes that Protestantism has claimed and
still professes to be a finality the perfect ideal of
Christian life and experience, the last and perfect
word of truth an assumption not only false but
impossible. Protestantism claims the holy Script-
ures as the complete and final word of religious
truth, though not of all truth, but that new and
deeper discoveries of their meaning and power will
be wrought out by the progressive studies and ex-
perience of the Church. An early representative
of Protestantism, Rev. John Robinson, of Leyden,
said: "I am confident that the Lord has more
truth and light yet to break forth out of his holy
word."
Protestantism has ever been conscious of imper-
fections and weaknesses, making necessary some
kind of siftings, modifications, and restatements,
that it may be purged from unreasonable and
unscriptural features, from relics of Popery and
mediaeval civilization, to say nothing of the ages
anterior; and that its life has been a growth, an
evolution, in which, notwithstanding some pain-
ful deformities, it is steadily attaining,' in its actual
life and workings, fuller realizations of the ideal of
Christianity presented in the holy Scriptures.
THE PROBLEM. 31
Protestantism has been doing its work under
great disadvantages, under sudden and radical
changes of conditions. As a reformation and re-
volt against old errors, it has had extremes, reac-
tions, and other incidental evils. Doubts, disor-
ders; and experiments are inevitable in such proc-
esses. The work of modification and restatement,
gradually going on in connection with the advance-
ment of general intelligence, has been a task of the
most delicate and difficult character, sorely testing
the highest wisdom, stability and piety of its adher-
ents, and also its hold upon the confidence and
respect of the masses. But this is not all. In its
divorce from the State, in the United States, and
in some European countries, it lost the advantage
of prestige and influence over the popular mind,
which the State afforded, and was cast upon fluctu-
ating outward sources of voluntary support. Hence
the natural inquiry, whether it could maintain its
influence with the masses.
But another and still more important element
has entered into the case the Protestant religion
considered as internal spiritual exercises between
the individual and his God, with no priestly or hier-
archical dependence. Under Protestantism, relig-
ion became purely a personal thing, passing out
from under the exclusive control of the sacraments,
and the arbitrary sway of assumed prerogatives,
into irrepressible conflicts with individual lusts and
32 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
worldly influences. Instead of pompous rituals,
each soul was thrown upon its God and the deep
realities of its inner life. The scourge of the hie-
rarchy disappeared, but the struggle with sense and
self went on. Still recognizing the validity of the
Church, as a divinely instituted body a brother-
hood and a guide Protestantism pressed with pow-
erful tenacity upon each individual the fact of hi*
personal responsibility; that he must bear the weight
of his own guilt to the foot of the cross ; that he
must seek within himself and for himself access to
God, and, in the spirit of adoption begotten by the
Holy Ghost, find a satisfaction which will meet the
soul's deepest needs. Since its primitive days, ex-
cept among small groups, Christianity had not ex-
isted under such conditions.
What was to be the effect of these new religious
conditions among large masses of people ? It was
predicted that religion, wholly dependent upon the
fluctuations of individual affections, and the vacil-
lations of individual wills, would be characterized
by inconstancy and alternations, until its influence
would be utterly wasted. In Europe, Protestantism
has been tested only under the latter conditions,
the voluntary spiritual action being supplemented
by the support of the State. Such, too, was the
situation of American Protestantism during the
colonial era ; but after the Revolution the civil
bands were sundered, and it adjusted itself to whol-
THE PROBLEM. 33
ly voluntary conditions, externally and internally,
and has undergone the trial of the transition, and
the operation of the voluntary principle in its full
measure.
There has been still another source of trial. These
capricious and fluctuating voluntary sources of sup-
port have been tested in a country which every-
where yields to the supremacy of public opinion.
We have passed out from under the tutelage of
authority, and a" new power, until late years little
known, has risen up, exercising supreme sway even
the functions of empire. With vast, complicated,
religious, moral, educational, social, and political
interests, our young nation ventured upon its career
under the supreme guidance of public opinion.
Nothing is more irresponsible, or liable to be more
capricious and destructive ; and yet, in these un-
steady hands are such great interests held.
How experimental and perilous, in the judgment
of many, the task of Protestantism, under these
new conditions ! Those most sanguine of its success
have expected vacillations, reactions, disorders, and
even much decay. They are incidental and inevi-
table, necessary to her life and higher development.
Those who have written this terrible indictment
against Protestantism do not correctly apprehend
the case. No paralysis has come upon her, nor are
there any indications of dissolution, as will be fully
demonstrated, but the best symptoms of life and
34 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
progress. The struggles of Protestantism are only
the normal contests of the vital forces, expelling
from the system disorders inherited from Rome,
whose deadly taint has long disfigured and embar-
rassed her: and the evidences of decay, which some
see, are only the devitalized elements, which vigor-
ous life throws off, in its higher advances.
Opening wide our eyes, and wisely interpreting
the signs of the times, in the light of the whole his-
tory of Christianity, we see indications, in the con-
dition and progress of American Protestantism,
which convey encouraging lessons. The past eighty
years ; at farthest, the past century ; and, in some
respects, the past thirty years, have been distin-
guished by a most rapid and marked development,
in the actual life and workings of the Protestant
Churches in the United States, of the true ideal
of Christianity, which during long centuries was
almost wholly lost out of the world. In no other
period y if we except the brief period following the
<iay of Pentecost and possibly that should not be
excepted have the past eighty years been equaled,
much less excelled.
Viewed in this light, every thing will be clear, al-
though all is not perfect. Protestantism wears, for
its mottot he language of St. Paul, " Not as though
I had already attained, or were already perfect ; but
I follow after, that I may apprehend that, for which
1 am apprehended in Christ Jesus."
THE PROBLEM. 35
To understand our times, and to meet the re-
sponsibilities, call for the clearest vision, the broad-
est analyses, the amplest resources, prepared hearts,
and the best manhood. No hasty deductions by bi-
ased minds, from narrow generalizations and scanty
data, can determine the situation. No personal ill-
success, or ill-adjustment to our surroundings, or
cramped routine perspective, should color the judg-
ment and inspire evil prognostications. To the
high mount of broad observation, then, we betake
ourselves, to study the tendencies and prospects
of the times.
One feature of our times is entirely new, and,
therefore, experimental. Great and sacred ques-
tions are brought into the arena of public investiga-
tion. Never before were the people expected to
have an independent opinion about such matters.
The common soil of humanity * for the first time in
all the ages is surveyed, plowed, and sown. The
problem now pending is whether more of wheat or
of tares will be harvested ; whether, in the end, it
will be productive of more of faith or of doubt, of
genuine piety or ungodliness. In the United States,
unlike the older countries, there are no conserving
forces in the constitution of society, holding men
to the old faiths no old institutions, hereditary
nobilities, State Churches, etc. ; but every thing is
new communities, governments, and institutions,
* " Christianity and Modern Thought," p. 17.
36 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and any number of new projects, trial schemes, and
prophecies of newer and stranger things to come.
All things stimulate to theorizing. The new is held
at a high premium, and the old at a heavy deprecia-
tion. In such times men find it easy to break away
from old morals and old faiths, and a supernatural
system like Christianity undergoes searching ex-
amination. Every thing, however spiritual, is sub-
jected to natural tests. The revolutionizing tend-
ency of the times has invaded every department of
thought and action. Thought is intense and bold.
Principles, institutions, and usages, long sacred and
venerable, are discarded and obsolete. In the midst
of such tendencies, American Christianity has been
called to experience a severer test than European
Christianity, with its old institutions environing and
sustaining it, but we shall see that her triumphs are
purer and grander.
How is the conflict progressing, and what are the
indications? This problem is our appointed task,
and waits a solution a solution, which we believe
is radiant with hope and promise. Let us advance
and see.
I. FAITH.
CHAPTER I.
THE BONDAa
Spiritual Despotism.
Papal Scholasticism.
Protestant Scholasticism.
I.-FAITH.
CHAPTER I.
BONDAGE.
TT is charged that Protestantism is a break with
-* ancient faith and worship; that it discards an-
chors and moorings ; that it is logically and histor-
ically the generator of skepticism ; that the Prot-
estantism of the present is very different from the
Protestantism of the past ; that its numerous modi-
fications in doctrine and life indicate its rapid dis-
integrating tendencies ; that it has become " a miser-
able raft," its fragments floating apart like the mere
" flying rack of the heavens ;" and that " poor rem-
nants only of the great nations are clinging to its
parted and broken logs."
That Protestantism was the leading factor in those
great movements which burst the shackles for cent-
uries^ restraining freedom of thought, and that it
has quickened intellectual activity and enlarged its
scope, can be regarded a reproach only by those
who still loiter among the murky vapors of medi-
aeval times. Even if it be true, as Dr. Ewer declares,
that " it stands to-day breast-deep in torrents of
4O PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
skepticism," it is creditable to it to be able thus to
stand ; and, through the severe ordeals of external
criticism and rigid self-introspection, to endure re-
statements and modifications, not only without loss
of ess-ential identity but even with increased vitality
and power.
In the midst of the scrutiny and conflicts of the
centuries, Protestantism has strengthened itself,
within and without ; it has taken possession of
"storm-driven outposts;" it has erected "Eddy-
stone lights where surging waves of doubt are ever
breaking;" it has established "last havens of stores
and comfort for adventurous voyagers, bewildered
in search of truth;" and has extended its lines to
the ends of the earth. In future pages, the truth
of these declarations will be demonstrated.
That Protestantism has been able to advance its
position amid the stormiest seas of doubt and free
inquiry, and grow larger, purer, and stronger, is its
glory; but that it has "let loose" these "torrents
of skepticism," because it broke away from the ab-
solutism of Rome, and championed spiritual liberty,
is too absurd a statement to come from a divine
of high standing and culture. It is an oft-exploded
complaint, that the Reformation produced the skep-
ticism of the eighteenth century, by generating the
revolution in philosophy, and, through that, the
infidelity which accompanied it. Of that disastrous
result, it was in no sense the cause. The Reforma-
FAITH. 41
tion and the philosophical revolution were both, in
themselves, beneficent, necessary to the world's
progress, and productive of irreligion only " as the
cool bracing air may sometimes produce fever in a
debilitated body, or warmth may hasten corruption
in a corpse." The infecting malarial taint was spirit-
ual despotism, intrinsically and eternally malignant.
The testimony of the centuries shows that, for
the origin of skepticism and its fearful ascendency
in the last century, the cause of causes was not lib-
erty in any form, but an imbecile, corrupt, and im-
perious Church, obtruding itself between the world
and God, and darkening the faith of the nations.
The causes were " practical rather than speculative ;
more moral than intellectual ; and less theological
than ecclesiastical. The religious insurrection of
the nations was political and social rather than met-
aphysical. The revolt was less from Christianity
than from the Church ; or, at least, was from Chris-
tianity because of the (Romish) Church."*
Comparing the Protestantism of the present with
that of the past, changes are, indeed, apparent in
religious sentiment, in technical theology, and in
the practice of enforcing religious belief. Theology
is less scholastic and repulsive, has less of pagan
adulteration, has been lubricated and broadened, and
is the better for its siftings. Modern thought and
* " The Skeptical Era in Modern History," by Rev. T. M.
Post, D.D., p. 257.
42 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Protestant theology have been mutual benefactors
and beneficiaries. Religious sentiment is less su-
perstitious and more intelligent, is less actuated by
fear and more by knowledge, lives less in damps and
shadows and more in the light, and has become less
a blind impulse and more a law written in the
heart at once a passion and a principle. Creeds
are shorter, but broader, deeper, and stronger ;
have less of husk and more of kernel ; are shedding
the devitalized and retaining the vital. Stakes and
fagots have disappeared ; inquisitorial tortures have
ceased ; inquisitorial examinations are giving place
to friendly utterance of mutual belief; and faith is
no longer forced, but voluntary.
All this is as it should be not the shame but
the glory of Protestantism. But this gain has come
through peculiar processes, both within and without
the fruit of discipline.
Protestantism had its origin at a time when tra-
dition and the schoolmen, sustained by the terrors
of the hierarchy, had dominated Europe for centu-
ries. Two evils were rampant in the world of mind
the spirit of scholasticism, tenacious for dialec-
tical forms, shaving truth with tools of iron logic, to
the sacrifice of its simplicity and purity, and dishon-
oring it with human subtleties ; and the spirit of dog-
matism, which, with unrelenting authority, denied
the freedom of personal convictions and enforced
belief.
FAITH. 43
Protestantism, a too apt pupil in the school of
the centuries, inhaling the spirit of the age, started
in its career hampered with these trammels. It
could not, at once, purify the superincumbent air,
nor lift itself wholly above the murky vapors. A
revolt against the hierarchy, an advocate of freedom,
and a champion of independence, early Protestant-
ism, nevertheless, only feebly realized what liberty
meant and what gross bondage it still retained. It
brought out of Romanism the spirit of dogmatism,
and the devotion to truth which fired its zeal against
the falsities of the papacy was sometimes betrayed
into a spirit of persecution. Husks of scholasticism
were still retained, as seen in the rigidly drawn and
extended theological formularies and systems. The
iron logic of the reformers followed too closely in
the dialectical lines of the schoolmen, cramping into
systems of human devising, and perverting by hu-
man subtleties, truths which the Great Teacher and
his apostles presented in simpler forms. With such
a legacy of evil Protestantism began its work, and
only by processes of severe purging could it be
purified. These modifications have exposed it to
the charge of change and disintegration, exciting
alarm in some minds.
Are these allegations and apprehensions well
founded ?
Several lines of inquiry are necessary in bringing
this subject fully before us.
44 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
How was Christian truth so brought into bondage
that only through long, stern ordeals could it be de-
livered ?
Why did not original Protestantism wholly cast off
these fetters ?
And, What factors have providentially wrought
with Protestantism for its deliverance ?
By pursuing these inquiries, we shall be able more
intelligently to appreciate the present situation and
tendencies. We shall find a true historic answer to
the unfounded allegation that Protestantism is the
generator of skepticism ; and shall also perceive that
it has successfully pursued its course, and been de-
veloped, purified, extended, and strengthened, in
spite of all infecting and antagonizing forces.
In the fifth century Christianity conquered pagan-
ism, and thenceforth paganism, in turn, enfeebled
and burdened Christianity. " The rites of the Par-
thenon passed into the worship of the Church ; the
subtleties of the academy into the creed. Similar
trifles, just as subtle, interminable, and unprofitable,
occupied the sharp intellects of the schoolmen. At
length the time had come when the barren philos-
ophy, which had worn so many shapes, mingled with
so many creeds, had survived empires, religions,
races, languages, was destined to fall. Driven from
its ancient haunts, it had taken sanctuary in that
Church which it at first had persecuted, and, like
the daring fiends of the poet,
FAITH. 45
4 Placed its seat next to the seat of God,
And with its darkness durst affront his light.' " *
The scholastic philosophy, based on the logic,
ethics, and physics of Aristotle, and the judgments
and decretals of the Church, and fostered by the
Church, dominated the realms of human thought
through the long, dark mediaeval period. The
schoolmen, dialecticians, mostly theologians and
ecclesiastics, constructed out of the philosophy
of Aristotle an armory for the defense of the
papacy, whose formularies were traps, tricks, and
snares, involving the unwary in subtleties. Their
schemes of casuistry and intellectual legerdemain
bejuggled men out of common-sense beliefs and
into the acceptance of absurd dogmas uphold-
ing the papal Church. Around the intellect of
Europe, Romanism bound the chain of scholasti-
cism, repressing the thought and faith of the
nations.
In the name of an infallible authority conferred
by Heaven, the Church applied the clamps of scho-
lasticism to all science, usurped the prerogatives of
all truth, put all minds under censorship, and
burned men as quickly for new theses in physical
science, medicine, or astronomy, as in theology.
" Was a proposition in physics or metaphysics to
be determined ? The schoolmen sent you, not to
analyze the thing; but they coerced it into the
* Macaulay.
46 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
categories and syllabus of the subtle Greek ; they
put it into the strait-waistcoat of some dialectic
formula ; they put it upon the rack and torture of
syllogism and enthymeme ; and, finally, bound it
down and smothered it by the decrees of Councils
and the bulls of Popes. Was the inquirer still unsat-
isfied? The ponderous names of a Duns Scotus,
a Thomas Aquinas, or some Seraphic Doctor, or
some Gregory or Innocent or Boniface, were made
to thunder about his ears with the technical bar-
barisms of a scholastic jargon, till, overwhelmed
and confounded, if not convinced, he was glad to
be silent, especially as those barbarisms were no
mere bruta fulmina, but behind them was bran-
dished before his eyes the ultima reason of spiritual
despots the mightier logic of imprisonment, wheel,
and fagot."*
Ages wore away under such processes, excluding
scientific discovery and progress. It was a futile,
fruitless toil, in an endless circle, " an endless round
of sonorous nothings." Society "plodded its weary
way over ' many a frozen, many a fiery Alp,' mid
rivers of inky blackness, in endless mazes wander-
ing, emulating, in its bootless and ceaseless toil, the
fabled children of eternal night, till, at last, emerg-
ing from its dark sojourn, lo, it finds itself just
where it started weary centuries ago."
* See " Skeptical Era in Modern History," by Rev. T. M. Post,
P.D., p. 72.
FAITH. 47
Emancipation from such a bondage was a neces-
sity, and, in due time, a certainty.
A quickening conjuncture of great events the
Revival of Letters, the Invention of Printing, the
Discovery of America, the passage round the Cape
of Good Hope, and the rapid development of the
power of the municipalities and the burgher class,
preceded and prepared the way for the Reforma-
tion of the sixteenth century. Out of these wide
and deeply significant movements the Reformation
sprung ; and to their influence, stimulating mental
activity, broadening the scope of human thought,
and developing intellectual and moral independ-
ence, and not to the Reformation alone, are we to
attribute the first advancement in philosophy, and
in physical science, the rise of skepticism, etc. The
seeds of these movements were widely sown, and
germinated in the general quickening which started
forth the Reformation. Each, springing from its
peculiar conditions, had nevertheless points in com-
mon in their inception and earlier development,
while the Reformation soon became the bold im-
pulse and central figure, under whose leadership
they went forth on their mission.
The Revival of Learning was the chief cause of
the Reformation, but many causes contributed tc
the Revival. Feudalism declined ; the State be-
came consolidated ; cities arose ; new classes of free
citizens came into existence ; industrial and com-
48 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
mercial activities increased, producing material
prosperity ; and with competence came leisure for
the adornment of life with the arts of peace. At
the same time there grew up a secular form of cult-
ure, as distinguished from the prevailing religious
and scholastic type. From 1348 to 1502, uni-
versities were founded in various parts of the
continent. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio wrote,
extolling force and beauty, the manly courage of
severe contests, the delicate sentiments of love,
the fervor of devotion, the nobility of loyalty, the
ignominy of treason stirring every natural and
moral feeling.
This humane culture awakened an interest in an-
cient poetry and in ancient conceptions of the world.
New desires for art and literature followed, and the
social life of the rising burgher class, and of the
noble families who had attained to wealth and
power, provided the taste, the leisure, and the
means for resuscitating the remains of ancient cult-
ure. First, Roman literature was explored anew ;
then the Greek classics. Greece was visited, and
her " muses would have been brought to Italy if
they had not soon fled thither for refuge." Greek
scholars came to Italy before the capture of Con-
stantinople by the Turks, in 1453; but that great
event drove thither numerous Greek refugees, rich
in literary treasures, and the Halls of the Medici
received them as apostles. Convents brought forth
FAITH. 49
their resources ; antiquity had a resurrection ; and
youth from Western Europe, Germany, and Hun-
gary crossed the Alps to study the ancient classics.
This movement marked a new era in culture ; the
Church was to be no longer the sole instructor ; a
wider horizon was to open over the human intellect,
and scholasticism w r as destined to wane. " The Fa-
thers," hitherto for centuries read only in frag-
ments, convenient for the use of the dialectician,
were brought forth from their long obscurity ; and
the Scriptures, in the original tongue, once more
served as the touchstone of truth. Printing facili-
tated the multiplication of books, and helped the
spreading ferment. Little resistance was offered,
for the new era, at first intent upon antiquities,
projected no new theories. And yet, out of the
antiquities with which Italy and even the Papal
court were then captivated, important changes
were to come. Through this channel vere intro-
duced irito the West the Platonic, the Neopla-
tonic, the Epicurean, and Stoical philosophies,
whose temporary mission, in the transitional period
of philosophy then opening, was to supplant the
Scholastic-Aristotelian method, and whose residu-
um, in the ages beyond, was a legacy of skepticism,
harassing the faith of Protestantism.
This Revival of Learning was the instaurator of
new ideas and movements.
In the midst of this period, Protestantism, the
4
50 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
most conspicuous of aJ modern movements, had its
birth, ushering in a new and better religious life,
but inheriting taints which only long and stern dis-
cipline could purge away.
" Side by side," says Ueberweg, " with this re-
turn of learned culture from scholasticism to the
early Roman and Greek literature stands, as its
analogue, the return of the religious consciousness
from the doctrines of the Catholic Church to the
letter of the Bible. . . . Acknowledging the author-
ity of the holy Scriptures, and of the dogmas of the
Church in its earliest days, Protestantism rejected
the mediaeval hierarchy and the scholastic tendency
to rationalize Christian dogmas. The individual
conscience found itself in conflict with the way of
salvation marked out by the Church. By this way
it was unable to attain to inward peace and recon-
ciliation with God. ... In the first heat of the con-
flict the Reformers regarded the head of the Cath-
olic Church as Antichrist, and Aristotle, the chief
of the Catholic school philosophy, as a ' godless
bulwark of the Papists.' "
The logical tendency was to break with all phi-
losophy, and adopt a simple, unquestioning faith.
But as Protestantism gained " fixed consistence,"
the necessity of some determinate order, in the new
ecclesiastical condition, pressed upon the attention
of the leaders. Melanchthon felt the need of some
kind of philosophy. He found the Epicureans too
FAITH. 5 1
atheistic ; the Stoics too fatalistic in theology and
extravagant in ethics ; Plato and the Neoplatonists
" either too indefinite or too heretical ; " while Ar-
istotle, as a teacher of a unique method, met the
needs of the young. Luther consented to the use
of the text of Aristotle if uncumbered by scholastic
comments. " There arose thus,'* says Ueberweg,
" in the Protestant universities, a new Aristotelian-
ism, which was distinguished from scholasticism by
its simplicity and freedom from empty subtleties,
but which, owing to the necessity of modifying the
naturalistic elements in the Aristotelian philosophy,
and especially in the Aristotelian psychology, so as
to make them harmonize with the religious faith,
soon became, in its measure, itself scholastic. The
erection of a new independent philosophy, on the
basis of the generalized Protestant principle," was,
therefore, a necessity ; but its accomplishment was
reserved for a later time and other hands.
In the mean time, burdened with limitations in-
consistent with its fundamental principle, checking
and falsifying its movements, Protestantism pur-
sued its course, slowly and imperfectly developing
and waiting the concurrent action of other factors,
which should fully emancipate it from scholasticism
and dogmatism, and invest it in simple forms, in
closer harmony with the original ideal of pure
Christianity. Those factors have wrought along the
centuries, ostensibly a work of criticism, and some-
52 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
times of destruction, but, under Providence, devel-
oping those modifying tendencies in theological
truth so conspicuous in our days.
What were these factors ?
They comprise, in their fullest scope, the great
movements of modern thought, some of which took
their origin just anterior to Protestantism, others
nearly simultaneously with it, and others still soon
after Protestantism started upon its career. Their
mission has been providential, under the wise over-
rulings of " Him who is the Head over all things
unto his Church," and who maketh the activities
of human thought, and even human unbelief and
wrath, to subserve his beneficent ends.
CHAPTER II.
LIBERATING- FACTORS.
Modern Skepticism.
Physical Science.
Antitrinitarian Protestantism.
Modern Philosophy.
FAITH. 55
CHAPTER II.
LIBERATING FACTORS.
Modern Skepticism.
A NCIENT in its essence, and a residuum from
** antemediaeval times, skepticism first appeared,
in modern history, springing out of the bosom of
Rome just prior to the origin of Protestantism.
A new philosophical movement was one of the
first and most noticeable developments in the Re-
vival of Learning, working simultaneously with its
earliest beginnings, both as a factor and a product,
and constituting the first division in modern philos-
ophy the period of transition* from the old scho-
lastic method, of mediaeval dependence upon the
Church and Aristotle, to the beginning of the new
method, of original and independent investigation,
inaugurated by the bold genius of Descartes. It
was an era of change, of transfer, of partial emanci-
pation from the old, with, as yet, no fully developed
system.
This movement had long been a felt necessity.
As early as the eleventh century, and through the
three following centuries, the spirit of freedom
* Uebeiweg's " Division of the Historic Periods of Philosophy."
56 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
struggled in Italian minds, and champions of intel-
lectual liberty appeared. At the beginning of the
twelfth century " a numerous and "powerful school
of philosophers labored so persistently for freedom
of thought and expression, that it was denounced
by the Church as a school of Epicureans and
Atheists." *
It has been already noticed that the Revival of
Learning introduced the Platonic and the Neopla-
tonic philosophies into Italy. Averroes, a commen-
tator upon Aristotle, in high repute, taught that
" only the one universal reason common to the en-
tire human race is immortal," " that the world-or-
dering divine mind is the active immortal reason,"
and denied " individual immortality." These doc-
trines prevailed in Northern Italy from early in the
fourteenth to the middle of the fifteenth century,
and in the school of Padua they were prominent
tenets until the seventeenth century, though in
different acceptations at different times. The het-
erodox elements in this belief were made prominent
in some and toned down by others. In the four-
teenth century Eckhart taught a mystical panthe-
ism, and in the fifteenth century the antichristian
and pantheistic system of Neoplatonism, which had
been developed and systematized under the mold-
ing influence of Plotinus, Porphyry, and Julian,
* Prof. Yincenzo Botta, D.D. See Ueberweg's " Philosophy," h
p. 461.
FAITH. 57
prominent opponents of Christianity in the first
Christian centuries, became the favorite philosophy
of the cultured minds. Many made an easy passage
from Averroism to Pantheism.
Plethro, (1355-1442,) a "passionate Platonist ; "
Bessarion, (1395-1472,) a moderate Platonist; and
Marcilius Ficinus, (1433-1499,) a meritorious trans-
lator of Plato, Plotinus, Porphyry, and other Neo-
platonists, propounded theses which have been
characterized as " neither Christian nor Moham-
medan, but Neoplatonic and heathen." With these
men there arose in Italy and elsewhere schools of
ideal Platonists, tending to Deism and Natural-
ism, and a class of Peripatetics, sliding into ma-
terialism and skepticism. Hallam says, " There
is strong ground for ascribing a rejection of Chris-
tianity to Plethro." Ficinus declared there was
no hope for religion except in the " bolstering
aid of the Platonic philosophy;" Pomponatius,
(died 1525,) that " Christianity was in a state of
obsolescence and decay," and that the immortal-
ity of the soul is doubtful on philosophic princi-
ples ; and Machiavelli, (1464-1527,) that the high-
est political ends can be obtained without the aid
of the Church or of Christianity. " The Platonic
Academy in the gardens of the Medici," says
Hase,* " defended only a few of the religious ideas
*" Church History," p. 328. This academy was established
1440-1445-
58 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
peculiar to Christianity." " Infidelity and super-
stition were arrayed boldly in opposition to each
other." " To the Italian infidelity of this period
probably belongs the authorship of the book, ' The
Three Impostors/ (Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed,)
first mentioned in the sixteenth century ; " * also
the " Dialogue Upon Religion," between " seven
learned freethinkers of Venice," by John Bodin,
(died 1597,) in which all religions are set forth
as " having the same merits and defects," and
" ideal deism " is commended as the " true re-
ligion." f
In the earlier stages of this movement, the new
views were sometimes accommodated to the Church
by attempted distinctions between philosophic and
theologic truth, and by a profession of submis-
sion to the Church. The Church condemned this
view of the twofold nature of truth, but the move-
ment went quietly on so long as the Church was
not directly antagonized.
Thus the School of Humanists, enthusiastic wor-
shipers of pagan antiquity, devoted to the revival
of classkal study, became antagonistic to Christi-
anity, and it was quite common for dignitaries of
the Church, in the circles of their friends, to avow
atheism. Even Pope Leo X. was credited with the
remark, regarded as credible by his contemporaries,
" It is not generally known how much we and ours
* Kurtz's " Church History," vol. ii, p. 159. f Ibid.
FAITH. 59
have been profited by the fable of Christ." Oppo-
nents of Christian belief retained their positions,
often of the highest rank, in the Church.
In this early movement in the quest of another
philosophy, we see, in the Romish Church, the first
outcroppings of European skepticism during the
century before Protestantism arose. "The Refor-
mation," says Professor Fisher, " is not responsible
for the tendencies to skepticism and unbelief which
have revealed themselves in modern society. These
tendencies discovered themselves before Protestant-
ism appeared. The Renaissance in Italy was skep-
tical in its spirit. This infidelity sprang up in the
bosom of the Roman Catholic Church, partly as a
reaction against the superstitious doctrines and
practices which the Church countenanced, partly
from the Epicurean lives of the ecclesiastics, and
the worldliness which had corrupted the piety of
the official guardians of religion."
Hallam,* speaking of those who called in ques-
tion the " truths of natural and revealed religion,"
says, " The proofs of this before the middle of the
sixteenth century are chiefly to be derived from
Italy. ... If we limit ourselves to those who di-
rected their attacks against Christianity, it must be
presumed that, in an age when the tribunals of
justice visited even with the punishment of death
the denial of any fundamental doctrine, few books
* Hallam's " Literature of the Middle Ages," vol. i, p. 288.
60 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of an openly irreligious tendency would appear. A
short pamphlet by one Vallee cost him his life in
1574. . . . The list of men suspected of infidelity,
if we could trust all private anecdotes of the time,
would be by no means short."
Besides the Platonic and the Neoplatonic, other
ancient philosophies were renewed in this transi-
tional period. Telsius (1508-1588) and other rela-
tively independent investigators of nature, were
considerably influenced by the doctrines of the nat-
ural philosophers of ancient Greece. Stoicism was
revived and developed by Lipsius, (1547-1606,) and
Epicureanism by Gassendi, (1592-1655.) Ueber-
weg says, " Ancient skepticism was revived, and, in
part, in a peculiar manner further developed, by
Michel de Montaigne," (born 1503,) and "more or
less directed to the doctrines of Christianity." Char-
ron, (i 541-1603,) and Sanchez, (i 562-1632',) a teacher
of medicine and philosophy in France, " supported
this tendency." Le Vayer (1586-1672) applied the
arguments of ancient skeptics to theology, and had
successors among his pupils Sorbiere, (1615-1670,)
Foucher, (1644-1696,) Glanville, (died 1680,) Hern-
haym, (died 1670,) Huet, (1633-1721,) and Bayle,
(1647-1706,) the latter " breaking the pathway of
a mere frivolous unbelief." Ueberweg also says,
" From its relation to the investigation of nature,
in modern times, Gassendi's renewal of Epicurean-
ism is of far greater historical importance than the
FAITH. 6r
renewal of any other ancient system ; " and F. A.
Lange says, " Gassendi is the one who may proper-
ly be styled the renewer, in modern times, of sys-
tematic materialism."
We have thus traced the lines of modern skepti-
cism from its rise out of the revival of the ancient
philosophies, through phases separate from the
Reformation, however much it may have been em-
boldened, in its later stages, by the examples of
the Reformers ; and have reached a period, on the
Continent, parallel with that of Herbert, (1*58 1-
1648,) Hobbes, (1588-1679,) Blount, (1654-1693,)
and Sir Thomas Brown, (1605-1682,) the earliest
leaders in skeptical thought in England.
Such was the origin of one of the great factors-
destined to exert an extensive influence upon mod-
ern thought and upon theology. Let us now re-
trace our steps, and briefly notice the rise and early
progress of
Physical science, another modifying factor.
The mental quickening commenced in the Re-
vival of Learning soon extended to all the sciences.
The superstitious scholastic methods, by which the
schoolmen figured but with equal facility the popu-
lation of Saturn, the number of feathers in the wings
of the cherubim, and how many angels could stand
on the point of a needle, could not meet the neces-
sities of awakened thought in the new era. It must
62 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
have more rational processes; but the true process
was not at once reached. It first went backward
to the old pagan philosophies. Dr. Ueberweg,
whose competency none will question, shall tell the
story.
" The modern mind, dissatisfied with scholasti-
cism, not only went back to the classical literature
of antechristian antiquity, and to the writings con-
stituting the biblical Revelation, but, setting out
from the sciences of antiquity, also directed its en-
deavors, more and more, to independent investiga-
tion of the realities of nature and mind, as also to
the problem of moral self-determination, independ-
ently of external forms. In the fields of mathe-
matics, mechanics, geography, and astronomy, the
science and speculation of the ancients were first
restored, and then, partly by gradual progress, and
partly by rapid and bold discoveries, materially ex-
tended. With the assured results of investigation
were connected manifold and largely turbulent at-
tempts to establish on the basis of the new science
new theological and philosophical conceptions, in
which attempts were involved germs of later and
more mature doctrines. Physical philosophy, in
the transitional period, was more or less blended
with a form of theosophy, which rested at first upon
the foundation of Neoplatonism and the Cabala,
but which gradually, and especially on the soil of
Protestantism, attained a more independent char-
FAITH. 63
acter. A physical philosophy thus blended with
theosophy, not yet freed from scholastic notions,
nor contradicting the affirmations of ecclesiastical
theology, and yet resting on the new basis of mathe-
matical and astronomical studies, was maintained,
about the middle of the fifteenth century, by Nico-
laus Cusanus, (1401-1464,) in whom the mysticism
of Eckhart (1260-1327) was renewed, and from
whence, later, Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) derived
the fundamental features of his own bolder and
more independent doctrine. Physics, in its com-
bination with theosophy, continued to be taught,
and was further developed in the sixteenth century,
and also in the seventeenth. Among its professors
were Paracelsus, (1493-1541,) the physician; Car-
danus, (1501-1576,) the mathematician and astrolo-
ger; Bernardinus Telesius, (1508-1588,) the founder
of the Academia Cosentina, for the investigation
of nature, and his followers, Franciscus Patritius,
(1529-1597,) the Platonizing opponent of Aristotle;
Andreas Caesalpinus, (1519-1603,) the Averroistic
Aristotelian; Nicolaus Turxellius, (1547-1606,) the
opponent of the latter, and an independent German
thinker; Carolus Borillus, (1470-1553,) a supporter
of the Catholic Church, and a disciple of Nicholaus
of Cusa, (1401-1464); Giordano Bruno, (1548-1600,)
and Lucilio Vanini, (1585-1619,) the antiecclesias-
tical freethinkers; and Thomas Campanella, (1568-
1639,) the Catholic opponent of Aristotle. The
64 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
religious element prevailed with Schwenckfeldt and
Valentin Weigl, Protestant theologians, and with
Jacob Bohme, the theosophist, among whose fol-
lowers have been H. Moore, John Pordage, Pierre
Poivet, and, in more modern times, St. Martin, and
whose principles were employed by Baader and by
Shelling by the latter on the occasion of his pass-
ing over from physical philosophy to theosophy.
The themes of law and civil government were de-
veloped in an independent manner, without defer-
ence to Aristotelian or ecclesiastical authority, and
in a form more adapted to the changed political
conditions of modern times.*
Physical science, then, in its early modern stages,
was hampered with the embarrassments incidental
to the transitional period of modern philosophy
the newly revived ancient philosophy, the Cabala,
the remaining influence of scholastic methods, and
the ecclesiastical domination. Beginning before
the birth of Protestantism, in such an unnatural
combination, it struggled through the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries into the seventeenth, when it
received a new impulse under the independent
method of original investigation promulgated by
Descartes, and became another of the modifying
factors in the progress of Protestantism.
* Ueberweg's " History of Philosophy," vol. ii, pp. 19, 20.
FAITH. 65
The Antitrinitarian theology, a residuum from the
antemediceval age, restored with the Revival of Learn-
ing, has been another providential factor.
Antitrinitarianism has been incorrectly regarded
by some as an offspring of Protestantism, because a
protest against Protestant theology. While very
many of those representing these opinions have
been dissenters from the Trinitarian and sacrificial
theology of Protestantism, yet it is not strictly true
that Antitrinitarianism originated in the Churches
of the Reformation. The rise of these ideas ante-
dates the mediaeval age. The Arian doctrines sur-
vived that dark period, and reappeared during the
Revival of Learning. The same causes that pro-
duced the Reformation, modern skepticism, and the
transition in philosophy and physical science, re-
vived the Arian ideas of previous centuries a part
of the general resurrection of ancient knowledge.
Nor was this all. Before those great events took
place which gave character to the Reformation, and
determined its career, even in the midst of the
Middle Ages, the efforts of the schoolmen to estab-
lish, by syllogistic gins, logical technics, and tenu-
ous sophisms, the Trinity and other Church doc-
trines, invested them with absurdity, and awakened
revulsions. The scholastic processes proved peril-
ous. In the tenth century Arians appeared in the
Diocese of Padua, a district of northern Italy. In
the twelfth century Joachin, an Abbot of Flora,
66 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
taught that the union of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit was not a natural one, not one of es-
sence, but wholly moral, like that of persons hold-
ing common opinions. In the thirteenth century
these views had many representatives. During the
revival of the Platonic and the Neoplatonic philos-
ophies, prior to the Reformation, the Trinity came
under frequent discussion, in various speculative
forms, but cautiously, for fear of the Church. The
shocks occasioned by the collisions of thought, in
the convulsive moments of the Reformation,
brought to the surface the dissent which the scho-
lastic methods had provoked.
" It was in Italy," says Professor Fisher, " among
the cultured class, in men of inquisitive and culti-
vated minds, that the Antitrinitarians appeared.
The peculiar tone of the belles-lettres culture that
followed upon the Revival of Learning was often
congenial with these opinions. There was a dispo-
sition to examine the foundations of religion, to call
in question the traditional doctrines of the Church,
and to sift the entire creed by the application of
reason to its contents. The writings of Servetus
(1509-1553) doubtless had much influence in diffus-
ing Antitrinitarian opinions ; but most of the con-
spicuous Unitarians who first appeared were of
Italian birth, generally exiles from their country on
account of their belief. After the publication of
the Antitrinitarian work of Servetus, in 1531, it is
FAITH. 6;
said that not less than forty educated men in Vi-
cenza and the neighborhood were united in a private
association, all of whom held Unitarian opinions.
The Unitarian doctrines were found in the Churches
of Italian refugees at Geneva and at Zurich."
Hallam says : * "It is certain that many of the
Italian reformers held Antitrinitarian opinions,
chiefly of the Arian form. M'Crie suggests that
these had been derived from Servetus ; but it does
not appear that they had any acquaintance. ... It
is much more probable that their tenets originated
among themselves."
These views are confirmed by Mosheim, who says
that " Socinian writers generally trace the origin of
their sect to Italy;" and Kurtz also says, " Italy was
the proper home of the rationalistic denial of the doc-
trine (of the Trinity ;) it was the fruit of the half-
pagan humanism which flourished then." Its advo-
cates, compelled to flee, took refuge in Switzerland;
but, being persecuted there, and banished, they went
first to Germany, thence to Poland, Hungary, and
the province of Transylvania, where princes or no-
bles protected them. Blandrata, Gentilis, Alciati,
Grimbaldi, Claudius of Savoy, and Tellius, early
disseminators of Antitrinitarian ideas, and some of
their martyrs, and Lselius and Faustus Socinus,
from whom the Socinian scheme took its name,
were all from Italy the fruitage of the Neopla-
* Hallam's " I iterature of the Middle Ages," eol. i, p. 196.
68 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tonic movement and were all of them born be-
tween 1475 and 1540, and all but one prior to 1520
The Socinii were descendants from an illustrious
family of Sienna.
Almost simultaneously with the first movements
of Luther, and doubtless mainly out of the general
quickening given by the Revival of Learning, there
arose in different parts of central and northern Eu-
rope various sects of Reformers, several classes of
whom received the designation of Anabaptists. In
1521, within four years of Luther's bold theses on
the church door in Wittenberg, they were known
as distinct bodies, under fiery leaders, among whom
we find Antitrinitarian opinions. The Antitrini-
tarian refugees from Italy and Switzerland, " some
of whom," says Hase, " in the name of the Script-
ures or of intellectual freedom, claimed the right to
reject any ecclesiastical doctrine, and especially the
doctrine of the Trinity, as it had been taught by
the Church," indulging the hope of finding an asy-
lum in countries possessing the Reformation," ap-
peared at an early date in Switzerland, then in
Germany, and elsewhere. They found sympathy
among the Anabaptists when they were repelled
by Luther and Melanchthon. John Denck, (died
1528,) and Hitzer, (died 1529,) Anabaptist leaders,
learned and extensively read in polite literature,
and others, almost with the origin of the Reforma-
tion, avowed Antitrinitarian views. These opinions
FAITH. 69
spread with this sect even to England, where they
appeared " at the very dawn of the Reformation." *
Poland and Transylvania became the centers from
which they radiated, and the Catechism printed at
the Socinian printing-office, in Racow, was a noted
campaign document.
In England, in every period since the earliest
<lawn of the Reformation, Antitrinitarian ideas
have been held by those who have shared the
common protest against the Church of Rome. In
the reign of Edward (1547-1553) these views ex-
cited the alarm of the authorities. Under the reign
of Elizabeth and James I. (1558-1625) men suffered
martyrdom on account of them. In the time of
the Commonwealth, John Biddle, who had collected
a body of worshipers holding these views, was ban-
ished by Cromwell, and subsequently returning,
died in prison in 1662. Strong tendencies to Ari-
anism existed among the English Presbyterians
throughout the seventeenth century, and it was a
bar to the effective union sought between them and
the Independents near the close of the century.
Prior to this time, divines of the Established
Church Chilling-worth, Hales of Eaton, etc. had
thrown aside the system of Calvin, and exposed
themselves to the charge of Socinianism, and, in
the next period, Cudworth, Whichcote, Williams,
* Rev. Wm. Turner, A.M., " Unitarianism Exhibited." London,
1846, p. 157.
70 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Tillotson, and Whitby, were added to the list.
Later, Clarke, Hoadley, Hare, Sykes, Law, Justin,
etc., not positively Antitrinitarians, expressed them-
selves in language admitting of Unitarian construc-
tion. In the last decade of the seventeenth cent-
ury an extensive controversy raged, developing
within the Establishment two parties real and
nominal Trinitarians in which Sherlock was pro-
nounced almost a Tritheist, and South and Wallis
almost Sabellians. Among the Presbyterians in
Scotland three eminent divines and professors in
the University of Glasgow belonged to this school
of thinkers.
Modern philosophy has been a modifying factor.
We have already noticed the first imperfect phases
of modern philosophy in its transitional period from
mediaeval dependence on the authority of the Church
and of Aristotle. Its establishment as an independ-
ent science, uncontrolled by any human authority,
occurred under Descartes about one hundred and
twenty-five years after Luther inaugurated the Ref-
ormation. Indirectly the product of the Reforma-
tion, following the example of bold revolt against
authority, Ueberweg calls it " a new, independent
philosophy, on the basis of the generalized Protest-
ant principle/' It was destined to be a great prov-
idential factor, modifying ancient philosophy, skep-
ticism, physical science, and the formularies of
FAITH. 71
Trinitarian and Antitrinitarian Protestantism, and
aiding their deliverance from the partial bondage to
scholastic methods in which they were all still held.
A renovation more radical than any hitherto
known suddenly consummated this transition, and
Bacon and Descartes were the renovators the sys-
tems of both products of the Reformation. While
Bacon (1561-1626) is regarded as the forerunner of
modern philosophy, and Thomas Campanello (1568-
1639) as his echo, Descartes (1596-1650) is the ac-
knowledged founder. Next, after him we find the
pinnacles of philosophic development occupied by
Spinoza, (1632-1677,) Locke, (1632-1704,) and Leib-
nitz, (1646-1713.)
Bacon, not so much an originator of a new method
as an instaurator of a new era, resisted tradition in
physical science, insisted upon independent induc-
tive processes, and thus effectually broke from the
authority and the scientific methods of the Church
and the schoolmen, as Luther had broken from the
authority of the hierarchy. But Bacon's task was
only partly done. Descartes, following a few yearr
later, inaugurated the new method, which character,
izes modern from mediaeval philosophy. Separat-
ing it from theology, he cast aside a,ll assumptions
and all human authority. It WP,S a complete revo-
lution, and bold and rapid movements followed in
the realm of inquiry. "The most stupendous thought
that was ever conceived by man, such as had never
72 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
been dared by Socrates or the Academy, by Aris-
totle or the Stoics, took possession of Descartes, in
his meditations, on a November night, on the banks
of the Danube. His own mind separated itself from
every thing besides ; and, in the consciousness of
its own freedom, stood over against all tradition, all
received opinion, all knowledge, all existence ex-
cept itself, thus asserting the principle of individu-
ality as the key-note of all coming philosophy and
political institutions. Nothing was to be received
as truth by man which did not convince his own
reason. Luther opened up a new world, in which
every man was his own priest, his own intercessor ;
Descartes opened a new world, in which every
man was his own philosopher, his own judge of
truth."*
Luther preceded Descartes one hundred years,
inaugurating the great revolt against despotism,
and furnishing the inspiration for later and more ad-
vanced movements. Both were bold reformers
the one against the despotism of an absolute hier-
archy, and the other against the despotism of scho-
lasticism, products of the middle ages. And yet
there are radical and practical differences betweeu
the two revolts. " The one was the method cf
continuity and gradual reform ; the other of an in-
stantaneous, complete, and thorough revolution.
The principle of Luther waked up a superstitious
* Bancroft's " History of the United States," vol. ix, p. 500.
FAITH. 73
world, ' asleep in the lap of legends old/ but did
not renounce all external authority. It used drags
and anchors to check too rapid progress, and to se-
cure its mooring. So it escaped premature con-
flicts. B? the principle of Descartes, the individual
man at once, and altogether, stood aloof from king,
Church, universities, public opinion, traditional sci-
ence all external authority and all other beings
and, turning every intruder out of the inner temple
of the mind, it kept guard at its portal, to bar the
entry of every belief that had not first obtained a
passport from himself." *
After his death, the philosophy of Descartes ex-
tensively spread. The Churches and schools of
Holland were full of Cartesians, and the old scho-
lastic philosophy became ridiculous. The Armin-
ians and Coccijeans generally espoused his system,
and modifications followed in all branches of inquiry.
By some persons, the spirit of free inquiry has
been regarded as an unmitigated evil in its origin,
and also in its entire influence and tendencies.
Such, however, is not the testimony of history, nor
will it be the verdict of the future. In its inception
it sprung out of the roots of the great Reformation,
and partook largely of its spirit and aims. The
leading principles in both movements were germane ;
and, in their legitimate and unperverted operations,
each seems to have been intended by Providence to
* Bancroft's " History of the United States," vol. ix, p. 500, etc.
74 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
supplement the other the one a protest against
hierarchical assumptions and intolerance, and the
other against the not less rigid intolerance of me-
diaeval scholasticism, in its theology, science, and
general inquiry. As revolts against the enslave-
ment of the religious and intellectual natures, their
mission was one of universal emancipation. Each
had its legitimate sphere.
Descartes, the powerful promoter of the purely
rational system, from whose bold conception the
radical method sprang, recognized an act of faith as
lying at the basis of all the processes of the intel-
lect, and proclaimed " God the first, the most cer-
tain, and the best of all truths." He comprehended
that " if God is not, the most regular exercises of
thought may deceive us, and that our reason affords
us no guaranty." He confessed that all the force
of his proofs " depends upon a belief which precedes
them that, without this belief, man is condemned
to irremediable doubt." The spirit of free inquiry,
therefore, in its inception, was not irreverent and
reckless ; it did not disregard all limitations im-
plied by faith in God ; but it was a revolt against
the intellectual intolerance engendered amid the
damps and darkness of the Middle Ages.
This is the mission upon which it was sent forth
by " Him who is the head over all things unto his
Church ; " to deliver his truth from the spirit of
dogmatism ; to dissolve the rigid and perverted
FAITH. 75
forms into which it had been wrought by the iron
logic of the mediaeval scholastics, and to restore it
to the more simple, practical, and vital forms in
which the great Teacher and his apostles originally
presented it. This is still its mission, and none the
less because it has been perverted in the interest of
unbelief. But, even as an opposing force, many in-
cidental benefits have accrued to the cause of truth,
under the wise overrulings of Him who is its su-
preme source. The emancipation of mind from in
tolerance and old-time superstitions is now a rapid,
world-wide tendency, in which many forces, both
of faith and unbelief, either wittingly or unwitting-
ly, are participating.
In the history of Protestantism this new spirit has
been marked by hesitation, circumspection, moder-
ation, and gradual progress ; but elsewhere it has
been reckless and defiant. In England and France
free thought became " speculative, skeptical, and
impassioned. This modern Prometheus, as it broke
its chains, started up with revenge against the eccle-
siastical terrorism which for centuries had seques-
tered the rights of mind." Henceforth it every-
where actively assailed Christianity and invaded all
departments of science, politics, morals, and relig-
ion, proving the truth of the sentiment that " Error
is often the handmaid of Providence," rendering
two services to truth intellectual and moral com-
pelling clear definitions and testing offered proof?
76 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and also rousing languid natures into a passionate
love for the truth which error threatens.
We have noticed the rise of the spirit of skepti-
cism, in advance of the Reformation, out of the
tiansitional movements produced by the Revival
df Learning; and we have seen, on the continent
of Europe, a succession of skeptical inquirers ex-
tending through a period of two hundred years,
from the Platonic Academy in the gardens of the
Medici, founded 1440-1445, to the first develop-
ment of deism in England. The period of Herbert
(1581-1648) and Hobbes, (1588-1679,) the first En-
glish deists, synchronizes with that of the French
skeptics, Sanchez, (1563-1632,) Le Vayer, (1586-
1662,) and Gassendi, (1592-1655.) Herbert and
Hobbes traveled extensively and resided on the
Continent, enjoying personal acquaintance with
Gassendi, and other leading thinkers.
From the time of Locke, whose philosophy was
" a middle term between Bacon's empiricism and
Descartes' rationalism, on the one hand, and En-
glish deism and French materialism, on the other,"
English skepticism, adopting, in part, Locke's sen-
sationalism, entered upon a new stage of develop-
ment, under the leadership of Tolland, (died. 1722,)
the Earl of Shaftesbury, (died 1713,) Collins, (died
1729,) Woolston, (died 1733,) Mandeville, (died
1733,) Tindall, (died 1733,) Chubbs, (died 1747,)
Lord Bolingbroke, (died 1751,) and David Hume,
FAITH. 77
(died 1776) the representatives of English deism,
in the dark period, in the last century, to which we
shall hereafter refer.
Under such powerful forces, the revolt against
Christianity, in England and France, became wild,
reckless, and ruinous to faith and morals. Many
sacred truths were seriously periled, and their influ-
ence over many minds was destroyed. Such results,
if not a necessity, were nevertheless a natural re-
bound from spiritual despotism and dogmatism.
The scholastic philosophy, upheld by the hierarchy,
and designed as a coat of mail to protect the Church,
became a compress, preventing growth and stifling
life. Disastrous consequences to Christianity could
hardly fail to ensue, when a philosophy so subtle,
so foul and tyrannical, but baptized and canonized
as of God, should be exposed as " a barren, mon-
strous mockery." But is the party which tears
away the mockery, or the one which, made and up-
held it, responsible for the unbelief which follows ?
Let not Protestants timidly distrust their own
principles.
If the rebound from this hideous despotism was
sometimes ruinous, it was not less necessary to the
progress of humanity. u It is difficult for the human
mind to stop in revolutions. When it begins to
cast its false creeds and false gods overboard, it is
apt also to throw away the true." It was spiritual
despotism, paralyzing and darkening the intellect
78 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of the nations, that made mental emancipation wild,
and mad with revenge for its long enslavement.
Protestantism, sharing in the same trammels,
started upon its career. A new philosophy, a child
of Protestantism, sprang up in her pathway, and
carried into practical operation, in the realm of
thought, the protest against human authority, which
Protestantism had made against the Papacy. Its
providential mission was to purify, although, some-
times, under a perverted spirit, it has been as by
fire. Modern physical science and modern skepti-
cism, both starting ahead of Protestantism, and
antitrinitarian Protestantism starting quite as early
as orthodox Protestantism, all in the same partial
bondage to scholastic methods and the dogmatic
spirit, have jointly shared in these modifying proc-
esses, and have mutually improved each other.
By such processes of development have these
great modern forces come into being, taken their
position, and started in the race, as working factors
in the realm of mind. They have had points of
unity and also of antagonism. Criticism, waste,
and even destruction, have been inevitable ; but,
through them, pure truth and the best life of the
race have been promoted. Which has best endured
the purging, reaped the largest gains, and conferred
the greatest blessings upon the world, the records
of the centuries show.
CHAPTER III.
PHASES OF PROGRESS.
Threatening Aspects.
Safeguards.
Encouraging Indications.
FAITH. 81
CHAPTER III.
PHASES OF PROGRESS.
THERE is an impression in some quarters that
serious changes are taking place in the relig-
ious thought of the world, that Protestant Chris-
tianity is losing its fundamental' doctrines, and its
hold upon the respect of cultivated minds, and that
these things bode evil to the Churches, whatever
their statistical exhibits may show.
Let us look at the worst aspects of the case, and
see whether the symptoms are grounds of hope or
alarm.
The first and most palpable indication is a drift
of religious ideas. The present is called an age of
infidelity outside of the Church, and of a decay of
faith within. Changes are taking place in the ac-
cepted theology. Theological controversies are di-
rected to new issues, or to old ones in modified
forms. Some religious thinkers are changing their
religious bases ; some are rationalizing their beliefs,
and adjusting them to new conditions of progress ;
others are toning up and growing more conservative ;
and others still are anxiously wondering whither we
are tending.
6
62 PROBLEM OF RELIGTOUS PROGRESS.
Many are seeking relief from the embarrassments
of close elaborated systems ; the " liberal " are grow-
ing more " liberal," some, to be borne into seas
where deadly calms reign, or others upon sunken
rocks, or into engulfing quicksands of doubt and de-
spair. Nevertheless, formulated creeds and books
of discipline remain, and are likely to remain, to
serve as buoys, pointing out deep water, and indi-
cating the relative position of the fleet.
A considerable " drift of educated thought in
science, in art, and in philosophy is away from
Church life.""* Some are " losing veneration for the
Church and its ordinances," and no longer regard it
as "a divine institution, in any peculiar sense," but
only as "an association for education." It is popu-
lar to kick against dogmas. The old systems, which
"supposed a logical connection in divine truth,"
" like a pyramid, tapering, point by point, to its
very apex," and devolving upon its builders a kind
of necessity to cramp Christian doctrine into forms
harmonizing with preconceived ideals of theological
symmetry, have fallen into disfavor, and, with many,
into contempt, as relics of the old scholastic habit.
The temper of the present age instinctively shuns
every thing tending that way. Theodicies are put
forth less elaborately and more modestly.
* The author acknowledges his indebtedness in this and in several
of the following paragraphs, to Rev. Heniy Ward Beecher's Ser-
mons upon "Christianity Unchanged by Changes."
FAITH. 83
We find some men atheistically inclined, " not
ignorant and malignant men," but men who " pro-
fess to have trained their minds to regular and
scientific thought," who favur those views quietly
and tentatively, and are " not active propagandists."
Others, persons of mystical poetic natures, may be
called moderate pantheists, whose god is " the sum
of all the facts, attributes, and possibilities of all
his creatures," but without personality, vague, mys-
terious, illusive.
Others are unsettled in regard to certain ques-
tions about the Bible as to the extent of revelation
whether inspiration reached beyond the natural
faculties of the writers; whether it was " an injec-
tion of thought;" whether it extended to every
word of the original language ; whether it was a
special gift to the few men who penned the biblical
books, or whether it has been bestowed upon other
great religious teachers, in other lands and periods.
There have been pressing inquiries in regard to the
authority of the Scriptures ; and how far, " in the
last estate," doubtful points " come for audience
and adjudication before the court of the reasonable
moral consciousness, in an intelligent age." Rules
and methods of biblical interpretation are undergo-
ing modification.
Specific doctrines also have been subjected to
close questionings. The trinity, depravity, redemp-
tion, the resurrection, penalty, the scope and im-
0.
84 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
port of miracles, - and other doctrines, have been
freshly and broadly discussed, the fields plowed and
replowed, subsoiled and drained. In some circles,
the Christian ideas included in the words sin, re-
pentance, pardon, atonement, salvation, holiness,
etc., as long interpreted in religious thinking, are
radically opposed or explained away. It is said,
and not without some basis in facts, that " thinkers
of great boldness and breadth," ministers and lay-
men, may be found in the "evangelical" Churches
of Scotland, in the Church of England, and in the
"orthodox" Churches in the United States, who
are turning aside from the old faiths.
Among many literary, scientific, and even busi-
ness men there seems to exist a conviction that
there is a radical conflict between the current the-
ologies and the natural sciences, while the attitude
of others is simply one of indifference to all theol-
ogy, and even to religion. A few years ago Mr.
Ruskin said that so utter was the infidelity of
Europe, no statesman would dare, in defending a
measure before Parliament or the Corps Legislatif,
to quote from the Bible in support of his position.
About the same time, at the annual meeting of the
Christian Evidence Society, in London, Lord Salis-
bury, the chairman, said, " The intense importance
of the prevalent unbelief pressed itself upon the
minds of thoughtful Christians, and acquired new
weight every day. . . . They were standing in one
FAITH. 85
of the most awful crises through which the intellect
of Christendom had ever passed. They could point
to many distinguished intellects from which all
that belief had gone in which until now the high-
est minds coincided." Lord Shaftesbury, following
him, said that " bishops, deans, men of science,
the greatest minds in literature, avowed infidel prin-
ciples." In the " Atlantic Monthly," for Novem-
ber, 1879, Professor Gold win Smith also joined in
this gloomy representation of our times, and dis-
coursed upon " The Prospect of a Moral Interreg-
num," the result of the wide-spread infidelity of the
present time. " Three fourths of the strongest and
most original minds among the younger graduates of
our American colleges " are claimed to hold " be-
liefs or unbeliefs diametrically opposed to the accept-
ed faith of Christendom." Others, of less mental in-
dependence, are presumed to be unbelievers from
fashion, or from pride of association ; and others still
are said to be simply in a condition of non-belief a
state of vacancy and indefiniteness because the)
hardly know what to believe.
To complete the picture, " Lawyers, physicians,
teachers, scientific men," says Rev. H. W. Beecher,
44 sit for various reasons under pulpit instruction,
some because they feel a want of reverence and
worship ; some because their social relationships
make it convenient for them ; some because they
are bringing up families, and they think it a good
86 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
thing for their children to start in this way, and not
blossom out into more perfect knowledge until
their habits and characters are formed ; and some
because it is respectable, fashionable, and profita-
ble ; but, whatever the cause may be, our Churches
are filled with men who are very much at sea in
regard to their religious beliefs." *
In some localities, though in comparatively small
circles, but active and many-seeming, a Babel of
beliefs, new-fangled and old-fangled, loads the air.
** Pre-existence of souls, regeneration by moral sua-
sion, the religion of philanthropy, the ethics of ex-
pediency, the Bible to be judged by man's intui-
tions, inspiration reduced to genius, the gospel of
physical strength, the gospel of aspiration, the eter-
nity of matter, millenarianism, science the new
Bible, the nineteenth century to sit in judgment
on God's word and to select what it shall be pleased
to believe, (the twentieth century of course to have
the same privilege ;) why, these that I have named
and they are enough to dizzy one's brain are
only the first syllables of the clamor of the semi-
infidel Church of the day." f
We cheerfully allow a considerable part of the
foregoing statements, but these things excite in us
no alarm. Why?
* Discourse preached May 19, 1878. "Christian Union," p. 14.
f "The Light: Is it Waning?" p. 61. Congregational Publica-
tion Society, 1879.
FAITH. 87
I. The condition of things is not wholly nor even
mainly the result of human depravity.
Many love darkness and hate the light, and car-
nal hearts resist the higher and purer truths. But
this too common source of unbelief does not always
nor even approximately account for the tendencies
under consideration. A large portion of the world,
in the Churches and out of them, is actuated by
other motives. Many excellent persons, of high
character and devout spirit, in these matters pro-
ceed thoughtfully, hesitatingly, and even regret-
fully, because of the perils attending both the sur-
render and the restatement of ideas.. But they
think they have gleams of new truths, or of new
forms and relations of truth ; and, probably, in
some cases, they are more conscientious in saying
what they do not believe than others in averring
what they do believe. Such changes come not out
of the baser elements of human nature, but largely
out of higher aspirations. Bishop Butler said :
11 There is a middle ground between a full satis-
faction of the truth of Christianity and a satisfac-
tion to the contrary. The middle state of mind
between these two consists of a serious apprehen-
sion that it may be true, joined with a doubt
whether it is so." Such a state may co-exist with a
simple love of the truth, and earnestness in seeking
it. Such doubt is not criminal ; it is one of the
stages of progress in faith and knowledge. Faith
88 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
becomes stronger from the investigations which
honest doubt has prompted. Skepticism, in these
milder forms, is only a suspense in the midst of
investigation.
Some of the more moderate forms of the ration-
alistic spirit in our times, whether wise or unwise,
have not been unfriendly, in intent, toward Chris-
tianity. They have simply attempted to discover
elements of truth in the various systems of theology
and mythology. The philosophy of Hegel was an
elaborate attempt to identify the deductions of
reason with the system of the Church. But how
often, in such attempts, is faith surrendered at the
outset, and reason accepted as supreme and final. A
heavy discount must therefore be charged to even
honest doubt, because of the unrest and peril which
follow in its path. But we are learning that this is
only one of many deductions, which the cause of
Christianity is obliged to endure, in its attempts to
save and utilize imperfect beings ; that it can afford
to endure very much of such loss ; and that often,
in the long stretch of events, large compensations
come from these losses. The truth is strengthened
and fortified by the stimulus they awakened.
2. Nor is the present situation an indication of
the weakness of evangelical Protestantism.
It is rather an evidence of life, of activity, of
mental inquiry and investigation normal condi-
tions of intelligent souls. Questions will arise, and
FAITH. 89
there will be trouble in settling them. Rome says,
" Come, cast yourself into my lap. I have settled
every thing infallibly. My children have no doubts.
Every thing with me has been thoroughly arranged,
established, and vindicated for ages. No anxious
changes are necessary. I have a tribunal that an-
swers infallibly all inquiries. I give peace and
rest." But God did not make man to live on any
such basis, furnishing him with a " packed-up trunk
of beliefs," to take with him all through the way of
life. Nor does Rome meet the needs of her own
children. Large numbers of thinkers in France to-
day and elsewhere have broken radically from
their traditional faith, and hold only a nominal re-
lation with the Papal Church as quasi Catholics.
We are made to be " thinkers with the divine
Thinker," responsible for thinking and deciding.
The spirit of inquiry and investigation may some-
times be bold, rash, irregular, discarding all respon-
sibility. It may push sacred and well-established
principles into temporary peril, with no just vindi-
cation for such conduct. But inquiry is the path
of individual improvement, a normal state.
Considered as a whole, it should be regarded as
the progressive movement of the world's best relig-
ious thought. Does it sometimes seem irregular
and destructive ? So is all progress, for it is the
advance of living elements over the decayed. It is
inevitable that sharp criticism, friendly, unfriendly,
90 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and even destructive, will arise to test truth. By
such tests, piercing to the core, we get rid of old
superstitions and husks destitute of vitality. Thus
have physical science, medicine, and civil law been
improved. What immense revolutions have taken
place in all departments of knowledge !
Old ideas, sometimes, are inadequate to our
needs. The old phraseology will not stand the
test of the progress of philology, and, therefore, old
formularies and technicalities must be modified.
Any other course would logically carry us back to
the phraseology and demonology of the Middle
Ages. Some persons see only evil in such things,
and think that evangelical ideas are dying out. But
we see in them signs of the world's growth under
the power of a divine impulse. Behind it are divine
factors, and it will be sustained by the world's best
consciousness. Its product will be a larger and
deeper expression of the Divine will. During the
past three centuries great factors have been oper-
ating for the production of these results ; and Prot-
estantism has been an influential participator, and
also, by just right, a leading beneficiary.
3. Truth does not depend upon speculative con-
ditions, nor upon purely intellectual apprehension.
The heart-needs conserve and guard it.
We are little inclined to agree with those who
think the power of Christianity, even with persons
of the highest, intellectual culture, depends upon its
FAITH. 91
alliance with philosophical theories. " The Gospel
of Christ is not the faint negative of the daguerreo-
typist, which cannot be discerned by the usual
vision, but must be held up to a certain light, under
the direction of an adept operator. The Christian
religion has never identified itself with any system
of science, astronomical, intellectual, political, or
natural." Liberal speculators in theology, and the
champions of " advanced thought," forget these
things, and are frequently betrayed into the old
scholastic method of forcing the truth into meta-
physical formulas an offense to all just minds.
How much wiser and truer the higher philosophy
which aims to meet the deeper wants of the heart,
than that which comes from intellectual restless-
ness or morbid curiosity, or is hampered by precon-
ceived logical conditions !
In this country, where liberalism in religion has
been carried to the furthest limit, there seems little
reason to fear that radical unbelief will be either
extensive or permanent. " There are aberrations
and vagaries without number, but they are, for the
most part, ephemeral. The experiment of letting
people think and preach what they like has not been
so destructive as it was once thought it would be.
... A practical adoption of the mild methods,
which must after all be conceded to be in the true
spirit of the Gospel, cannot, we think, with truth be
said to have been unfavorable to its influence. It
92 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
is a fact of impressive significance that the minister*
who has borne liberalism in religion to lengths here-
tofore unknown in any public speaker professing
Christianity, has lately, in terminating his labors in
New York, deliberately announced his dissatisfac-
tion with the results of his own teachings, whether
in himself or others." f
The human race cannot live in a state of unbe-
lief. The soul needs faith and the benefit of faith,
and will demand " the bread of life."
Said Professor Austin A. Phelps, in " The Inde-
pendent," a few years ago : " There was truth in
Robespierre's argument for the Being of God, that
' Atheism was an aristocratic belief.' It is true of
every variety of infidelity that, sooner or later, it
contracts itself within the circle of a few minds.
The masses of men never permanently embrace it.
The history of infidelity proves this. It has been
beaten so many times, in so many varieties, beneath
such adroit disguises, under such diversities of cir-
cumstances, with such accumulations of disadvan-
tage on the side of faith, popular opinion has so
often spumed it, respectable opinion has so often
become ashamed of it, that now we have settled
upon this as one of the axioms of Christian pol-
icy, that infidelity cannot become the permanent
belief of any people. The mania of suicide lurks in
its blood. Sooner or later a secret power in the
* Rev. O. B. Frothingham. f " New York Evening Post."
FAITH. 93
popular instinct of faith will creep around it in a
circle of fire, and it will act the scorpion in the fa-
ble. This we believe simply because the history of
unbelief is a succession of such deaths. It is always
braying in some new form, and is always gasping in
some old form."
4. The present indications and tendencies of re-
ligious thought are not new, unusual, and excep-
tional experiences in the world's history, nor in the
history of modern times.
We see but a tithe of these things as compared
with Europe, in the opening half of the last century,
when "the human mind, pushing its inquiries in all
directions, approached and entered the domain of
metaphysics in religion. The disclosure of ancient
errors in natural science as well as the falsehoods of
the Papacy, had cherished a rising habit of doubt,
till incredulity was regarded a token of superior
wisdom. . . . Theologians felt the influence, or
yielded without consciousness. It was as if a mist
had silently overspread the landscape ; and neither
tree nor hill, neither the house of God below nor
the bright heaven above, was seen clearly. Not a
land in Western Europe was exempt from that pe-
culiar atmosphere, in which all forms of speculation
glided into incredulity." *
u Never," said a writer in the " North British
* Bishop Burgess, of Maine, in " Pages from the Ecclesiastical
History of New England."
94 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Review," * has century risen on England so void
of soul and faith as that which opened with Queen
Anne, (1702,) and reached its misty noon beneath
the second George (1732-1760) a dewless night
succeeded by a sunless dawn. . . . The Puritans
were buried and the Methodists were not born. . . .
The world had the idle, discontented look of the
morning after some mad holiday." In 1729 the
heads of Oxford University complained of the
spread of open deism among the students, and
Cambridge struggled with the same evil. Isaac
Taylor says: "At the time when Wesley was acting
as moderator in the disputations at Lincoln College
(1729-1734) there was no philosophy abroad in the
world there wa 3 no thinking that was not atheis-
tic in its tone and tendency."* The "Weekly Mis-
cellany" (1732) said: "Freethinkers were formed
into clubs to propagate their sentiments, and athe-
ism was scattered broadcast through the kingdom."
The pastoral letters of Bishop Gibson f show that
the most pernicious efforts were put forth to under-
mine religion. " Some set aside all Christian ordi-
nances, the Christian ministry, and the Christian
Church ; others so allegorize Christ's miracles as to
take away their reality ; others display the utmost
zeal for natural religion, in opposition to revealed ;
and all, or most, pleading for liberty, run into the
* " Wesley and Methodism." Am. edition, p. 33.
f Quoted in Tyerman's " Life of Wesley," vol. i, p. 219.
FAITH. 95
wildest licentiousness. Reason is recommended as
a good and sufficient guide in matters of religion
and the Scriptures are believed only so far as they
agree or disagree with the light of nature." A
writer in " Blackwood's Magazine " * said, " Pope
held his hereditary faith without the slightest ap-
pearance or pretense of any spiritual attachment to
it." Sir John Barnard said, " It really seems to be
the fashion for a man to declare himself of no re-
ligion." Montesquieu said, " There is no religion
in England. If the subject is mentioned in society
it excites nothing but laughter. Not more than
four or five members of the House of Commons are
regular attendants at Church." Bishop Butler said :f
" It is come, I know not how, to be taken for
granted, by many persons, that Christianity is not
so much as a subject of inquiry ; but that it is now,
at length, discovered to be fictitious. And, accord-
ingly, they treat it as if, in the present age, this
were an agreed point among all people of discern-
ment, and nothing remained but to set it up as a
principal subject of mirth and ridicule, as it were by
way of reprisals for having so long interrupted the
pleasures of the world."
The clergy were thoroughly infected by this tend-
ency. Natural religion included most of their the-
ology. The great doctrines of the Reformation
* About ten years ago.
f Preface to his "Analogy of Religion." 1736.
96 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
weie banished from the universities and the pulpits.
A large class of divines held to a refined system of
ethics, having no connection with Christian motives
and the vital principle of spiritual religion. Arian-
ism and Socinianism were fashionable in the Estab-
lished Church, and the prevailing creed of the most
intelligent Dissenters. Among the Presbyterians
the departures from orthodoxy were very grave.
Three professors in the University of Glasgow were
Antitrinitarians. An able school of Arian teachers
arose among the Presbyterians, in Exeter,* about
1717. It spread through Devonshire and Cornwall
to the metropolis, and established itself in Salter's
Hall, in London, among the descendants of a Pu-
ritan ancestry. " Latitudinarianism spread widely
through all religious bodies, and dogmatic teach-
ings were almost excluded from the pulpit." f
Mr. Leckey says : J " The doctrines of depravity,
the vicarious atonement, the necessity of salvation,
the new birth, faith, the action of the Divine Spirit
in the believer's soul, during the greater part of the
eighteenth century, were seldom heard from in the
Church-of-England pulpits. The rationalistic ten-
dencies of the Church rendered it little obnoxious
to skeptics." Leslie Stephen says : " Hume and
Paley curiously agreed in recommending young
* " England in the Eighteenth Century," by Mr. Leckey, vol. ii,
p. 586. f l bid - P- 34t- \ Ibid., p. 593.
" History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century."
FAITH. 97
men of freethinking tendencies to take orders ;"
and that " the skepticism of the upper classes was
willing that the Church should survive, though
faith might perish/* Many of the clergy " taught
but little that might not have been taught by Soc-
rates or Confucius." " Dogmatic teaching had dis-
appeared from the pulpits ;" " Christianity was re-
duced to the lowest terms," though some gave it
" a quasi assent, because they felt it to be essential
to society."
I have given but a partial exhibit of the facts,
showing the dubious prospects of religious faith in
England, in the first half of the last century. Many
other dark shades might be added to the pictures.
But this brief portrayal shows that the peculiar ten-
dencies in religious thought, which we have recog-
nized as existing in our day, are far more hopeful,
and less radical, less widespread, and less influ-
ential, than in Great Britain a century and a half
ago. This was recently admitted in the "Spec-
tator," and yet, said the writer, " English unbelief
melted away, and was succeeded by vehement forms
of faith." Mr. Leckey also recognized this fact.
A similar condition of things existed in the
United States in the last two decades of the last
century, extending somewhat into the present cent-
ury. The most radical and revolting forms of infi-
delity prevailed throughout the land. It especially
infested the colleges and the legislative bodies.
98 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The leading statesmen were Atheists or Deists.
A writer in the "Index"* said: "All the great
men who took part with Mr. Paine in laying the
foundations of the government of the United
States, with very few exceptions, held the same
theological sentiments, although they did not pub-
licly identify themselves with him in his attacks
on the Church and its religion. And they would
have completely revolutionized the sentiments
of the American people but for the influence
of George Whitefield and John Wesley." Chan-
cellor Kent (1765-1847) said,f "In my younger
days there were very few professional men that
were not infidels ; or at least they were so far in-
clined to infidelity that they could not be called
believers in the truth of the Bible." Bishop
Meade J vividly portrayed the prevalence of infi-
delity in Virginia at this time. Scarcely a young
man of any literary culture believed in Christianity.
As late as 1810, he said, " I can truly say that in
every educated young man in Virginia whom I met
I expected to find a skeptic, if not an avowed un-
believer." Said Rev. Lyman Beecher : "The
boys who dressed flax in the barn read Tom Paine,
and believed him." Yale College was pervaded
with infidelity, and the dominant habit of thought
* May 13, 1870.
f Conversation with Governor Clinton, of New York.
^ " Old Churches and Families of Virginia." "Autobiography."
FAITH. 99
was skeptical, when Dr. Dwight assumed the presi-
dency in 1745, only four or five of the students
being members of the Church. The members of
the first Senior Class reciting to him were more
familiarly known by the names of Diderot, D'Alem-
bert, Voltaire, Rousseau, Robespierre, Danton, etc.,
which they had assumed, than by their own. To
overcome the current infidelity taxed Dr. Dwight
to the utmost, but he triumphed.* Princeton Col-
lege was no better, and William and Mary's College
was called a hot-bed of infidelity. Transylvania
University, in Kentucky, founded by the Presby-
terians, was wrested from them by infidels. At
Bowdoin College, Me., in the early period of the
presidency of Rev. Dr. Appleton, only one student
was willing to avow himself a Christian. Dr. Ap-
pleton ".stood in the current of destruction," with
prayers, arguments, and pleadings, " long before he
saw the tide turning." Mr. Parton, in his " Life of
Aaron Burr," speaking^of the infidelity of this period,
says it was confidently predicted that Christianity
could not survive two more generations.
Dr. Timothy Dwi'ght's description of this period
will remind us of many things we see and hear in
our days :
" Striplings, scarcely fledged, suddenly found that
the world had been involved in general darkness
through the long succession of preceding ages, anc 1
* See " Sketch of Dr. Dwight's Life," in vol. i of his works.
ioo PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
that the light of wisdom had just begun to dawn
upon the human race. All the science, all the in-
formation, that had been acquired before the last
thirty or forty years stood, in their view, for noth-
ing. Experience they boldly proclaimed a plod-
ding instructress, who taught in manners, morals,
and government, nothing but Abecedarian lessons,
fitted only for children. Religion they discovered,
on the one hand, to be a vision of dotards and
nurses ; and, on the other, a system of fraud and
trick, imposed by priestcraft, for base purposes,
upon the ignorant multitude. Revelation was
found to be without authority or evidence, and
moral obligation a cobweb, which might indeed
entangle flies, but by which creatures of stronger
wing nobly disdain to be confined. The world,
they concluded to have been probably eternal, and
matter the only existence. Man, they determined,
sprang, like a mushroom, out of the earth by a
chemical process ; and the power of thinking,
choice, and motivity were merely the result of
elective affinities. . . . From France, Germany, and
Great Britain the dregs of infidelity were vomited
upon us. From the ' System de la Nature ' and
the ' Philosophical Dictionary ' down to the * Po-
litical Justice ' of Godwin and the * Age of Rea-
son/ the whole mass of pollution was emptied
upon this country. The last two publications
flowed in upon us as a deluge. An enormous edi-
FAITH. 161
tion of the ' Age of Reason ' was published in
France, and sent over to America, to be sold at a
few pence per copy, and, where it could not be sold,
to be given away." *
Rev. Dr. Baird saidf of this period : " Wild and
vague expectations were every-where entertained,
especially among the young, of a new order of
things about to commence, in which Christianity
would be laid aside as an obsolete system." When
Rev. Dr. Nathan Strong became pastor of the Con-
gregational Church, in Hartford, Conn., in 1774,
there were only fifteen male members in the Church,
and the spirit of infidelity was already rife in all
the larger towns. " The religion of Christ and its
ministers were often the subjects of open ridicule
and contempt, even on the part of those who were
regarded as being entitled to the first standing in
society." " Mr. Strong was not unfrequently at-
tacked in public places by some of this class of
persons, who, under the guise of a pleasant raillery,
sought to inflict a wound upon his feelings, and to
sink him and his office in the deference of the
thoughtless bystanders." J
There was also a vast amount of what was called
" heretical " sentiment in the Churches. The Uni-
versalist denomination was just starting ; the Chris-
* Dwight's " Travels," vol. iv, pp. 376, 379, 380.
f " Religion in America."
| " American Quarterly Register," Nov., 1840, p. 132.
102 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tians had a small commencement, in 1801 ; the
Unitarian break did not come until 1815-1830, and
the Hicksite Friend movement until 1827. All the
" orthodox " bodies were largely pervaded by the
leaven of Arian, Socinian, restoration, and no-fu-
ture-punishment ideas. As we survey present in-
dications, it is difficult to conceive the extent of
their prevalence at that time in the Churches *of
" evangelical " Protestantism an infection from
English and European sources, running back, as
we have seen, through Papal lines in Italy and the
gardens of the Medici, to ante-mediaeval times,
though in part a revolt from High Calvinism.
A Congregational pastor, Rev. Dr. Huntington,
of Coventry, Conn., wrote the first book ever pub-
lished in this country advocating the " death-and-
glory " doctrine, subsequently so conspicuous in
the teachings of Rev. Hosea Ballou. And Rev.
Dr. Strong, of Hartford, Conn., in answering it, in
1796, deplored the extensive prevalence of those
sentiments in the "evangelical" Churches. A Con-
gregational pastor, Rev. Charles Chauncey, D.D.,
of Boston, and a Baptist minister, Rev. Elhanan
Winchester, of Philadelphia, wrote the first bocks
in favor of Restorationism published in America.
Boston Congregationalism, comprising nine
Churches, had become substantially Unitarian, and
only waited for a convenient time to take the
name. Nine towns within ten miles of Boston had
FAITH. 103
no Congregational Church which remained true to
orthodoxy. " In 1800," said Dr. Bradford,* " it was
confidently believed there was not a strict Trinitarian
clergyman [Congregational] in Boston." Rev. Dr.
Eckley, at the " Old South," was variously regarded
as a " High Arian," a " Semi-Arian," or a Socin-
ian , and his Church, in the language of Dr. Lyman
Beecher, " was shivering in the wind," and accord-
ing to Dr. Bacon, " if an exception, might cease to
be an exception " to the general Unitarian revolt.
The most intense opposition to " evangelical" ideas
pervaded the higher social and cultured classes,
and dominated Boston. The little nucleus of de-
voted Trinitarians which organized the Park-street
Church, in 1809, was called to endure an amount of
opposition and obloquy unknown in more recent
times, for the major sentiment of the city was over-
whelmingly against them. When Rev. Dr. E. D.
Griffin entered upon the pastorate of the Church,
in 1811, his task called for a stout heart and a bold
hand. The current of prevailing thought was so
averse to evangelical religion, that to raise a voice
in its defense was to hazard one's reputation among
respectable people. " The finger of scorn was
pointed at him, and he had to breast a tide of mis-
representation and calumny, of opposition and ha-
tred, which would have overwhelmed him if he had
not the spirituality of an apostle and the strength
* " Life of Dr. Mayhew."
104 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of a giant." * Attracted by reports of Dr. Griffin's
genius and eloquence, gentlemen of culture and
standing occasionally ventured into the church to
hear his Sunday evening lectures, but in partial
" disguise " so unpopular was it to visit an evan-
gelical church sitting " in obscure corners, with
caps drawn over their faces, and wrappers turned
inside out." f
This condition of religious sentiment dominated
Eastern Massachusetts, and more or less pervaded
other localities throughout the State. The ortho-
dox historian of Massachusetts Congregationalism
says, that of two hundred Congregational Churches,
east of Worcester County, not more than two in
five were under evangelical pastors. In 1795, Socin-
ian ideas, from reading Dr. Priestley's writings by
members of the parish, drove Dr. Jonathan Ed-
wards, 2d, from his Church, in New Haven, Con-
necticut, as similar notions had driven his father
from Northampton forty years before. The Bishops
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in their Pastoral
Address, in 1816, deplored .the prevalence of Arian
and Socinian notions in their denomination. No de-
nomination was wholly exempt, so extensive had be-
come the infection originally exhaled from the bosom
of Rome, before the birth of Protestantism, and as-
sailing her theology in every period of her history.
* "American Quarterly Register," 1840, p. 374.
f A Statement, by Rev. Nehemiah Adams, D.D.
FAITH. 105
During the period from 1800 to 1830 there were
numerous schisms, secessions, and withdrawals from
the evangelical Churches, which entered into the
formation of the Unitarian, Universalist, Christian,
and the Hicksite bodies, thus relieving the evangel-
ical Churches of these heterogeneous elements. At
this time, too, under the leadership of Rev. Hosea
Ballou, Universalism took on its Arian type.
During the same period the infidels in Europe re-
newed their efforts to uphold their cause. Between
1817 and 1830 5,768,900 volumes of the works of
Voltaire, Rousseau, and other infidel writers were
circulated on the Continent.*
But if these dark periods had their bold doubt-
ers and deniers, they also had " hearts of faith and
tongues of fire." Go'd has never been without stand-
ard-bearers the true " spiritual pontificate " the
heroic succession, whose lineage is divine. Under
such leadership the spell of unbelief, in England
and America, was broken, and the desolating hosts
were turned back. Within the past thirty years
they have rallied and assailed Christianity again. x
without and within ; but this time they have been
unable, even temporarily, to check the progress of
the Churches. Our banners have uninterruptedly
advanced, even more than in any previous period
in the history of Christianity.
But more than this should be said. Already we
* "American Quarterly Register," August, 1830, p. 33.
io6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
discern indications that the skepticism of our times
is staggering and receding. As English Deism,
French Atheism, and the Old Rationalism of Ger-
many, have been successively dismissed by thinking
men, so also the mythical Rationalism of Strauss,
Bauer, and the Tubingen critics, has run its course ;
Pantheism has lost its prestige; Materialism is en-
countering among its friends " significant shrugs of
suspicion and dissent ; " skeptical scientists are be-
coming weary in their long and fruitless waitings
for the foundations of religious hope to be laid in
irrefragable axioms ; Spiritism has come to disgrace
by the foulness of its tendencies, the monstrosity
of its claims and the gigantic frauds of its seances ;
Ingersollism has damned itself with its terrible blas-
phemies ; and Free Religion is only a respectable
annual spectacular parade of many-shaded inquirers,
rapidly decreasing in number.
Is it said that the evangelical Churches have lost
their hold upon the intellect of the age? How, and
wherein ? When was it equally identified with the
best, the most vigorous, and the most learned cult-
ure? It is a matter of clear demonstration * that the
students in the colleges of the evangelical Churches
in forty-eight years (1830 to 1878) increased twice
as much, relatively, as the population of the coun-
try, and also that a half more, relatively, of the
* See Chapter on " Protestant Progress in the United States ;" also
44 Table of Colleges " in the Appendix.
FAITH. 107
students in those colleges are professing Christians
than forty years ago. The colleges 01 the evangel-
ical Churches increased eight fold, and the popula-
tion three and a half fold. These things indicate
that evangelical Christianity is fully identified with
the advanced educational movements of society, and
entrenched in the highest institutions of culture.
The editor* of a leading religious journal, a man
whose scholarship, culture, and breadth of Christian
fellowship are conspicuous, recently said :
" It is one of the most familiar incidents in the re-
oorts of modern sermons delivered in ' liberal ' pul-
pits, and in the pages of periodicals published under
the patronage of the people who listen to such dis-
courses, to find the assertion, in various forms, that
what are termed evangelical views of revealed truth
such as those relating to sin and its retribution,
to the triune personality of the Godhead, to the
vicarious sufferings of Jesus Christ, and to the re-
newal of nature and character through faith in the
Son of God have become obsolete in the denom-
inations which professedly hold them, and that it is
only through disingenuousness that many minis-
ters and members still remain in connection with
Churches that hold to these doctrines as their creed.
It is affirmed that they are rarely preached from the
pulpit, that they are often disclaimed by ministers
* Rev. Bradford K. Peirce, D.D., in " Zion's Herald," Boston
Massachusetts, August, 1880.
io8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of orthodox Churches, and that they are not ac-
cepted by the membership.
" Now, if these preachers and writers of ' liberal '
views simply mean to say that there has been a
great change in what may be called the philosophy
of religion in the development of a system of hu-
man discipline from the love rather than from the
sovereignty of God or if they affirm only that the
necessary fruits of faith in a life of obedience and
holy charities are more emphasized than they were
when the early Protestants were insisting upon faith
in contradistinction to the prevailing sacramental
popery of the hour, or that the future retributions
of sin are urged in less figurative and material
forms, little objection would be made to the state-
ment. But if it is meant that there is any serious
weakening throughout the evangelical Churches on
what is vital in these truths, we must say, the per-
sons that hold these opinions have generalized too
rapidly from very narrow premises. In large cities
and considerable towns there may be found, over
certain Churches of a special character, men of
strong, original characteristics, of marked popular
gifts, and usually of no inconsiderable self-conceit,
who studiously shun the common modes of express-
ing and interpreting the doctrines of Revelation,
and are disposed to give great prominence to the
relative duties of life. These men can all be readi-
ly numbered on the ringers of one hand. And it is
FAITH. 109
noticeable, in nearly every case, that when these men
are called upon by ecclesiastical bodies or by the
public press to define their position, they are ready
to affirm that, in their own forms of expression,
they hold all the vital doctrines of evangelical Prot-
estantism. Even Mr. Beecher, far the most inde-
pendent man of this description, and most disposed
to teai in pieces formal creeds and traditional forms
of religious expression, after one of his most abrupt
and apparently positive renunciations of certain
orthodox beliefs, hastens at his earliest opportunity
in a succeeding discourse, in view of the public
comments, to say that, with his own explanation
of them, he still holds the evangelical as distin-
guished from the liberal interpretation of the divine
nature and the New Testament plan of salvation.
" But outside of these well-known pulpits and a
few periodicals, the great body of ministers and
members in the orthodox Churches are entirely at
rest in reference to their catechisms. Our theolog-
ical seminaries, those which are not Arminian, while
largely modifying the Calvinistic philosophy of pre-
vious centuries, have found no difficulty in ex-
pounding the Scriptures in the light of pronounced
evangelical views. Modern destructive biblical crit-
icism has had no perceptible influence in shaking
the faith of those institutions in the authenticity
and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. In spite of
the busy activity of this school of critics, there never
i io PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
was an hour when so many commentaries, written
by accomplished Hebrew and Greek scholars, were
published or so widely distributed. All that is val-
uable, that can stand sifting in this criticism, has
been accepted, and a clearer and better interpreta-
tion of the Bible has been secured ; but not one of
the doctrines of the Nicene creed has been touched
by this criticism, or any important excisions made
in the received canon of Scripture.
" Take the great national Churches, more than
keeping pace, as they do, with the growth of popu-
lation the Baptist, the Presbyterian, and the Meth-
odist and upon these millions of members scarcely
any appreciable impression has been made by these
modern liberal views. All over the land the old
and impressive truths of Revelation, sanctioned by
a Book in which the hearers have not the slightest
distrust as to its divine origin and as accepted
through the ages, are preached every Sabbath, and
taught to susceptible childhood in the Sunday-
schools, The Episcopal Church every-where utters
its positive creed and sings its sublime evangelical
anthems, as if a liberal discourse had never been
preached or destructive criticism never laid its
hand upon any sacred text. The Roman Church,
with its millions of believers in its professed infall-
ible truth, goes on year after year peremptoiily
affirming these articles of faith. There could be
nothing more unsustained by the facts than these
FAITH. 111
assertions that the evangelical views have become,
or in any wise, as the signs of the times indicate,
are liable to become, obsolete. The great revivals
of religion, occurring in the centers of population
and among multitudes liable to deteriorate morally,
more than supply any loss that may happen from
the lapse of certain professed evangelical teachers,
or the deterioration of vital faith on the part of
worldly members of wealthy Churches."
The foregoing facts show that the tendencies, in
our times, to what has been styled " advanced
thought," are not new ; that it is not new for men
of education and literary taste to assail " evangel-
ical " theology, or even Christianity itself; that the
forces now assailing Christianity and sacrificial or-
thodoxy are less numerous, less dominant, and less
influential than in the two previous periods of un-
aelief within the last one hundred and eighty years ;
,;hat skeptical thought repeats itself in varying forms
and in intermitting waves ; and that out of each pe-
riod of darkness and doubt Christianity has emerged
to achieve greater conquests than before. The re-
vival and wonderful progress of evangelical Protest-
antism in England since the first half of the last
century, has become one of the palpable and incon-
trovertible facts of history, and its unparalleled
growth, in this country, during the present century,
is not less indisputable. In another place the facts
of its progress will be. fully demonstrated. Never
ii2 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
before was there so much intellect and culture de-
voted to the vindication and propagation of evan-
gelical religion as at the present time.
In and around Boston, eighty years ago, the
liberal Churches, so called, immensely preponder-
ated in influence, wealth, and number, over the
evangelical Churches. It is difficult for us now to
appreciate the situation then, when within a radius
of ten miles around Boston there were twenty-three
liberal Churches to eighteen evangelical, and in
nine towns there were no Churches which, in the
schism that soon followed, remained true to ortho-
doxy. Now, within the same limits, there are two
hundred and fifty-seven evangelical Churches to
eighty-one liberal Churches, the former gaining two
hundred and thirty-nine and the latter fifty-eight.
Morally and socially, the evangelical gain has been
even greater. The " Harvard Advocate " recently
stated a kindred fact. Inquiries extending through
fourteen hundred graduates of Harvard College,
within the last ten years, show only two skeptics, one
an Atheist and the other an Agnostic, and never
before were there so many evangelical Church mem-
bers among the students of that institution. How
different from the condition of the colleges in 1 800 !
CHAPTER IV.
DELIVERANCE
Restatement.
Vindication.
Rejuvenation.
True Ideal.
FAITH. 1 1 5
CHAPTER IV.
DELIVERANCE.
THE purification of theology, under the modi-
fying processes noticed in previous pages, has
been sometimes mistaken for disintegration and de-
cay. But the changes have chiefly related to surface
forms rather than to central truths, to the husk
rather than to the kernel ; while some things once
magnified are now minified, and others once in the
background are now brought to the front. A purging
process has been apparent in religious phraseology
and never more so than at the present time. Great |
advances have been made in purifying and simplify-
ing Christian doctrine and in* developing fuller con-
ceptions of the truth. Never, since the days of
primitive Christianity, has the liberation from arbi-
trary systems been so complete ; and never before
has Christian truth stood upon conditions so favor-
able to the best and most enduring influence. We
have learned that no setting of the truth in systems
of human construction can save it or make it effect-
ive. Truth, in its purest and simplest forms, is its
own best conservator and advocate.
Under Edwards, Hopkins, and the Andover and
ii6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
New Haven theologians successively, Calvinism has
undergone great modifications. The thought of the
age, and especially the Arminian theology, have
continually warred against it, producing a wide-
spread revulsion. The doctrine of the imputation
of Adam's guilt to his posterity; the old Calvinistic
view of depravity, which represented unregenerate
men as just as bad as they can be, and capable of
acting only in the direction of evil ; and the theory
that regeneration is effected by irresistible grace
effectually calling and saving men, are only faintly
shadowed in any of the writings of this age ; while
the coarser and more offensive features of reproba-
tion, infant damnation, etc., are rapidly dropping
out of sight. Few American preachers we doubt
if one can be found will allow Calvin's " Institutes "
to be their theological standard. Calvinism, whether
sublapsarian or supralapsarian, is now seldom ut-
tered in pulpits. The* religious consciousness rec-
ognizes it as effete, or as rapidly becoming so, not-
withstanding an occasional quasi-ratification of the
Westminster Catechism.
The doctrine of vicarious atonement, while firm-
ly held as substitutional, is no longer preached
as a ransom of war, or a commercial equivalent ;
and Christ is not often portrayed as a culprit,
shrinking under the bolts of his Father's personal
wrath, and sinking to the misery of the damned.
Literal fire and brimstone, as the final portion of
FAITH. 117
lost souls, is now generally discarded, although held
by restorationists and evangelicals alike within the
present century.* The doctrine of the Trinity no
longer savors of Tritheism. The six creative pe-
riods are now interpreted by only a few scholars as
six literal days. The theory of literal verbal inspi-
ration has fewer advocates than formerly. Very
considerable modification in the principles and
methods of biblical interpretation have taken place.
These are a few of the more noticeable changes.
But with these changes the central thoughts in
all these doctrines remain. Striking to the core, we
find them still cherished by the Churches. Take
the great working doctrines of Christianity, strip
off the husks, and state them in their simple forms :
there is a personal Deity ; God is a sovereign ; he
is a being of infinite perfections ; he is the ultimate
source of life and being ; a mysterious Threeness,
so distinct as to justify the use of three distinct
names and the personal pronouns, is united in the
oneness of the Godhead ; the Bible is the divinely
inspired book ; it is so inspired as to be the author-
itative rule of faith and practice ; the soul is imma-
terial and immortal ; man is accountable to God ;
he is so depraved and weak as to need a Saviour ;
he must be spiritually changed in order to rise into
harmony with holiness ; whatever education or
* See " Discourses on the Prophecies," by Rev. Elhanan Win-
chester, 1800, vol. ii, pp. 86, 131, 132.
ii8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
culture may do, the Holy Spirit is the efficient agent
in effecting this change ; supreme Deity was em-
bodied in the personage Christ Jesus ; the death of
Christ and his resurrection is the sole basis of par-
don and ground of hope for sinners ; the effects of
faith in Christ are the love of God shed abroad in the
heart and a new life ; Christ will personally come
the second time ; he will raise the dead ; there will
be a day of future general judgment, and a state of
fixedness of character involving endless retribution
and reward in the future world. These vital cen-
ters of the doctrines of Christianity are held, with
little dissent, by all the denominations of evan-
gelical Protestantism. The exceptions are exceed-
ingly rare among men capable of constructing a
system, and there is no prospect of a change in
these essential elements. Christianity is losing
nothing of its inherent original self only that which
human imperfection, subtlety, and folly have at-
tached to it, trammeling and falsifying it.
Modern Philosophy and Science, either Directly or
Indirectly, have Confirmed many of the Fundamental
Tenets of Evangelical Theology.
The Kantian philosophy, rising little later than
German rationalism, exerted an important and rela-
tively ennobling influence upon rationalistic theol-
ogy, and upon other currents of modern thought.
"Immanuel Kant," says Kurtz, " saved philosophy
FAITH. 119
from superficial self-sufficiency and quackery, and
led it out upon the arena of a mental conflict un-
paralleled in power, energy, extent, and continuance.
Kant's philosophy stood altogether outside of Chris-
tianity, and upon the same ground with theological
rationalism. Nevertheless, by digging deep into
this ground, it brought out much superior ore, of
whose existence vulgar rationalism had no idea, and
became, without wishing or knowing it, a school-
master to Christ in manifold ways. Kant demon-
strated the impossibility of a knowledge of super-
sensuous things by means of the pure reason, but
acknowledged the ideas of God, freedom, and im-
mortality, as postulates of the practical reason,
and as the principle of all religion whose con-
tents are above the moral law."
Kant's philosophical writings are only a single
example of the many contributions of modern phi-
losophy to the cause of religious truth. They have
modified the various forms of radical doubt, and the
lines of true speculation are converging more and
more to the lines of Christian truth.
When we closely analyze the situation we find
little blank Atheism in the world, and whatever of
Atheism and Pantheism does exist appears almost
wholly in speculative forms, tentatively put forth,
in connection with individual efforts, to explore the
nature and mode of the Infinite. While Hartmanr.
professedly holds atheistic opinions, his philosophy
120 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
sometimes leans toward Theism ; for he talks of the
" One Identical Subject," " One Absolute Subject."
In some form, though often imperfect and unsatis-
factory to us, the existence of the Supreme Being
is recognized by skeptical, philosophical, and scien-
tific writers. We seem to be doubling the Cape of
Fear as to the effect of natural science upon specu-
lative Theism, notwithstanding the God of scientific
Theism is a different being from the God of Chris-
tian Theism often only the force, personal or im-
personal, behind all phenomena. But this is a step
far in advance of the blank Atheism and the Athe-
istic theory of chance, so popular a hundred years
ago.
Heinholtz said, "If we direct our attention to the
progress of science, as a whole, we shall have to
judge of it by the measure in which the recognition
and knowledge of a causative connection, embracing
all phenomena, has advanced." Kant said, " The
great whole would sink into the abyss of nothing, if
we did not admit something originally and independ-
ently external to this infinite contingent, and as
the cause of its origin." " Atheism," said Comte",
" is a consecration of ignoble metaphysical sophisms,
the last and least durable of all metaphysical
phases, * inferior to the rudest philosophy of The-
ism,' and 'the natural adversary of the positive*
spirit." " I am no atheist," Comte" protested warm-
ly to a visitor, two years before his death ; " my at-
FAITH. 121
titude is that of belief: if not, I should have no right
to treat of these matters. If you will have a theory
of existence, an intelligent will is the best you can
have." * Herbert Spencer, while professedly dis-
carding the accepted idea of God, as the creator of
all things or of any thing, and pushing back the first
great cause as far as possible, like others of his kind,
sometimes falls back upon anthropomorphic con-
ceptions of deity, and speaks of the " Incomprehen-
sible Existence," the " Unknown Cause," the " In-
conceivable Greatness." " From the very necessity
of thinking in relatives," he says, " the relative is
inconceivable, except as related to a real non-rela-
tive." f Professor Tyndall said, " The idea of Cre-
ative Power is as necessary to the production of a
single original form as to that of a multitude." J
Professor John Fiske has said, " Provided we bear
in mind the symbolic character of our words, we
may say, ' God is a Spirit.' " And Mr. R. W. Em-
erson, after having long dwelt in the dreamy soli-
tudes of Pantheism, has come to be, in the estima-
tion of his intimate friend, Mr. Alcott, a Chris-
tian Theist.
The Bible, so sharply and extensively assailed by
scientists during the last forty years, is rapidly
emerging from the conflict, with multiplying attes-
*See review in "Christian Examiner," July, 1857, pp. 25-27.
+ " First Principles," p. 96. \ Belfast Address.
" Cosmic Philosophy," vol. ii, p. 449.
122 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tation of victory. It has required a little time to
mature the new developments of modern science ;
but since they have become more fully understood,
they have been readily adjusted to the great cycle
of truth, where God is the center, and all truth is
in harmony with him. We are learning to read the
old faiths in the light of modern thought. We seem
to have reached the third of three * great epochs in
the questions between science and the Bible. The
first was the period of violent attacks upon the Bible
from the scientific side, and of violent defense.
This was followed by another period, of ingenious
attempts to reconcile religion and science, attended
with compromises and concessions on both sides.
The third period, upon which we have now entered,
is one in which the question is hardly asked
whether religion and science can be reconciled, but
rather, How are we to use the help of both in a ra-
tional interpretation of the universe ?
The multiplication of theories of biblical inspira-
tion show a deepening conviction of some peculiar
inspiration, and consequently some peculiar value
to be attached to the Bible; and the recent ex-
tensive attempts of students to compare it with
other great religious books is a substantial con-
cession to its high character. Professor Bowen f
*See "Old Faiths in a New Light." By Newman Smhh.
Charles Scribner & Sons. 1879.
f Professor Bowen's " Philosophical Lectures," p, 456.
FAITH. 123
quotes Hartmann as saying, "The germs of all
revealed religion are to be found in the heated
fancies of the mystics, these fancies being due to
inspiration from the Unconscious; " and then adds,
" The evidence adduced goes far enough only
to confirm a text of Scripture, which he uncon-
sciously labors to establish, that * The prophecy
came not in old time, by the will of man ; but
holy men of God spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost/ "
Some of the specific doctrines of revelation have
received ample confirmation from the best and
strongest developments of modern thought.
Kurtz said, Kant's " sharp criticism of pure reason,
his deep knowledge of human weakness and de-
pravity, revealed in his doctrine of the radical evil,
his categorical imperative of the moral law, were all
adapted to produce in profound minds a despair of
themselves, and a want which Christianity alone
could fully satisfy." But these confirmations are
broader than mere individual opinions. " From a
new quarter, namely, science itself, in the theory
that is now held, and is likely to be more widely
held, of the origin of man, the doctrine of uni-
versal sinfulness is assumed and believed, not as a
dogma, but as a conceded universal fact. . . . Un-
expectedly, from right out of the camp of science,
comes a belief in the doctrine which underlies
the whole truth of religion the doctrine, namely,
124 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of the universal lost condition of man." * The
modern doctrine of the solidarity of the race cor-
roborates this fundamental truth of the Bible.
As to the recognition of the divine in Christ
there has been a perceptible advance during this
century. While some have gone down to purely
humanitarian views, others have risen to higher
conceptions. Leaving the Arian conception al-
most wholly, as a thing of the past and utterly un-
satisfying, they have advanced to the Sabellian and
the Logos theories, and some to the orthodox view.
Renan could not resist the inclination to call Christ
" divine," to speak of " his divinity " as " resplen-
dent before our eyes," and to declare that " he is
the center of the eternal religion of humanity ; "
while Schelling, after years of ranging between the
idealistic and the realistic systems, near the close of
life, declared that St. Paul's language, (Rom. xi, 36,)
'* For of him, [ Christ,] and through him, and to
him, are all things ; to whom be glory forever,
Amen," " is the foundation and last word of
philosophy, . . . the key-note of the harmony
between revelation and philosophy." Mr. Beecher
has well said : " Henceforth, I think, in the en-
deavor of mankind to formulate a conception of
God, no thinker and no theologian will ever be able
to frame a distinct and efficient conception of the
* Sermon on "Christianity Changing yet Unchanged," by Rev.
H. W. Beecher, p. 33.
FAITH. 125
divine nature without using the materials which
were developed in the life and character of the Lord
Jesus Christ."
Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P.,* has very forcibly
and justly said, " You will hear much to the effect
that the divisions among Christians render it impos-
sible to say what Christianity is, and so destroy all
certainty as to what is the true religion. But if the
divisions among Christians are remarkable, riot less
so is their unity in the greatest doctrines that they
hold. Well-nigh fifteen hundred years . . . have
passed away, since the great controversies concern-
ing the Deity and the person of the Redeemer were,
after a long agony, determined. As before that
time, in a manner less defined, but adequate for
their day, so ever since that time, amid all chance
and change, more, aye, many more, than ninety-
nine in every hundred Christians have with one
voice confessed the deity and incarnation of our
Lord, as the cardinal and central truths of our re-
ligion. Surely there is some comfort here, some
sense of brotherhood ; some glory due to the
past, some hope for the times that are to come."
As to the doctrine of immortality, the Church
has abated nothing; but, in addition to all former
proofs, the later interpretation of Scripture, and
the latest revelations of physical and psychological
science, have augmented the great volume of testi-
* Address at the Liverpool College, Dec., 1872, pp. 27, 28.
126 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
mony in its favor. The greatest names in modern
philosophy, Bacon, Descartes, Leibnitz, Locke,
Kant, Hamilton, and even Hartmann, are subscribed
in its support. Mr. R. W. Emerson, at one time in
grave doubt in respect to personal immortality, has
recently expressed himself more clearly and confi-
dently in its favor.
As to the doctrine of accountability to God, the
multiplication of oaths and obligations, and their
substitution, in modern society, in the place of
former physical methods of binding men, show its
increasing recognition. Kant's " categorical imper-
ative of the moral law " has put this doctrine on an
unshaken philosophical foundation of great weight
with thinking men, and modern skepticism has vir-
tually recognized it in her new styles of speech-
talking of duty, obligation, and responsibility, of
" the sacred obligation of truth," of responsibility for
belief, of " the duty " of professing one's belief, and
respecting the beliefs of others. Polite literature
has recently come to abound in these allusions
though often we fear that they contain only half-
truths. Such ideas were unknown, however, to
classical antiquity, and to the skepticism of other
clays, as Isaac Taylor has clearly shown.
As to the doctrine of retribution, there have been
some vacillations and transitions ; but, on the whole,
there is an increasing confidence. From 1815 to
1850 the form of belief held by Rev. Hosea Ballou,
FAITH. 127
and others of his class who departed from ortho-
doxy, was that all suffering on account of sin will end
with the close of this life : and that, at death, every
person will enter upon a state of holiness and hap-
piness. Since 1850 this view has almost wholly
disappeared, and retribution is now almost univers-
ally recognized by the same class of " liberalists," as
running on indefinitely into the future world. In
respect to the endlessness of retribution, there
has been, in some evangelical circles, a weaken-
ing of confidence, while others are more strongly
fortified than ever. Many of the ripest scholars
in the " liberal" bodies, particularly the Unita-
rian, have conceded that " by no just interpreta-
tion of the Scriptures can the final recovery of
all souls be made to appear," although they still
cherish the doctrine on philosophical hypotheses.
Others in those bodies have gone so far as to
declare that even the philosophical hypothesis of
such recovery is not sustained by natural theology
nor analogy, and is opposed by the weightiest
names in the realm of speculation. On the latter
point Professor F. H. Hedge, D.D., has cited Plato
and Leibnitz. *
We believe that, on the whole, the doctrine of
retribution has gained ground during this century
in the number of its advocates and the force of its
* See " Concessions of Liberalists to Orthodoxy," by Rev. D.
Dorchester, D.D. Boston : D. Lothrop & Co.
128 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
advocacy. The discourses and writings of Dr.
Channing, W. G. Eliot, D.D., Orville Dewey, D.D.,
F. H. Hedge, D.D., E. H. Sears, D.D., Rev. J. C.
Kimball, W. H. Rider, D.D., and many others, freely
attest this position. The debates in the Univers-
alist ministers' meetings in Boston, in November
and December, 1877, abounded in very strong
statements of the law of retribution.*
The comparative study of religions, sometimes
conducted in a spirit hostile to Christianity, is mak-
ing the absolute superiority of Christianity more
manifest ; and the religious element in the human
soul is coming to be more definitely accepted, as
not an accident, but an essential factor, of human-
ity. It is making it apparent that the soul has a
Godward side, and that to discredit the religious
instinct is to throw doubt on all the powers of the
soul, and involve it in the blankest skepticism. The
Christian conception of God and man is demonstrat-
ing its compatibility with a perfect religion and a
perfect life ; and the thorough study of the soul
seems likely to lead to the acceptance of all the
leading tenets of Christian theology, as the only
adequate foundation " the union of all antitheses,
the solution of all problems, and the reconciliation
of all opposites."
The ethics of Christianity were never so widely
accepted in the current literature, the common be-
* See numbers of " The Universalist " during those months.
FAITH. 129
lief, and actual life of the race. They are sifted in-
to all departments of 'knowledge. New Testament
morals are universally acceded and dominant, not
because of civil or ecclesiastical authority, but from
a rational conviction of their essential rightfulness.
And the ethical theory that man has a religious nat-
ure, with religious needs, a conscious dependence
upon the Divine Being, and a necessity for worship
in short, that in the constitution of man there is
a foundation for religion is now indicated by the
greatest thinkers, as the result of careful scientific
analysis. David Strauss, after years of wild and
destructive criticism, in his last book declared
that in both the fields of positive and natural the-
ology there exist valid grounds for the deepest
and purest piety, which, " under its twofold as-
pect of utter dependence and utter reliance, con-
stitutes the inmost core of all the manifestations of
religion."
While we may question whether such an answer
can be given from his stand-point, we nevertheless
rejoice to see so sturdy a critic acknowledge a sure
ground of personal piety and spiritual consolation.
It was the ground of Schleiermacher, in his great
and successful contest with the Materialists and
Pantheists, and on which we hope many may yet
be led " into all truth."
These fundamental indications of the great ethic-
al ideas of Christianity are establishing it more and
9
130 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
more firmly ; and no skepticism, no change of insti-
tutions, no revolution, nothing that has been devel-
oped by philosophy, from Descartes to Spencer and
Hartmann, can change the eternal fact inherent in
men's nature, of the necessity of utter dependence
and utter reliance upon God for true spiritual repose
and consolation.
Thus is Christianity being continually vindicated,
on some new basis, according to the changing phases
of knowledge and opinion, and more impregnably
established in candid minds.
While the fundamental elements of Christianity
have been so fully attested and vindicated by the
best 'modern thougJit, and even by candid modern
skepticism, on the other hand, radical unbelief has
demonstrated its poverty and powerlessness for good.
Some of the more courageous skeptics have at-
tempted to push their theories to ultimate practical
results, in order to show that their systems are
capable of meeting the deeper needs of humanity.
But their efforts have only led to constrained or
implied confessions. A writer in the " Wesminster
Review," for October, 1872, set for himself the task
of estimating the capacity of the prevailing materi-
alistic philosophy to console and elevate human
life. Its incentives and comforts to cultivated
minds were portrayed with feeble, vanishing touch-
es ; the necessities of. the common heart of human-
FAITH. 131
ity were overlooked, and the article closed with
seemingly conscious revulsion and disgust. On
any purely materialistic basis life loses its noblest
aims and ideals ; self-sacrifice its significance and
impulse, and virtue becomes an empty, unreal
thing.
None more than the materialists believe in " the
order of things," but they shrink from carrying
their theories to the lowest terms. Thus reduced,
the Systems of Schopenhauer and Hartmann would
eclipse the universe. Their inevitable sociological
bearings, so deteriorating and destructive in prac-
tical life, have opened many minds to their true
character. Dr. Strauss, as we have noticed, lived
long enough to see the unsatisfactory character of
his form of unbelief, because it left great needs of
the soul unmet, and to write his later work, " Ein
Bekenntniss," (A Confession.) He did not wholly
recant, but, rejecting the theories of Schopenhauer
and Hartmann as contrary to the best consciousness
of the race, this great critical iconoclast set forth
the valid ground of the purest and deepest piety
" the innermost core of all the true manifestations
of religion utter dependence and utter reliance
upon the Divine."
Thoreau, a gifted and beautiful writer, an ardent
lover and worshiper of Nature, in one of his pecul-
iar moods, complained of the failure of his panthe-
istic worship to satisfy the deeper needs of his con-
132 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
sciousness, and expressed the sadness of his inner
life in these lines :
" Amid such boundless wealth without,
I only still am poor within ;
The birds have sung their summer out,
But still my spring does not begin."
With characteristic frankness, Mr. O. B. Froth-
ingham, a leader in " Free Religious " doubt, said
of the system he had championed, " The new faith
cannot compete with the old in what are com-
monly called ' benevolent enterprises.' It would
not, probably, if it were as rich and capable as the
old faith is. Not because the Radicals are stingy,
as has been over and again asserted, but because
they cannot accept the principle on which these
exercises are conducted, and no other principle is yet
in working order. No original work is yet possible*
. . . The new methods of charity reasonable,
scientific, practical have not yet been devised.
. . . The new faith will exhibit its charity when it
finds an object which makes to it a commanding
appeal." *
More recently, in terminating his labors in New
York city, Mr. Frothingham " deliberately an-
nounced his dissatisfaction with his own teachings,
whether in himself or in others. "f
*A Discourse on "The Living Faith," by O. B. Frothingham.
New York, 1871.
| " New York Evening Post," 1879.
FAITH. 133
Full of significance are also these lines of Mat-
thew Arnold :
" The sea of faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating to the breath
Of the night-wind down the vast edges drear,
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another ! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain ;
And we are here, as on a darkling plain,
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorance armies close by night."
On the other hand, the modifications in the state-
ment of evangelical theology , we have noticed, have
not been attended with a decay of faith or a decline
of power, but the contrary.
We do not believe there has been any alarming
decay of real faith, but that faith has extended her
empire, even in the realm of the highest thought.
Some lights have indeed been flickering, and oth-
ers have gone out ; but vastly more lamps are
being lighted where they never before burned than
have been extinguished where they have been burn-
ing. To change the figure, the apparent loss has
been only a process of sifting more closely the
134 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
wheat from the chaff, in which the kernels of
religious truth have become cleaner and more
precious.
With Mr. Beecher,* we say, " I do not believe
that theology is ever going to pass away. I be-
lieve that to past theologies we owe a world of
gratitude. They were efficient in bringing us up
to the times that have gone by, and they were
good enough for the periods in which they existed ;
but that there is no more light to break out of the
word of God, or out of human experience, I do not
believe. . . If we are losing our hold upon the older
systems, or a part of them, it is only that we are
preparing the way to build larger, deeper, and with
more authority and power."
While we are shedding a few of our worn-out
garments of technical expression, and rehabilitating
ourselves, the Christian standards are advancing.
Notwithstanding the gloomy mutterings of modern
pessimism, faith in humanity, in God, in Christ's
supreme divinity, and in the doctrinal and ethical
system of Christianity, is increasing. Rightly inter-
preted, the present situation means that " Chris-
tianity has brought the world up to the point
where some of the old forms and dogmatic termin.
ology are no longer adequate to embody and ex-
press it." Such has been the " augmentation of
* Sermon in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., May 19, 1878,
p. 19.
FAITH. 135
individual manhood," the " elevation of social rela-
tionships/' the expansion and purification of philo-
sophic thought, and the enlargement of the world's
life.
While this rehabilitating process has been going
on in the Protestant Churches, a similar process has
been going on, not only in medicine, in statesman-
ship, and political economy, in education and gen-
eral science, but also in the realm of skepticism.
Infidelity has changed its dress and form. Even
its spirit has been much altered, showing the modi-
fying influence of Christianity. The defiant temper
of the Diderots and Paines has disappeared. What
naturalist now speculates like D'Holbach ! What
historian discourses like Volney ! And what meta-
physician dogmatizes like Helvetius ! Infidelity
has accommodated itself to Christian phraseology ;
has accepted, in the form of half-truths, fundament-
als of the Christian system, and has become more
rational and religious in its unbelief than a hundred
years ago. However deceptive its attitude in these
accommodated forms, the fact itself is a concession
to the substantial truth of Christianity, a confession
of the need of its faiths. Take a single specimen.
By " a kind of an intellectual hypertrophy, it has
developed a peculiar pantheism call it eclecticism,
spiritualism, free religion, or what not which
agrees in representing all things " as chaos, or tem-
porary forms of God/' and claims that all religions
136 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
are more or less true " phenomena, race drifts, or
meteoric clouds " shedding luster on our darkness,
and affording gleams of light and hope. " Infidel-
ity can now deny a personal God, and at the same
time, as by a double consciousness, breathe out the
devotional language of the Bible, in " spurious re-
ligiosity." It adorns itself with Christian senti-
ments, and the " words which belong of right to
faith alone." " It talks of prayer, permeates litera-
ture with a self-conscious devoutness, breathes
heavenly aspirations, wails languidly over the evils
of the world, talks wonderfully of the All-Father,
and even sings David's Psalms." *
What a prodigious power is this in Christianity,
that " even its deadly foes and traducers borrow its
speech and trade upon its capital. This borrow-
ing and wearing in public view the insignia of the
divine kingdom obscures somewhat the distinction
between the body of faith and the body of unbelief,
renders Christianity less conspicuous by reason of
her very triumphs, and forsooth perils somewhat
her hold upon undiscriminating minds." But it is
her glory that, as a living power, she has so wrought
upon her great enemy as, by constraint, to change
it so far into her own image. A conviction of the
substantial truth in Christianity has constrained to
this result. The solid central beliefs of the Churches
have compelled these things.
* " The Light ; Is it Waning ? " Boston. 1879.
FAITH. 137
Amid all the changes that have been made, the
aggregate of skeptical gain has been nothing. Not
a single great concession has been made by Chris-
tianity to unbelief, not an evidence surrendered, not
one sacred book has been given up ; while " the life
of Jesus is still majestic and divine the insoluble
enigma to the cold critic, but attractive and com-
prehensible to the humble believer."
Looking at the positive side, " What has the
Church been doing ? Has the apologist made no
advance? Is the map of Christendom now just
what it was when the old independence bell broke
with its first glad peal of liberty to both the hemi-
spheres ? We would not boast, but we must be
grateful. God has been in the storm, and made it
speed the ship of truth as in no equal period since
the first Christian Pentecost. . . .
" The first great reply to Strauss was Neander's
1 Life of Christ.' It was a constructive work, and
not simply negative the first of a long line of de-
fensive writings of the foremost theologians of the
century. It would take a good octavo to contain
merely the titles of the works that the last forty
years have produced in favor of the divine founda-
tions of Christianity. The war has been carried
into -the enemy's camp, and the leading skeptical
writers are more busied, just now, with defending
their own ground than with advances upon the
Church. . . . The recent apologetical literature of
138 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the Church is able, copious, and aggressive beyond
example. There is no question that the most vig-
orous theologians of the present day are thoroughly
orthodox, in whatever country we look for examina-
tion. Poor, skeptical Heidelberg, rich only in his-
torical and natural associations, has lost her great
number of theological students, because she has
been giving them nothing but ' husks, that the
swine did eat ; ' while evangelical Leipsic, Halle,
and Berlin are thronged with busy seekers of ' the
bread of life.' . . .
" The recent activity in missionary labor, in evan-
gelistic work at home, in providing modest places
of worship for the threadbare, despondent multi-
tude, in humanitarian open-handedness, in paternal
love, in care for the scriptural knowledge of the
young, is a sure indication of the new voyage of
evangelical Christianity from its old traditional
moorings, out upon the broad sea of discovery and
possession. The great forces of civilization are now
Christian, and they are becoming more positively
so every day." *
These purifying processes through which it is pass-
ing are restoring theology to the original type of
Christian doctrine.
It is one of the clearest and most hopeful indica-
tions of the times that, under the progress of phil-
* Rev. J. F. Hurst, D.D., in the "Christian Advocate."
FAITH. 139
ological study and biblical interpretation, the true
light is so breaking out of God's word ; that Chris-
tian doctrines are outgrowing many of the old de-
cayed formularies, casting off unwarranted append-
ages, assuming less dialectical and more simple
forms, and that, under all these processes, the core
of each remains, not only undecayed, but more vig-
orous and vital than ever the best vindication of
eternal truth. Church creeds, too, are shortening,
are confined to root principles of the great doctrines,
and stated in simpler forms. This is also a growing
characteristic of modern doctrinal preaching and of
the theological writings of our times. Simplicity
and directness in the statement of religious truth
New Testament statements are likely to command
liberal premiums in the coming ages.
Truth is simple. The maturest thought embodies
itself in the simplest forms ; and the broadest anal-
ysis and most rigid synthesis fail of their ends un-
less they arrive at simple propositions. Systems of
truth are well, if not hewn to suit the caprice of the
builder. Dialectical knowledge may serve useful
purposes, especially in detecting sophistry and sub-
tleties ; but dialectical arts savor of guile, and true
men, loving truth and seeking only truth, have no
use for them except for defensive warfare. Sim-
plicity and directness characterized the inculcations
of the great Teacher and his apostles. Apostolic
Christianity was content with simple styles and
140 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
forms, discarding the subtleties and elaborate meth-
ods of the schools.
Primitive Christianity was long without an elab-
orate authoritative creed. The so-called Apostles'
Creed is supposed to have had its origin subsequent
to the time of the apostles, taking form by slow ac-
cretions, and coming into its present shape in the
third century. And yet this was the period of the
greatest purity and power of the Church, when least
shackled by dogmatic forms. Thus did the true
philosophy and the ever-faithful friend of philoso-
phy start upon their missions. But, in the course
of time, both lost their simplicity and purity, and
fell into a long and grievous bondage, from which
they are now emerging.
Such is the emancipation which has been going
on in Protestant theology, and the progressive re-
covery of the ideal of Christian truth, first shadowed
forth in the apostolic Church, but long lost under
the rubbish of Popery.
In a recent discourse Rev. Phillips Brooks very
appropriately said : " I believe that religion, so far
from being on its death-bed, is just ready to enter
on a completer life than it has ever before had ; and
I believe that it must come by the results of relig-
ious inquiry, of which so many men are afraid, as
we have learned so much about religion, knowledge
has grown so wonderfully within our own short age.
Now, to many men it seems that that growth of
FAITH. 141
knowledge has undermined the foundations of re-
ligious faith ; out of that knowledge must come
the grounds of a purer faith. It must come (it is
come) just as fast as knowledge brings us into con-
tact with the truth. What I believe we have a
right to look for as religious men is a great religious
revival which shall not be a despairing retreat upon
worn-out rituals, which once had life in them ; not
a great excitement of feeling ; but a devout search
after truth for the cause which gives to every truth
its meaning, and the triumphant acceptance of Him
as the glorious Lord, the example of our life, which
shall be as much more thorough and devout and
religious as it is intelligent over the best faith of
ages that have gone before us."
In Rome the traveler is assured, that however
violent the changes of temperature without, the
deep interior of St. Peter's preserves its uniform
medium. So is it with the spiritual life of the
Church. Unmoved by changes of outward condi-
tion, and slight variations in forms and terminology,
and feeding upon the covenantb and promises, it
realizes a more profound entrance into that interior
heart of doctrine in which unity, simplicity, and
power dwell.
What, then, have been the effect of these modifi-
cations of doctrinal statements upon the moral in-
fluence, the spiritual vitality, and the growth of
Protestantism ? Have they been diminished or in-
142 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
creased ? The answer given in subsequent chapters
is full of encouragement.
The period of intellectual progress and activity
in which these doctrinal modifications have been
made has also been the period of the greatest spir-
itual activity. It has also been eminently charac-
terized by practical beneficence, philanthropy, and
the wide extension of Christian influence. Piety
has become more intelligent, beautiful, and attract-
ive, the sure foundation of a truer humanity and a
more rational h?ppiiiesi.
II. MORALS.
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
PERIOD I. Europe, Anterior to the Lutheran Reformation.
ft II. England, Anterior to the Wesleyan Reforma
tion.
711. The United States, from 17OO to 18OO.
II.-MOKALS.
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
PERIOD I. The Period antedating the Reforma-
tion under Luther.
This was a long, dark epoch, too hideous in cor-
ruption, brutality, and evil portents, to be easily
exaggerated. Not the least noticeable was the im-
morality of the clergy " a hissing and a reproach.'
" If," said an Italian bishop, " I were to enforce the
canons against unchaste persons administering eccle-
siastical rites, there would be no one left in the
Church but the boys ; and if I enforced the canons
against bastards, they also must be excluded." The
priests either married, although such unions were
illegal, or maintained concubinage openly. The
historians agree that the conduct of the monks and
the clergy could hardly be worse than it was, and
that the evil virus permeated society.
In an age like this, a new prerogative, for which
the way had been preparing, still further augmented
"the already vast influence of the clergy. " Every
individual pastor, in the tribunal of penitence, was
10
146 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
made the absolute inquisitor, judge, and dictator of
every soul, male and female, belonging to his flock."
"The decision of a single priest was pronounced
final for the forgiveness of sins, and his solitary
voice, uttered in secret, was pronounced as the
voice of Christ himself, dispensing the prerogatives
of the Most High."*
Out of the practical workings of the confessional
arose schools of casuistry ; and a decline in theoret-
ical and practical ethics extended through the whole
range of morals. "According to the Fathers of the
Church and the rigid casuists in general, a lie was
never to be uttered, a promise never to be broken.
The precepts of revelation, notwithstanding their
brevity and literalness, were held complete and lit-
eral. . . . But there had not been wanting those
who, whatever course they might pursue in the con-
fessional, found the convenience of an accommo-
dating morality in the secular affairs of the Church.
Oaths were broken, and engagements were entered
into without faith, for the ends of the clergy, or for
those whom they favored in the struggles of the
world." f
Ingenious sophistries were resorted to for defend-
ing breaches of plain morality.
* "History of the Confessional." By Bishop Hopkins. Harper
Brothers. 1850. P. 192.
f Hallam's " Literature of the Middle Ages." Harper Brothers,
Vol. ii, p. 121.
MORALS. 147
Another source of demoralization grew out of the
necessities occasioned by the immense extravagan-
cies of the Papal Court, inspiring an avaricious in-
genuity in the invention of new methods of extor-
tion. Among these schemes, we find a system of
indulgences liberty to buy off the punishment of
sin by pecuniary offerings not fully invented at
once, but gradually developed, and, at last, elabor-
atel} r drawn out and " shaped by chancery rules,"
under which absolution from sin was made a mat-
ter of traffic. Scarcely a sin could be imagined but
had its price.
" The doctrine and sale of indulgences were pow-
erful incentives to evil among an ignorant people.
True, according to the Church, indulgences could
only benefit those who promised to amend their lives,
and who kept their word. But what could be ex-
pected from a tenet invented solely with a view to
the profit that might be derived from it ? The
venders of indulgences were naturally tempted, for
the better sale of their merchandise, to present
their wares to the people in the most attractive
aspect. . . . All that the multitude saw in them
was, that they permitted men to sin ; and the mer-
chants were not over eager to dissipate an evil so
favorable to their sale.
" What disorders and crimes were committed in
these dark ages when impunity was to be purchased
by money? What had man to fear, when a small
148 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
contribution toward building a church secured him
from punishment in the world to come?"*
The priests were the first to yield to these cor-
rupting influences. " The history of the age swarms
with scandals;" and we would not cite them, but
to exhibit the sad condition into which the Church
had lapsed, and from which it emerged under
Protestantism.
The fifteenth century opened amid turbulence,
crime, lawlessness, and impurity. Profligacy and
corruption pervaded the hierarchy, and the sacred
offices of the Church were bartered and sold. Priest-
ly avarice and arrogance wore an unblushing front,
and deeds of darkness were performed by the high-
est dignitaries, and shamelessly avowed. The bene-
fices were the carcasses around which the eagles
gathered ; and the question upon which ecclesias-
tical promotion turned was not, "Are you a fit
man?" but, "Have you money?" " Scullions v
pimps, hostlers, and even children," became Church
dignitaries. The signature of the Pope had its
price, and men ignorant, scandalous for vice, ambi-
tious, cruel, and every way unfit, were promoted to
bishoprics. An Englishman's recipe for the stom-
ach of St. Peter and its complete reformation,
quaintly given in the Council of Constance, was,
" Take twenty-four cardinals, a hundred archbishops
* Merle D'Aubigne's " History of the Reformation under Luther."
American Tract Society's Edition, vol. i, p. 6i
MORALS. 149
and prelates, an equal number from each nation, and
as many creatures of the court as you can secure ;
plunge them into the Rhine, and let them remain
for the space of three days. This will be effective
for St. Peter's stomach, and will remove its entire
corruption." " No Protestant doctor could have
prescribed a harsher remedy."
At the Council of Constance ^1414-1417) evi-
dence was given, which no Roman Catholic can
dispute, that the state of priestly morals was as
low as the range of human nature could reach.
The schism in the Church, and its two Popes at
Rome and Avignon furnished occasion for severe
utterances and plain dealing. The Bishop of Lodi,
who had urged the Council to severity against
Huss, in a funeral sermon of a Cardinal before the
Council, rebuked the clergy as " so plunged in ex-
cess of luxury and brutal indulgence, that Diog-
enes, seeking a man among them, would only find
beasts and swine." *
The well-known feelings of the Emperor in re-
gard to the prevailing corruption, and the schis-
matic condition of the Church, secured freedom of
speech, and the public discourses were the safety-
valve through which the pent-up feelings of many
found relief. One preacher declared that " almost
the entire clergy were under the dominion of the
devil. "f "In the world falsehood is king; among
* L'Enfant, 339. f Ibid., 494.
150 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the clergy avarice is law. In the prelates are found
only malice, iniquity, negligence, ignorance, vanity,
pride, avarice, simony, lust, pomp, hypocrisy. At
the court of the Pope there is no holiness. It is a
diabolical court." Another said : " The clergy
spend their money on buffoons, dancing girls, dogs,
and birds, rather than in charity to the poor.
They frequent taverns and brothels, and go from
their concubines and prostitutes to mass without
any scruple. It has passed into a proverb, that the
priests have as many mistresses as domestics."
The convents were not spared. " It is a shame,"
he says, " to speak of what is done in them ; more
a shame to do it. In all these abominations the
Court of Rome sets the example, even in the place
where it is assembled for the reformation of man-
ners."
In the one hundred years between Huss and
Luther some changes took place for the better in
the civil and social condition of Europe. The
labors of Wycliffe, Huss, etc., and the revival of
learning, were exerting a beneficent influence. An
invisible lever was lifting the century ; the charm
of lofty ecclesiastical claims was breaking; men's
minds were disturbed on many subjects ; the old
unreasoning submission to authority was shaking
off its deep slumber and awakening into inquiry.
But these were only the first feeble motions of the
mighty giant, starting up with fierce revenge
MORALS. 151
" the ecclesiastical terrorism which for
centuries had sequestered the rights of mind."
Men were weary of the establishments of former
ages ; feudalism declined, royal power consoli-
dated, and -ill Europe was ripening for a change
in the relations of Church and State. Social life
lost something of its coarseness and brutality.
The invention of printing and the great maritime
discoveries in the last half of the century quickened
thought and gave an impulse to learning, but there
was little moral improvement.
" Almost within hearing of the first motion of
the press incalculable numbers of enthusiasts re-
vived the exploded sect of the Flagellants of for-
mer -centuries, and perambulated Europe, plying
the whip upon their naked backs, and declaring
that the whole of religion consisted in the use of
the scourge. Others, more crazy still, pronounced
the use of clothes to be evidence of an unconverted
nature, and returned to the nakedness of our first
parents, as proof of their restoration to a state of
innocence. Mortality lost all its terrors in this
earnest search for something more than the ordi-
nary ministrations of the faith could bestow, and
in France and England the hideous spectacles
called the Dance of Death were frequent. . . . Peo-
ple danced the Dance of Death because life had
lost its charm. Life had lost its security in the
two most powerful nations of the time. England
152 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
was shaken witn contending factions, and France
exhausted and hopeless of restoration. . . A car-
dinal, bloated and bloody, dominated both London
and Paris, and sent his commands from the palace
at Winchester, which were obeyed by both na-
tions." *
At the opening of the sixteenth century Alexan-
der VI., (1492-1513,) "the most depraved and
wicked of mankind," sat in the chair of St. Peter.
No earthly ruler since the Roman Nero had
equaled him in profligacy, and in the coarser vices
of cruelty and oppression. Through his whole life-
time he was notoriously dissolute. In earlier life
criminally connected with a Roman lady in Spain,
he also seduced her daughters, and adopted one of
them as his life-long mistress, having by her five
children. Later, while occupying high ecclesias-
tical positions in Rome, he installed her in a house
near St. Peter's, and shielded his amours under
her pretended marriage to an intendant. Devoting
himself to public duties and acts of piety by day
and to lust by night, this infamous marf easily, in
an age of gross corruption, beguiled the Roman
people. By heavy bribes procuring his elevation
to the Papal chair, by outraging time-honored
rights elevating his bastard sons over the old
princely houses of Italy, he became at last a victim
* : 'The Eighteen Centuries," by Rev. James White. Page 374.
D. Appleton & Co. 1860.
MORALS. 153
of his own wickedness. After reveling in debauch-
ery, venality, and blood, he was poisoned by the
very dose with .which he had connived to poison
another. Julius II., a man of ferocious spirit, and
Leo X., a patron of art, and of a polished licen-
tiousness, followed in the Papal chair. Such was
the head of the Church on the eve of the Refor-
mation.
The condition of the clergy and the people of
Europe was little different. The depravity of the
Church followed its ramification every-where. The
priests were proverbially ignorant, brutal, and
drunken. The obligations of celibacy were un-
scrupulously eluded, and the disorders of the mon-
asteries and convents were appalling. " In many
places the people were delighted at seeing a priest
keep a mistress, that the married women might be
safe from his seductions." " In many places the
priests paid the bishop a regular tax for the woman
with whom he lived, and for each child he had by
her. A German bishop said publicly one day, at a
great entertainment, that in one year eleven thou-
sand priests had presented themselves for that pur-
pose. It is Erasmus who relates this." * How
gross was the age which could tolerate such
things !
The period of the Reformation was a vast crisis,
* Merle D'Aubigne's " History of the Reformation under Lu-
ther." American Tract Society's edition, vol. i, pp. 62, 63.
154 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
a ground-swell, heaving society from its bottom
depths, and stirring up much that was of evil re-
port. Great tempests swept over Europe. There
were extreme movements and reactions, involving
much to be deprecated. In the midst of such
heavy throes, and out of such a low condition, the
new life of Protestantism emerged, taking into it
much of the moral imperfection of the age. Ban-
croft has said, " A man can as little move without
the weight of the superincumbent atmosphere as
escape altogether the opinions of the age in which
he sees the light." With the Reformation there
was destruction, and with the advance recession. It
was no small task for the Reformation to raise it-
self out of a slough so foul and so universal, and
maintain at once a clean front, a clear head, and a
secure footing. It is not strange, therefore, that
we find Luther and his followers, while reacting
against the papal doctrine of works, in their advo-
cacy of faith as the only ground of justification,
" running perilously near the abyss of Antinomian-
ism," if they did not even topple into it, as seems
evident from some of Luther's utterances recently
quoted by Sir William Hamilton, S. Baring Gould,
and Rev. Dr. F. C. Ewer. The legitimate fruit of
this extreme was dissolute manners. For a time,
with advanced purity, there was much impurity, and
with wisdom, folly and madness. Hence we find
Luther saying that " for one devil of Popery ex-
MORALS. 155
pelled, seven worse devils entered " into some of
his followers. Bucer said that some, " in their re-
volt from the tyranny of the Pope and the Bishops,"
" gave themselves up freely to their caprices and
all their carnal passions."
The Reformation did not at once produce a com-
plete improvement in manners. Rev. Dr. Ewer, in
his recent effort to prove the failure of Protestant-
ism,* cites the capital convictions of Nuremburg
in three centuries, as evidence that morals declined
after the Reformation under Luther began. He
says, " There were condemned to death, in Nu-
remburg, for incest, highway robbery, murder, in-
fanticide, unnatural crimes, etc., in the fifteenth
century, before the Reformation, 41 ; in the six-
teenth century, after the Reformation, 190 ; in
the seventeenth century, after the Reformation,
270." But what do these statistics prove save
an increased attention to the promotion of mora^
order by the enforcement of law ? Before the
Reformation, under the unchallenged dominion of
the Papacy, crime was committed with such im-
punity that it could hardly be called crime. Even
indulgences to murder were granted by the Church
for sums ranging from twenty dollars to fifty
dollars. The increase in the number of convic-
tions, then, is evidence of progress in the ad-
ministration of laws, either long in disuse or
* " The Complete Preacher," July, 1878, p. 224.
o
1 56 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
newly enacted, and the elevation of the standard
of order.
And now, after three hundred years have passed,
who can fail to see a great improvement in morals,
and also a marvelous difference between those
countries which have remained Roman Catholic
and those which have been Protestant ? Who can
fail to observe the rapid advancement of Protestant
over Papal nations in useful arts, commerce, litera-
ture, education, civil rights, social privileges, moral
sense, and political influence ? Trying the case by
any reasonable standard of existing facts, it will be
obvious that the system which lives by indulgences
and the confessional does not advance and elevate
nations, but depresses, degrades, and impoverishes
them.
Progress has been made amid conflicts, by vary-
ing stages, through ebbs and flows, eddies, rapids,
and even stagnant lagoons. Advance movements
in society are seldom by straight lines or in uniform
rates, free from retarding frictions ; but rather un-
even, irregular, sometimes oscillatory, with frequent
recessions and reactions. Keeping these things in
mind, let us pass over the intervening period, and
pause amid the scenes which preceded the Wesleyan
Reformation in England.
MORALS. 157
PERIOD II. England from 1660 to 1750.
The English Reformation had passed ; Protest-
antism had triumphed and securely intrenched it-
belf; Puritanism and other forms of dissent, as
sub protests, championing a still purer faith and
life, arose and exerted their influence.
The rigid regimen of Cromwell was followed by a
terrible rebound. The great soldier and his Puritan
supporters came to be regarded as " lank-haired
gentlemen," with " sour-faced hypocrisies," " speak-
ing through the nose," " debarring from social
meetings, from merry-making at Christmas, and
junketing at fairs," and " forswearing all innocent
enjoyments." After " years of weary restraint and
formalism," on the restoration of Charles II., the
accumulated tide burst all barriers. " A flood of
dancing and revelry and utter abandonment to hap-
piness burst over the whole country. . . . Never,
since the old times of the Feasts of Fools and the
gaudy procession of the Carnival, had there been
such a riotous jubilee as inaugurated the Restora-
tion. The reaction against Puritanism carried the
nation almost beyon-d Christianity, and landed it in
heathenism again." *
Through nearly one hundred years this reaction
extended. The first half of the eighteenth century
was the darkest period, morally, since the birth of
* White's 4< Eighteen Christian Centuries," p 472.
158 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
English Protestantism ; and yet, with all its terri-
ble gloom, it was many degrees brighter than either
England or the Continent two* centuries before.
Scrutinizing the picture, we shall be able to appre-
ciate the struggling stages through which the bet-
ter life of the race has passed in reaching its present
condition.
In the higher classes of English society, the taint
left by Charles II. and his licentious court still fes-
tered ; and in the lower, laziness and dishonesty
were universal. Extravagance was the order of the
day, and " scarcely a family kept within its income."
In 1723 Lady Mary Montagu wrote, " Honor, vir-
tue, and reputation, which we used to hear of in
the nursery, are as much laid aside as crumpled
ribbons." The masses entertained themselves with
brutal amusements, instigating bloody quarrels, and
engendering savage dispositions. " The essayists,
in their matchless prose ; Pope, in verse no less
terse and vigorous ; and Hogarth, on canvas, at-
tacked, with all the weapons of satire and ridicule,
the vicious tendencies, which struck them chiefly as
instances of folly and bad taste." * But art and
culture failed to regenerate society; and the spirit
nourished by these savage sports found vent in
tumults, uproars, manslaughters, etc., which more
recent records of crime fail to parallel. The pic-
ture is a dark one.
* Julia Wedgewood.
MORALS. 159
Lecky says:* "The impunity with which out-
rages were committed in the ill-lit and ill-guarded
streets of London during the first half of the eight-
eenth century can now hardly be realized. In
1712 a club of young men of the higher classes,
who assumed the name of Mohawks, were accus-
tomed nightly to rally out drunk into the streets to
hunt the passers-by, and to subject them, in mere
wantonness, to the most atrocious outrages. One
of their favorite amusements, called * tipping the
lion/ was to squeeze the nose of their victim flat
upon his face, and to bore out his eyes with their
fingers. Among them were the * sweaters,' who
formed a circle around their prisoner, and pricked
him with their swords till he sank exhausted on the
ground ; the ' dancing masters/ so called from their
skill in making men caper by thrusting swords into
their legs ; the ' tumblers/ whose favorite amuse-
ment was to set women on their heads, and comnrit
various indecencies and barbarities on the limbs
that were exposed. Maid-servants, as they opened
their masters' doors, were waylaid, beaten, and their
faces cut. Matrons, inclosed in barrels, were rolled
down the steep and stony incline of Snow Hill.
Watchmen were unmercifully beaten and their noses
slit. Country gentlemen went to the theater, as if
in a time of war, accompanied by their armed re-
tainers. A bishop's son was said to be one of the
* " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. i. p. 522, etc.
i6o PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
gang, and a baronet was among those who were
arrested.'*
Said the Bishop of Lichfield, in 1724: "The
Lord's day is become the devil's market day. . . .
Sin, in general, is grown so hardened and rampant,
as that immoralities are defended, yea, justified, on
principle." Smollett said, in 1730, " Thieves and
robbers are now become more desperate and savage
than they had ever appeared since mankind were
civilized." " All men agree," thus begins the " Pro-
posal for a National Reformation of Manners," in
1734, "that atheism and profaneness never got such
a high ascendant as at this day. A thick gloomi-
ness hath overspread the horizon, and our light
looks like the evening of the world." The mayor
and aldermen of London, in 1744, drew up an ad-
dress to the king, in which they stated that " Divers
confederacies of great numbers of evil-disposed per-
sons armed with bludgeons, pistols, cutlasses, and
other dangerous weapons, infest not only the pri-
vate lanes and passages, but likewise the public
streets and places of usual concourse, and commit
most daring outrages."
Tyerman, after portraying the usual condition of
London, says of this period, " The country was ar
apt imitator of the vices of the town," and tha
" the dark picture might easily be enlarged, not
from posterior writings, or even from the religioui
publications of the period, but from periodicals.
MORALS. 161
magazines, and newspapers, which had no tempta-
tion to represent the customs, manners, usages, and
vices of the age in a worse aspect than was war-
ranted by facts."
A fearful passion for gambling reached its climax
under the first two Georges. Swift says, Lord
Oxford denounced it as " the bane of the English
nobility." The Duke of Devonshire and Lord
Chesterfield were bewitched by it. It " reigned
supreme " " at Bath, the center of English fashion ;"
and the passion was quite as strong among fashion-
able ladies as among fashionable gentlemen.
And yet gambling was only one of many mam-
moth evils of that time. We will not pause to speak
of the " Fleet marriages" the strangest scandals
of English life. But drunkenness was one of the
distinguishing vices, the consumption of distilled
spirits increasing from 2,000,000 gallons in 1684, to
11,000,000, in 1750, besides the milder drinks. Phy-
sicians declared gin-drinking was a new and terrible
source of mortality, of murders, and robbery. " The
evil acquired such fearful dimensions," says Lecky,
" that even the unreforming Parliament of Walpole
perceived the necessity of taking strong measures
to arrest it." No efforts, however, availed for some
years. Violent riots followed the first attempts,
and the evil still increased. Crime and immorality
of every description became more terrible. " The
London physicians," says Lecky, "stated, in 1750,
162 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
that there were in and about the metropolis no less
than 14,000 cases of illness, most of them beyond
the reach of medicines, directly attributable to gin."
Fielding said that " gin was the principal sustenance
of 100,000 people in the metropolis," and he pre-
dicted that " should the drinking of this poison be
continued at its 'present height, during the next
twenty years, there will, by that time, be very few
of the common people left to drink it." Bishop
Benson, in a letter written from London a little
later, said : u There is not only no safety in living in
this town, but scarcely any in the country now,
robbery and murder are grown so frequent. Our
people are now becoming, what they never before
were, cruel and inhuman. Those accursed spiritu-
ous liquors, which, to the shame of our government,
are so easily to be had, and in such quantities drank,
have changed the very nature of our people ; and,
they will, if continued to be drank, destroy the very
race of people themselves."
The political corruption in England in the first
half of the eighteenth century was one of the most
serious blemishes of that age. Capitalists and cor-
porations descended into the political arena, and
carried measures by sheer corruption. Lavish sums
were spent by the East India Company among
members of Parliament, and in the elections cor-
ruption was universal. Brokers stock-jobbed elec-
tions on the Exchange. One writer said, " Bor-
MORALS. 163
oughs are rated in the Royal Exchange like stocks
or tallies ; the price of a vote is as well known
as of an acre of land, and it is no secret who
are the moneyed men, and generally the best cus-
tomers." *
Lecky said : " He [Walpole] governed by an
assembly which was saturated with corruption ;
and he fully acquiesced in its conditions, and re-
sisted every attempt to improve it. He appears
to have cordially accepted the maxim that govern-
ment must be carried on by corruption or by force,
and he deliberately made the former the basis of
his rule. He bribed George II. by obtaining for
him a civil list exceeding by more than 100,000 a
year that of his father. He bribed the queen by
securing for her a jointure of 100,000. a year,
when his rival, Sir Spencer Compton, could only
venture to promise 60,000. He bribed the dis-
senting ministers to silence by the regium donum*
for the benefit of their widows. He employed the
vast patronage of the Crown uniformly and stead-
ily with the single view of sustaining his position ;
and there can be no doubt that a large propor-
tion of the immense expenditure of secret-service
money during his administration was devoted to
the direct purchase of members of Parliament." f
* Somers' " Tracts," vol. xiii, quoted by Lecky.
\ Lecky's " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. i, pp. 395,
396, etc.
164 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
But Mr. Lecky says that " Bribery, whether in
the elections or in Parliament, was no new thin "
under Walpole. He quotes from Davenant anJ
De Foe to show its prevalence at the close of tru:
seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteentl
centuries ; that men made it their business to buy
and sell seats in Parliament ; that the market
price was one thousand guineas ; that " bribery,
buying of votes, freedoms, and freeholds " were
" open and barefaced ;" and that in 1716 the Earl
of Dorset said, "A great number of persons have
no other livelihood than of being employed in
bribing."
He further says, that if corruption did not begin
with Walpole it did not end with him. His ex-
penditure of secret-service money did not equal
that of Bute, and " it is to Bute, and not to Wal-
pole, that we owe the most gigantic and wasteful
of all forms of bribery. In 1754 Sir John Bar-
nard, with a view to the approaching elections,
actually moved the repeal of the oath against brib-
ery, in the interest of public morals, on the ground
that it was merely the occasion of general perjury.
. . . Very few statesmen of the eighteenth century
had less natural tendency to corruption than
George Grenville. His private character was un-
impeachable. . . . The expenditure of secret-service
money during his administration was unusually
low, yet, such was the condition of the legislature
MORALS. 165
by which he governed, that he appears to have
found it necessary to offer direct money bribes to
members of the House of Lords. IfWalpole was
guilty of corruption, it may be fairly urged that it
was scarcely possible to manage Parliament with-
out it." * He also says f that " supporters of the
government in Parliament frequently received, at
the close of the session, from .500 to ;i,ooo for
their services ;" and that " it is certain that the
consentient opinion of contemporaries accused the
ministers of gross and wholesale corruption."
An English gentleman, before the Unitarian
Conference, at Saratoga, September, 1878, speak-
ing of the political corruption in England, said :
" There had been no political parties in England
until the time of William of Orange, and then
things began to grow corrupt, and reached their
height in the times of Walpole, when they were
more corrupt than in our own day."
Fashionable life and sentiment were coarse and
foul. The writings of De Foe, Swift, Fielding, and
Smollett fully illustrate this, and the two Georges
did not improve the condition. According to Lord
Hervey and others, " each king lived publicly with
mistresses, and the immorality of their courts was
accompanied by none of that refinement and grace
which has often cast a softening veil over evil."
* " Lecky," i, pp. 398, 399. f Ibid., p. 403.
\ Dorman B. Eaton, Esq.
i66 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Speaking of the queen of George II., Lecky says :
" Living herself a life of unsullied virtue, discharg-
ing, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, the
duties of a wife with most exemplary patience and
diligence, exercising her great influence in Church
and in State with singular wisdom, patriotism, and
benevolence, she passed through life jesting on the
vices of her husband and of his ministers with the
coarseness of a trooper, receiving from her husband
the earliest and fullest account of every new love
affair in which he was engaged, and prepared to
welcome each new mistress, provided only she
could herself keep the first place in his judgment
and in his confidence."
On her death-bed, says Lord Hervey, " Caroline
advised the king to marry again. Upon which his
sobs began to rise and his tears to fall with double
vehemence. While in the midst of this passion,
wiping his eyes, and sobbing- between every word,
with much ado, he got out this answer : ' No, I
shall have these mistresses.' To which the queen
made no other reply than, 'O, my God, that will
make no difference ! ' '
Doubtless there were " party libels " of the time,
imputing great iniquities to objects of personal
dislike ; and discrimination should be made between
the " place-hunters " at St. James' and other per-
formers in the greater scenes of life and the great
body of English and Scotch gentry. The latter
MORALS. 167
should not be involved in the condemnation of the
former. Many examples of morality and religion,
of pure and noble champions of truth remained ;
but the more active currents of society were thor-
oughly tainted.
A writer in " Blackwood's Magazine," about ten
years ago, said :
" Walpole served his country and the devil to-
gether, and laughed at the very idea of goodness.
Chesterfield, in devotion to one of the most blessed
of natural pieties, did not blush to encourage his
young son in shameless wickedness. Pope babbled
loudly of the vice for which his weak frame inca-
pacitated him. ... It was the age when delicate
young women of the best blood and best manners
in the land talked with a coarseness which editors
of the nineteenth century can represent only by
asterisks ; and in which the most polished and
dainty verse, Pope's most melodious, correctest
couplets, were interspersed with lines which would
damn for ever and ever any modern poetaster. Per-
sonal satire poor instrument of vengeance, which
stings without wounding had such sway as it never
had before in England ; but that sense of public
honor which prevents open outrage upon decency
was not in existence. The public liked the wicked
story, and liked the scourge that came after, and
laughed, not in its sleeve, but loudly, at blasphemy
and indecency and profanity. Even the sentiment
168 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of cleanness, purity, and honor was lost to the gen-
eration."
Turning to the Churches, we find no ameliora-
tion of the dark picture, for those who should have
been reformers needed themselves to be reformed.
The dissenting Churches, which felt themselves to
be the bulwarks of truth and morals, lamented that
many of their own ministers were immoral, negli-
gent, and inefficient, while their communicants par-
took largely of the prevailing corruption. Of many
of the clergy of the Established Church what shall
we say ? One familiar with the facts shall bear tes-
timony.
" The foulest sins were made sinless by intem-
perate zeal for the Pretender, and the fairest virtues
besmeared in those who showed a friendly feeling
for Dissenters. A man might be drunken and quar-
relsome all the week, but if on Sunday he bowed at
the altar and cursed King William he was esteemed
a saint. He might cheat every body and pay no-
body, but if he drank health to the royal orphan,
hated King George, and abhorred the Whigs, his
want of probity was a peccadillo scarcely worth no-
ticing. On the other hand, a man might be learned,
diligent, devout, and 'useful, but if he opposed the
Pretender and Popery, or if he thought the Dis-
senters should not be damned, he was at once set
down as heterodox, and, according to his impor-
tance, became a target for the shafts of High-Church
MORALS. 169
malice. . . . The court of England was corrupt to
its very core, and the people were too faithful imi-
tators of the bad example. Popery was intriguing,
Dissenters were declining, and the Church was full
of fiery and drunken feuds."*
Another English writer f says : " In a great many
instances the clergy were negligent and immoral ;
often grossly so. The populace of the large towns
were ignorant and profligate ; and the inhabitants
of the villages added to ignorance and profligacy
brutish and barbarous manners. A more striking
instance of the rapid deterioration of religious light
and influence in a country scarcely occurs than in
our own, from the Restoration to the rise of Meth-
odism. It affected not only the Church, but the
dissenting sects in no ordinary degree."
Such is the dark picture of English morals two
hundred years after the birth of Protestantism.
Even in its worst aspects it is many degrees brighter
than the moral condition of either England or the
Continent when the Lutheran Reformation com-
menced, for some new alleviating lights irradiate
the page. But a comparison of the lights and
shadows of the present with those of England one
hundred and fifty years ago, will show stupendous
progress.
In the midst of such a state of morals the great
* Tyerman's " Life of Wesley," vol, i, p. 65.
f Rev. Richard Watson.
170 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
religious revival under the Wesleys and Whitefield
had its origin, spreading out into a broad evangel-
ical movement among Churchmen and Dissenters,
permeating the British Isles with elements of new
life, and elevating the moral tone of society. While
Luther gave special prominence to the doctrine of
justification by faith, Wesleyanism laid its emphasis
upon holiness of heart and life, and thus became
not only a revival, but also a reformation in morals.
The story shall be told by one who will not be sus-
pected of partiality.
Mr. Lecky says : " From about the middle of
the eighteenth century a reforming spirit was once
more abroad, and a steady movement of moral as-
cent may be detected. The influence of Pitt in
politics, and the influence of Wesley and his follow-
ers in religion, were the earliest and most important
agencies in effecting it. . . . The tone of thought
and feeling was changed. . . . The standard of
political honor was perceptibly raised. It was felt
that enthusiasm, disinterestedness, and self-sacrifice
had their place in politics ; and, although there was
afterward, for short periods, extreme corruption,
public opinion never acquiesced in it again." *
Again he. says :f " Although the career of the
elder Pitt, and the splendid victories by land and
sea that were won during his ministry, form un-
* " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. ii, pp. 562, 563.
f Ibid., p. 567, etc.
MORALS. i;i
questionably the most dazzling episodes in the
reign of George II., they must yield, I think, in real
importance, to that religious revolution which
shortly before had been begun in England by the
preaching of the Wesleys and of Whitefield. The
creation of a large, powerful, and active sect, ex-
tending over both hemispheres, and numbering
many millions of souls, was but one of its conse-
quences. It also exercised a profound and lasting
influence upon the spirit of the Established Church,
upon the amount and distribution of the moral
forces of the nation, and even upon the course of
its political history."
Among the ulterior advantages of the Wesleyan
Reformation Mr. Lecky cites its influence in pre-
serving the English nation from the French revolu-
tionizing tendencies which were felt by many classes
in England at the close of the century. He says :
" England, on the whole, escaped the contagion.
Many causes conspired to save her, but among
them a prominent place must, I believe, be given
to the new and vehement religious enthusiasm
which was at that very time passing through the
middle and lower classes of the people, which had
enlisted in its service a large proportion of the
wilder and more impetuous reformers, and which
recoiled with horror from the antichristian tenets
that were associated with the Revolution in
France."
172 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Mr. Lecky's testimony is luminous and valua-
ble. After speaking of the divergent tendencies in
English society and the growing inequalities in the
conditions of the rich and the poor, in connection
with the increase of capital and the great manufac-
turing interests, the evils and the dangers incident
to such a condition of things, the growing distrusts,
alienations, etc., between the higher and the lower
classes, not yet duly estimated by political econ-
omists, he proceeds to say :
" The true greatness and welfare of nations de-
pend mainly on the amount of moral force that is
generated within them. Society can never con-
tinue in a state of tolerable security when there is
no other bond of cohesion than a mere money tie ;
and it is idle to expect the different classes of the
community to join in the self-sacrifice and enthu-
siasm of patriotism, if all unselfish motives are ex-
cluded from their several relations. Every change
of conditions which widens the chasm and impairs
the sympathy between rich and poor cannot fail,
however beneficial may be its effects, to bring with
it grave dangers to the State. It is incontestable
that the immense increase of manufacturing popu-
lation has had this tendency ; and it is, therefore, ]
conceive, peculiarly fortunate that it should have
been preceded by a great religious revival, which
opened a new spring of moral and religious energy
among the poor, and at the same tm.e s ave a
MORALS'. 173
powerful impulse to the philanthropy of the
rich." *
In the more recent periods English morals have
never fallen to so low a condition.
PERIOD III. The United States from 1700 to
1800.
Passing over to the American Continent, we find
a manifest decline in morals during the one hundred
years following the landing of the Pilgrims. The
influence of the licentious and debauched court of
Charles II. had been felt among all English-speak-
ing people, at home and abroad, and new classes of
immigrants, not actuated, like the first settlers, by
high religious motives, but by secular aims, and
many of them paupers and criminals from work-
houses and jails, had been infused into the colonial
population. The corruption of manners, working
downward through English society during the
reigns of William III., Queen Anne, and the first
two Georges, extended to American shores, chang-
ing the moral aspects of the people. In the first
third of the eighteenth century this deterioration
was very plain. The drinking habits, hitherto very
moderate, were increased, though not as bad as at
the close of the century. West India rum had been
introduced in trade with those islands, and the
manufacture of rum was commenced in New En-
* " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. ii, pp. 691-694.
174 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
gland in 1730, reducing the price and leading to its
more general use. In the forty years preceding the
Edwardean revival intoxicating drinks had come
into common use, and there was much hard drink-
ing ; but darker days were to come.
" It is easy to praise the fathers of New En-
gland," said Theodore Parker ; " easier to praise
them for virtues they did not possess than to dis-
criminate and fairly judge those remarkable men.
. . . Let me mention a fact or two. It is recorded
in the probate office that, in 1678, at the funeral of
Mrs. Mary Norton, widow of the celebrated John
Norton, one of the ministers of the First Church in
Boston, fifty-one gallons and a half of the best Ma-
laga wine were consumed by the ' mourners ; ' in
1685, at the funeral of Rev. Thomas Cobbett, min-
ister of Ipswich, there were consumed one barrel of
wine and two barrels of cider, and, ' as it was cold/
there were ' some spice and ginger for the cider.'
You may easily judge of the drunkenness and riot
on occasions less solemn than the funeral of an old
and beloved minister. Towns provided intoxicating
drink at the funeral of their paupers. In Salem, in
1728, at the funeral of a pauper, a gallon of wine and
another of cider are charged as * incidentals ; ' the
next year, six gallons of wine on a similar occasion.
In Lynn, in 1711, the town furnished ' half a barrel
of cider for the widow Dispaw's funeral/ Af-
fairs had come to such a pass that, in 1742,, the
MORALS. 175
General Court forbid the use of wine and rum at
funerals." *
Among the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who set-
tled at Londonderry, N. H., about 1719, drinking
habits became quite as bad as in other localities.
In allusion to their inflexible adherence to their
creed, and their social irregularities on festive occa-
sions, it was commonly said, " The Derry Presbyte-
rians never gave up a pint of doctrine or a pint of
rum." The " Derry Festival," introduced and kept
up for many years, was " a sort of Protestant carni-
val " " a wild, drinking, horse-racing, frolicking,
merry-making, at which strong drink abounded."
Those who good-naturedly wrestled and joked to-
gether in the morning, not unfrequently closed the
day with a fight. William Stack, in describing his
ancestors, the first settlers of Amoskeag Falls, says *
" Of the goodly men of old Derryfield
It was often said that their only care,
And their only wish, and only prayer,
For the present world, and the world to come,
Was a string of eels and a jug of rum."
In the inland town of Northampton, said Ed*
wards, " there was far more degeneracy among the
young than ever before." " Licentiousness, for
some years, greatly prevailed among the youth."
" The Sabbath was extensively profaned, and the
* " Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons." By Theo-
dore Parker. Pp. 341-397. Boston : Horace B. Fuller, publisher.
1871.
176 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
decorum of the sanctuary not urrfrequently dis-
turbed." This was a fair sample of many New
England towns at this time ; while the average
morality of Virginia, Maryland, and some other sec-
tions, was even lower, not having so many conserv-
ing elements as New England.
The clergy, in the Virginia Colony, following the
style of those in England, were morally low, and
the people lower still. Bishop Meade said: " As
to the unworthy hireling clergy of the Colony,
there was no ecclesiastical discipline to correct or
punish their irregularities and vices." In the Prov-
ince of Maryland, in the latter part of the seven-
teenth century, " The Lord's day was generally
profaned, religion was despised, and all notorious
vices were committed, so that it had become a
Sodom of uncleanness and a pest-house of iniqui-
ty." * " The clergy were remarkable for their
laxity of morals and scandalous behavior." In the
forty years following the formal establishment of
the Episcopal Church as the State Church in Mary-
land, in 1692, there was no moral improvement, but
rather a steady decline, as letters to the Bishop of
London, quoted by Dr. Hawks, fully show.
It was at this time, simultaneously with the ori-
gin of the Wesleyan movement in England, though
of briefer duration, and less radical in character,
* " Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury," quoted by Dr.
Hawks.
MORALS. 177
that the ten years of Edwardean and Whitefieldian
revivals began, (1735-1745.) They were an incal.
culable blessing to the Colonial Churches and com-
munities, checking for a time the spread of immo-
rality. But there speedily followed a long and
troublous period, (1750-1800,) and its distracting
events the French and Indian wars ; the conflict-
ing agitations preceding the Revolutionary War ;
the war itself, with the usual depraving influences ;
the depressing financial condition afterward ; the
sharp conflicts on questions of civil polity attending
the organization of the Federal Government ; the
general infusion of European skepticism and man-
ners ; and the spread of New England rum. A
detailed statement of American manners in the last
quarter of the eighteenth century will exhibit a
condition of immorality, having no later parallel on
our shores.
The Revolutionary War had not progressed far
before the faithful ministers of the Presbyterian
Church, in their Synod, deplored the spread of
" gross immoralities," " increasing to a fearful de-
gree." In 1779 they lamented " the degeneracy
of manners," and " the prevalence of vice and im-
morality that obtain throughout the land." A
sentiment of insubordination grew up out of the
infusion of French ideas, which declared " moral
obligation to be a shackle imposed by bigotry and
priestcraft," revolution a right and duty, and au
12
1 78 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
thority usurpation. The revolutionizing spirit,
serviceable in the war, was so thoroughly diffused
among the people that it threatened new trouble.
Men had vaunted about rights until many felt that
any government was an imposition. Demagogues
multiplied, poisoning the minds of the masses, en-
gendering the spirit of domestic scuffle, instigating
local rebellions, discontent, and heart-burnings. A
relaxation of moral principle, and licentiousness of
sentiment and conduct, followed in the footsteps of
liberty the offspring of her profane alliance with
French infidelity. In not a few even of the New
England towns desecration of the Sabbath, lewd-
ness, neglect of the sanctuary, profanity, and low
cavils at^ the Bible were common, and " the last
vestiges of Puritan morals seemed well-nigh irre-
coverably effaced."
This corruption extended into civil and literary
circles. The newspapers partook of the general
demoralization. Jefferson wrote : " Nothing can
now be believed which is seen in a newspaper.
Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into
that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state
of misapprehension is known only to those who are
in a condition to confront facts within their knowl-
edge with the lies of the day." Rev. Theodore
Parker said : " The general character of the press
since the end of the last century has decidedly im-
proved, as any one may convince himself of by
MORALS. 179
comparing the newspapers of that period with the
present."
It was an era of bad feeling, and a political bit-
terness was indulged, unknown to the partisan
strifes of our day. The debates on the adoption
of the Federal Constitution were of the most exas-
perating character. The Jacobin intrigues inflamed
the public feelings, and political bitterness was the
bane of Washington's administration. With our
exalted views of Washington, it is impossible for us
to conceive how he was assailed, maligned, and
abused by the press, and also in public and private
circles. The acts of his administration were tor-
tured, and the grossest and most insidious misrep-
resentations made " in such exaggerated and inde-
cent terms," said Washington himself, "as could
scarcely be applied to Nero, or a notorious de-
faulter, or even to a common pickpocket." In this
dark period (1796) a gentleman of the highest char-
acter wrote to Washington : " Our affairs seem to
lead to some crisis, some revolution ; something
that I cannot foresee or conjecture. I am more
uneasy than during the war. . . . We are going and
doing wrong, and therefore I look forward to evils
and calamities. . . . We are wofully and wickedly
misled. Private rage for property suppresses pub-
lic considerations, and personal rather than national
interests have become the great objects of atten-
tion." Washington replied, " Your sentiments that
i8o PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
we are drawing rapidly to a crisis accord with mine.
What the event will be is beyond my foresight/'
Rev. Theodore Parker said : " Political servility
and political rancor are certainly bad enough and
base enough at this day; but not long ago they
were baser and worse. To show this, I need only
appeal to the memories of men before me, who
recollect the beginning of the present century.
Political controversies are conducted with less bit-
terness than before ; honesty is more esteemed ;
private worth more respected. The Federal party,
composed of men who certainly were an honor to
their age, supported Aaron Burr for the office of
Vice-President of the United States, a man whose
character, both public and private, was notorious-
ly marked with the deepest infamy. Political par-
ties are not very Puritanical in their virtues this
day, but I think no party would now, for a mo-
ment, accept such a man as Mr. Burr for such a
post."
Dueling was then not a sectional, but a national,
vice. The whole land was red with the blood of
duelists, and filled with the lamentations of widows
and orphans. It was a common crime of men high
in office, and a duelist was elected, by a large ma-
jority, Vice-President of the Union, even coming
within a narrow chance of the presidential chair.
Profanity terribly abounded, and was not then
regarded as ungentlemanly. The stocks, the pillory,
MORALS. 181
and the whipping-post were common. Slavery ex-
isted in all the States.
Intemperance was an alarming evil. The manu-
facture of New England rum commenced in 1730,
increasing the home consumption of this fiery stim-
ulant ; but the milder liquors, beer and wine, con-
tinued in general use, until the war of the Revolu-
tion cut off foreign commerce, and gave an impulse
to the distillation of rum, when this most vitiating
of all beverages became universal. Furnished freely
to the soldiers in the army, at the close of the war,
they went forth with vitiated appetites, increasing
the demand for distilled spirits throughout the land.
In the forty years following the Revolution, drunk-
enness fearfully increased, until, in the language of
a European traveler in the United States at that
time, it became "the most striking characteristic
of the American people."
Intemperance had not then the weight of public
sentiment to struggle against, which has since been
raised up. To get drunk did not then injure a man's
reputation or influence. Members of Churches, the
highest Church officials, deacons and ministers,
drank immoderately, without seriously compromis-
ing their positions. Said Rev. Leonard Woods,
D.D. : "I remember when I could reckon up among
my acquaintances forty ministers who were intem-
perate." Another gentleman, living in those times,
subsequently said in a Boston newspaper, " A great
1 82 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
many deacons in New England died drunkards. I
have a list of one hundred and twenty-three intem-
perate deacons in Massachusetts, forty-three of
whom became sots."
The following sketch will afford a picture of the
moral condition of some portions of the country in
this period. The party referred to flourished about
1780-1790, in Orange County and Smith's Cove,
New York. They organized for the purpose of de-
stroying Christianity and civil government, and the
portrayal is by one who personally knew the facts
and the parties.
" They claimed the right to indulge in lascivious-
ness, and to recreate themselves as their propensi-
ties and appetites should dictate. Those who com-
posed this association," says the writer, " were my
neighbors ; some of them were my school-mates. I
knew them well, both before and after they became
members. I marked their conduct, and saw and
knew their ends. Their number was about twenty
men and seven females. ... Of these, some were
shot; some hung; some drowned; two destroyed
themselves by intemperance, one of whom was eaten
by dogs, and the other by hogs; one committed
suicide ; one fell from his horse and was killed ; and
one was struck with an ax and bled to death. . . .
Joshua Miller was a teacher of infidelity, and was
shot off a stolen horse by Colonel J. Woodhull.
N. Miller, his brother, was shot off a log while he
MORALS. 183
was playing at cards on first-day morning, by Zebed
June, in a scouting party for robbers. Benjamin
Kelley was shot off his horse by a boy, the son of
the murdered, for the murder of one Clarke ; he lay
above ground until the crows picked his bones. J.
Smith committed suicide by stabbing himself while
he was imprisoned for crime. W. Smith was shot
by B. Thorpe and others, for robbery. S. T. be-
trayed his own confidential friend for five dollars ;
his friend was hung, and himself afterward was shot
by D. Lancaster; said to be an accident. I heard
the report of the gun and saw the blood. J. A.
was shot by Michael Coleman, for robbing Abimel
Young, in the very act. J. V. was shot by a com-
pany of militia. J. D., in one of his drunken fits,
lay out, and was chilled to death. J. B. was hanged
for stealing a horse. T. M. was shot by a Conti-
nental guard, for not coming to when hailed by the
guard. C. S. was hung for the murder of Major
Nathaniel Strong. J. Smith and J. Vervellon were
hung for robbing John Sackett. B. K. was hung
for stealing clothes. One other individual, hung
for murder. N. B. was drowned, after he and J. B.
had been confined for stealing a large ox sent to
General Washington, as a present, by a friend.
W. T. and W. H. were drowned. C. C. hung him-
self. T. F., Jun., was shot by order of a court-mar-
tial for desertion. A. S. was struck with an ax,
and bled to death. F. S. fell from his horse, and
1 84 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
was killed. W. Clark drank himself to death ; he
was eaten by the hogs before his bones were found,
and they were known by his clothing. He was
once a member of respectable standing in the Pres-
byterian Church. While he remained with them,
and regarded their rules and regulations, he was ex-
emplary, industrious, sober, and respectable ; and
not until he became an infidel did he become a
vagabond. His bones, clothing, and jug were found
in a corn field belonging to John Coffee, and they
were buried without a coffin. J. A., Sen., died in
the woods, his rum-jug by his side. He was not
found until a dog brought home one of his legs,
which was identified by the stocking. His bones
had been picked by animals. J. H., the last I shall
mention in connection with that gang, died in a
drunken fit. ...
" The conduct of the females who associated with
this gang was such as to illustrate its practical effects
upon them. I shall only say that not one of them
could or would pretend to know who were the
fathers of their offspring. Perhaps hell itself could
not produce more disgusting objects than were some
of them." *
Numerous localities, at that time, presented sim-
ilar moral phases. Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New
* " Practical Infidelity Portrayed." By Alva Cunningham. 12010.
New York City. 1836. Pp. 42-46. These facts : and other similar
facts, are supported by numerous affidavits of respectable men.
MORALS. 185
Jersey could produce many parallel cases. Soci-
eties, or clubs of Illuminati, existed in Virginia, in
affiliation with those of France. The infidelity of
the age far exceeded any thing before or since
kno\vn in America, and was of the grossest kind.
The above portrayal shows this, and also the gross
character of the habits in other respects. In some
other incidental matters, also, it exhibits the low
social and moral condition.
The Rev. Devereux Jarratt gave a dark picture
of society in Virginia near the close of the last cent-
ury, and Bishop Meade's sketches of the "Old
Churches and Families of Virginia " deepen the
shades. Of a portion of Kentucky, Peter Cartwright,
speaking of the year 1793, said, " It was called
' Rogues' Harbor/ because ' law could not be exe-
cuted.' The most abandoned and ferocious lawless-
ness prevailed. It was a desperate state of society.
Refugees from justice, murderers, horse-thieves,
highway robbers, and counterfeiters settled there,
and ' actually formed a majority.' The better ele-
ments of society, called ; Regulators/ organized and
attempted, by arms, to put down the ' Rogues/
but were defeated."
As late as 1803, according to Rev. Joseph Bad-
ger, Cleveland, Ohio, had no church, and " infidelity
and Sabbath profanation were general." A gen-
tleman visiting Western New York in 1798 said:
" Religion has not got west of the Genesee River.
1 86 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Some towns are hot-beds of infidelity.*' Of many
other sections of the country it was said, "There
was scarcely a vestige of the Christian religion."
Rev. Dr. I. N. Tarbox says : " A sentence from
the 'Andover (Mass.) Manual' opens another subject
of great significance, as showing the real condition
of the Churches in the last century. We are told,
as a part of the history of that Church, that 4 the
chief causes of discipline for a hundred and twenty-
five years were fornication and drunkenness.' And
the writer adds : ' He who investigates the records
of this or any other Church for the same period
will be astonished at the prevalence of these vices,
as compared with the present time.' " *
The Pastoral Letter issued in 1798 by the Gen-
eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was full
of alarm and expostulation : " When formidable
innovations and convulsions in Europe threaten
destruction to morals and religion ; when scenes of
devastation and bloodshed, unexampled in the his-
tory of modern nations, have convulsed the world ;
and when our own country is threatened with sim-
ilar calamities, insensibility in us would be stupid-
ity; silence would be criminal. . . . We desire to
direct your awakened attention toward that burst-
ing storm, which threatens to sweep before it the
* " Historical Sketch of the Congregational Churches of Massa-
chusetts from 1776 to 1876." Minutes of the General Association for
1877, p. 33.
MORALS. 187
religious principles, institutions, and morals of our
people. We are filled with deep concern and aw-
ful dread, while we announce it as our conviction
that the eternal God has a controversy with our na-
tion, and is about to visit us in his sore displeasure.
. . . We perceive with pain and fearful apprehen-
sion a general dereliction of religious principle and
practice among our fellow-citizens ; a great departure
from the faith and simple purity of manners for
which our fathers were remarkable ; a visible and
prevailing impiety and contempt for the laws and
institutions of religion ; and an abounding infidelity,
which, in many instances, tends to atheism itself."
In this alarming condition of things, they say: "A
dissolution of religious society seems to be threat-
ened by the supineness and inattention of many
ministers and professors of Christianity." "For-
mality and deadness, not to say hypocrisy, a con-
tempt for vital godliness and the spirit of fervent
piety, a desertion of the ordinances, or a cold and
unprofitable attendance upon them, visibly per-
vaded every part of the Church." " The profligacy
and corruption of public morals have advanced with
a progress proportioned to our declension in religion.
Profaneness, pride, luxury, injustice, intemperance,
lewdness, and every species of debauchery and loose
indulgence, greatly abound."
The means for combating these evils were then
small. In large sections of the land the people
1 88 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
either were not supplied with gospel preaching or
the supply was very scanty. There were no tracts,
and very few religious books and Bibles. The age
of tract and Bible societies had not dawned. Dur-
ing the colonial history no Bibles except Eliot's In-
dian Bible were allowed by the mother country to
be printed. They were, therefore, scarce and expen-
sive, and during the Revolutionary War a few were
imported, with great difficulty, from Scotland and
Holland. The first American edition of the holy
Scriptures was published in 1781, by Robert Aiken,
of Philadelphia. So meager were the means of
resistance against the evils of that period.
CHAPTER II.
TITE PRESENT PEIMOZl
SPECIFIC TENDENCIES.
The Sabbath.
Slavery and Barbarism.
Unohastity and Divorce.
Impure Literature.
Crinne.
MORALS. 191
CHAPTER II.
THE PRESENT PERIOD.
THE review of the preceding periods has pre-
pared us to judge more intelligently the moral
condition of our own times. The task, however, is
still attended with difficulties ; for to judge our times
is much like judging ourselves. Future judges may
modify our best conclusions. To compare the
moral condition of the same people in two different
periods requires much careful discrimination. So
many diverse elements, currents, ebbs, and flows
enter into the life of any people, and especially of a
young nation like ours an asylum for all nations
and in times so stimulating, intense, and revolution-
izing in the realm of ideas, that there is a liability to
error in any conclusion that may be reached. With
many first appearances, or fancies and prepossessions,
instead of a definite basis of facts, determine conclu-
sions. It is not strange, therefore, that on a ques-
tion so complicated as this a considerable diversity
of views should exist ; and it would be wonderful if
a being so much inclined to fault-finding as man
should fail to sometimes indulge in that peculiar
luxury.
uj2 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
For ourselves, we may say that the careful study
of the period under consideration, notwithstanding
its serious currents of evil, some of them increasing
and others new, has resulted in the comforting con-
viction that a very great and substantial improve-
ment has taken place in the average moral purity of
American society and of the American Churches.
It should, however, be kept continually in mind
that the world abounds in evil ; that under the ex-
traordinary light and intelligence of the age unu-
sual hardness and impiety are to be expected in
those resisting ; that an age so intensely active will
be likely to be characterized by a corresponding
activity and intensity in evil ; and that rank and
monstrous developments of evil will justify the pre-
diction, *' Evil men and seducers will wax worse
and worse," even while the average moral condition
may be radically improving.
The progress of society is not wholly in straight
lines or by uniform rates. Currents have their ed-
dies, flows their ebbs. The best advancement of
the world has sometimes seemed oscillatory or re-
ceding. Beating against the wind is a frequent
method of moral navigation. Human Progress,
said Theodore Parker, is much like the flight of
wild fowl. The leaders continually change ; the old
fall to the rear, and new ones come to the front,
soon to give place to others. But the whole flock
is advancing. So with the flock of virtues and
MORALS. 193
vices. The actual progress of communities can be
determined only with due discrimination in regard
to things phenomenal, temporary, and collateral.
In such a spirit we inspect the facts of our na-
tional life, indicative of the moral condition and
progress during this century.
The great revival of religion which spread through
almost the whole land from 1800 to 1803, inaugu-
rated an era of better moral and religious life. The
dark and gloomy spell of evil under which the
country had struggled in the two preceding decades
was in a good measure broken ; the Churches were
invested with new power ; the tone of public mor-
als improved ; and new currents were introduced,
destined, in due time, to work out beneficent re-
sults. Such intelligent observers as Rev. Drs. He-
man Humphry, E. D. Griffin, Nathan Bangs, Elijah
Hedding, Lyman Beecher, and Hons. Reuben H.
Walworth, John Cotton Smith, and John Quincy
Adams, all familiar with those times, bore ample
and decisive testimony to this change. But the tes-
timony of facts must be cited.
The Sabbath.
The disregard of the Sabbath in the last two de-
cades of the last century, so serious in all the older
communities, and tot-\l in many of the new settle-
ments, still continued a flagrant offense against
morals after the present century opened. In large
13
194 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
portions of the West and South-west the only rec-
ognition of the Sabbath was a general devotion to
pleasure, gaming, and visiting. The home mission-
aries and itinerant preachers who first visited West-
ern New York, Ohio, Michigan, and the regions
farther south and south-west, encountered a condi-
tion of morals calling for stern courage and hero-
ism. They found Sunday a day of amusement,
spent in horse-racing and dissipation. The stores
were kept open, and " the only distinguishing feat-
ure of the day was an excess of wickedness." This
state of things existed in those sections for several*
decades.
Bishop Meade represented the condition of things
in Eastern Virginia as but little better. At the
time of his consecration to the ministry, in 1811, at
Williamsburgh, Va., the seat of William and Mary's
College, and, therefore, presumed to be the most
cultivated part of that State, (Bishop Madison of
that diocese, president of the college, residing
there,) the disregard of the Sabbath was almost to-
tal. " On our way to the old church," he said,
" the Bishop and myself met a company of students
with guns on their shoulders and dogs at their sides,
attracted by the frosty morning, which was favor-
able to the chase, and at the same time one of the
citizens was filling his ice-house. On arriving at
the church we found it in a wretched condition,
with broken windows and a gloomy, comfortless as-
MORALS. 195
pect. The congregation consisted of two ladies and
fifteen gentlemen, nearly all of whom were relatives
or acquaintances." * He also describes a similar
condition of things in Richmond, and elsewhere in
Virginia.
In staid Connecticut Sabbath desecration was so
.serious that the " Society for the Reformation of
Morals," organized in 1812, under the leadership of
Rev. Lyman Beecher, in addition to intemperance,
gave special prominence to Sabbath-brea'cing as one
of the evils from which they hoped to deliver the
State.
After 1810, mails were carried on the Sabbath on
all the routes in the United States, and the post-
offices were kept open. This practice continued
mere than twenty years, notwithstanding numer-
ous remonstrances. All the religious bodies repeat-
edly protested, and memorialized Congress on the
subject, from 1812 until after 1830, but with little
effect. Matters grew worse instead of better ; for
whereas the law of 1810 required only those post-
offices where the mails arrived on Sunday to be
kept open, and that only for an hour, in 1825 a
more lax law was enacted, requiring that all post-
offices, at which mails arrived on the Sabbath,
shou ? d be kept open during the iv/wle of the day.
* " Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia." By
Bishop William Meade. Vol. i, pp. 29, 30, et< . Philadelphia : J. B.
Lippin ott & Co. 1857.
196 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Public military honors were paid to General La-
fayette, in 1824, on the Lord's day. At its next
session, the General Association of Massachusetts
expressed grave apprehensions on account of " the
growing indifference to the sanctity of the day," and
the " repeated violations of it." In 1827 a crowd
of opposers violently interfered and prevented Rev.
Gardner Spring, D.D., and other influential gentle-
men, from holding a meeting in City Hall, New
York, for promoting the better observance of the
Sabbath.
In March, 1830, Hon. Richard M. Johnston, Post-
master General, outraged the moral sentiments of
the nation, in an official reply to memorials asking
for the repeal of the laws requiring the post-offices
to be kept open the whole of Sunday. Respecting
that report it was said : " Satan never accomplished
a greater victory over the Sabbath, through any
agency, in any country, than was accomplished by
this report, if we except the abolition of the Sab-
bath, in France, during the reign of infidelity."
In 1834, by a general repealing clause, all the
Sabbath observance laws in New York city disap-
peared, and in their place was found a law prohibit-
ing religious .meetings in the Park and other public
places, unless held by a licensed minister of the
Gospel, and with the written permission of the
mayor or aldermen. Some years later the only
law bearing on the Sabbath, in New York, was a
MORALS. 197
prohibition against the firing of a gun on Sunday,
and the sale of intoxicating drinks, the latter of
which was supposed to be superseded by a law of
the State.
In 1840 the " come-outer" wing of radical aboli-
tionists assailed the Sabbath, and denounced it in
conventions, lectures, newspapers, etc., exerting a
very pernicious influence against the sacred day,
through several years.
In 1842 the American and Foreign Sabbath
Union was formed. Under the leadership of Rev.
Justin Edwards, D.D., its agent, a redoubtable
champion of reform, a broad and influential move-
ment was inaugurated, enlisting leading statesmen,
and influential gentlemen, in all sections of the
land, and securing favorable action by the State
Legislatures. In 1844 a National Convention was
held in Baltimore, attended by upward of seventeen
hundred delegates, from eleven different States, at
which Hon. John Quincy Adams presided. Through
several years much attention was devoted to the
discontinuance of railroad trains and steamboats
on Sundays ; and Hon. E. C. Delavan, of Albany,
printed, and gratuitously circulated among the
stockholders and travelers of the New York Central
road one hundred thousand copies of Dr. Edwards'
" Sabbath Manual," to prepare the way for the
cars to cease running on Sunday. After eight years
of arduous labors, traveling more than forty-eight
PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
thousand miles, in twenty-five different States, ad-
dressing men through the pulpit and the press,
Dr. Edwards summed up the glorious results of his
labors in these lines :
"Railroad directors, in an increasing number of
cases, have confined the running of their cars to six
days in the week ; locks on canals are not opened ;
and official business is not transacted on the Sab-
bath. Stages and steamboats in many cases have
ceased to run ; and more than eighty thousand miles
of Sabbath-breaking mails have been stopped. . . .
" About forty railroad companies have stopped
the running of their cars on that day, on about four
thousand miles of roads. The communities through
which they pass, and whose right to the stillness
and the quiet of the day had for years been grossly
violated, by the screaming and rumbling of cars in
time of public worship, are now free from the nui-
sance, and are permitted to enjoy their rights and
privileges without molestation."
The year 1850 was the period of the best general
observance of the Sabbath that had then been
known for one hundred years. About that time,
however, a very large new element was introduced
into American society, destined to seriously modify
our habits and life. The great European immigra-
tion set upon our shores about 1848, and came in
rapidly swelling waves in the following years, bring-
ing Sabbath ideas and habits radically different from
MORALS. 199
ouis. A decline in Sabbath observance was soon
apparent.
To resist these encroachments upon public mo-
rality, in 1854, Christian men came together and
organized the New York Sabbath Committee, the
record of whose labors is worthy of more extended
notice than we can here devote to it.
In 1856 the Sabbath desecration in New York
city was described as presenting a fearful picture.
Steamboats arrived and departed, and railway trains
bore an immense freight of passengers into neigh-
boring towns, to return at night with half-intoxi-
cated crowds; dance- houses emitted mingled noises
of music, dancing, and swearing; red-curtained grog-
shops stood open in the larger avenues ; the public
gardens were full of target-shooters, gamblers, and
drinkers ; many branches of business continued in
full blast ; shops, foundries, and machine factories
continued their work ; engine companies and pro-
cessions paraded the streets ; academies of music
and theaters were open for " sacred " performances ;
and, in short, " the Sabbath became the vilest day
of the seven."
No such picture could then be drawn of any other
Northern Atlantic city. Boston was bad enough;
but the Sabbath was a quiet day. Its wickedness
was not noisy and demonstrative, nor in the major-
ity. But there was a growing laxity in the observ-
ance of the Lord's day.
200 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The New York Committee attributed the grow-
ing desecration of the Sabbath to the following
causes : Selfishness and worldliness, the preoccupa-
tion and neglect of Christian men, the multiplication
of lines of travel into the interior of the country,
European travel, the immense immigration from
Europe, and, above all, the desire for recreation.
In 1859 a New York newspaper said: "It ap-
pears that there are 7,779 places where liquors are
sold in the city, of which only 72 have license from
the Excise Commissioners, and that 5,186 houses
continue their business on Sunday, in violation of
State and city statutes ; and it is estimated that at
least the sum of $1,348,360 is expended in the grog-
shops on the fifty-two Sundays of the year. It fur-
ther appears that of the 27,845 commitments to
prison in 1857, no less a proportion than 23,817 of
these, or about 6 out of every 7, were of persons of
'intemperate habits;' of whom, again, sixty per
cent, were mere youths and young men between
ten and thirty years of age. Lastly, another set of
statistics shows that, taking seventy-six successive
Sundays, the criminal arrests were 9,713, while for
the same number of Tuesdays there were but 7,861
a difference of twenty-five per cent. traceable to
the Sunday grog-shops/'
Foreign immigration exerted an influence almost
incalculable in promoting Sabbath desecration. At
the date of which we now speak, more than one
MORALS. 201
half of the population of New York city were either
foreign-born or their immediate offspring, and with
European ideas of the Sabbath. Few of the cities
of Ireland had a larger Irish population, and few
cities of Germany a larger German population, than
New York, and it was particularly the Germans
who took the lead in Sabbath profanation, trans-
planting to our country, not the German Sabbath
of Germany itself, but of the most irreligious and
atheistic portion of that people. In this new soil
it reached an enormity of development that would
have astonished the natives at home. The great
mass of the children, released from the imperative
necessity of receiving a good theoretical religious
education, which in Germany is rigidly enforced
upon all, in this land grow up to live absolutely
without any recognition of God or his sacred laws ;
many of their newspapers openly denying the sa-
credness of the Bible, and even the existence of
God. To them Sunday was a day to eat, drink, and
be merry. It was early seen that every year an
increasing portion of the American people were
adopting these customs, so that this element, in-
stead of being absorbed into our native element,
was absorbing a portion of the native element.
We have spoken of New York city because these
agencies were there most conspicuously working at
that time, and, through the hot-bed fermentations
of city life, earliest ripened there into the natural
202 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
fruit. But the same seed was scattered all over the
continent. The cities of the West partook of the
same type, those of the East were infected, and the
fruitage was destined to be seen every-where.
At one time, reviewing the work of the Sabbath
Committee, Dr. Gardner Spring said :
" They have not labored in vain. They have
suppressed the vociferous cries of the Sunday news-
boys, ... in defiance of the most violent ribaldry
and abuse. They have suppressed the Sunday pa-
geant of the Fire Department, so that it has fallen
into disuse under the weight of its own folly. They
have rectified the abuses of the Sabbath in Central
Park. They have suppressed the Sunday liquor
traffic to a great extent, . . . and driven it into cor-
ners. They have suppressed the Sunday theaters
and beer-gardens, and the Sunday concerts, etc. . . .
They have carried the reform into our canals, our
steamboats, our flouring and salt establishments,
and our fisheries."
Since that time the wave has receded ; but, after
all, Sabbath desecration is the exception rather
than the general practice. But few, relatively, of
the railroad trains run. Nearly all the engines lie
still. Business is almost entirely hushed. But few
stores, libraries, and museums are opened. With
almost no attempts, by legal prosecutions, to en-
force the observance of the day, its very general
voluntary observance, becomingly and sacredly, by
MORALS. 203
such large masses of people is clear evidence of the
elevated moral sentiment that dominates the land,
speaking more loudly of real virtue than the con-
.strained observance secured by rigorous civil penal-
ties under the regimen of our Puritan fathers.
It must be confessed that theoretical changes
have been working in many minds, the views of
good men of the highest rank, religiously and mor-
ally, having undergone some modifications. The
Puritan Sabbath has come to be regarded as an ex-
treme toward the Talmudical Sabbath of the Phar-
isees, incumbered with vestments not scriptural,
nor even Mosaic, and far removed from the spirit
and character of the Christian Sabbath. The tend-
ency is toward a Christian ideal of the sacred day.
Many, however, have gone to the extreme of laxity.
Each age requires for its peculiar necessities a re-
statement of familiar truths and principles ; for they
are assailed from new quarters and by new argu-
ments. The Christian Church is adjusting lines of
discussion which will fully meet these demands, and
is freshly presenting and arguing fundamental prin-
ciples, which will effectually vindicate the eternal
sanctity of the Sabbath. It is demonstrating that
the essential sanctions and obligations of the Jew-
ish Sabbath are transferred to the Christian Sunday ;
that the evidences for the necessity of a day of rest
are inwrought in man's physical, intellectual, and
religious nature ; and that the laws requiring Sab-
204 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
bath observance are compatible with the most per-
fect personal freedom " the law of rest of all be-
ing necessary to the liberty of rest of each."
Slavery.
At the beginning of this century slavery existed
throughout all the world. Hungary numbered nine
millions of slaves, and the Russian, Austrian, and
Prussian peasantry were mostly slaves, or seifs in
a low condition. For some years after this century
opened an Englishman might sell his wife into
servitude. Slavery existed in Scotland down to the
very last year of the eighteenth century. The col-
liers and salters were slaves bound to service for
life, and were bought and sold with the works at
which they labored. During the first seven years
of this century English ships conveyed annually
over the Atlantic forty thousand Africans, one half
of whom perished at sea or soon after landing.
Twenty-six acts of the British Parliament expressed
approval of the traffic, and it required twenty
years of agitation to suppress it, and twenty-six
more to procure emancipation. The whip was freely
used in the English West Indies, and even the flog-
ging of women was practiced till eight years after
the Battle of Waterloo. In 1833 emancipation
was decreed, and six hundred thousand slaves were
liberated by the expenditure of twenty millions
sterling.
MORALS. 205
In the United States the evil was not so easily
disposed of. Here it wrought with incalculable
mischief and demoralization in all ranks of society,
North and South. Considered in all its phases, the
institution of slavery did more to corrupt and dete-
riorate American manners than any other single
cause. It was a fountain of glaring injustice, bloody
barbarism, the grossest licentiousness, the darkest
ignorance, the most perfidious sophistry ; in short,
" the sum of all villainies." It extended its corrupt
sway even to the best circles of society in the North,
and made eminent instructors in law and piety
pleaders and apologists for the rankest injustice.
The hallucinating power of our Western cotton ri-
valed the hempen hasheesh of the East, and made
" Or fools or knaves of all who ate it."
' The preacher eats, and straight appears
His Bible in a new translation ;
Its angels negro overseers,
And heaven itself a snug plantation.
"The noisiest Democrat, with ease
It turns to slavery's parish beadle ;
The shrewdest statesman eats, and sees
Due southward point the polar needle.
" The judge partakes, and sits ere long
Upon his bench a railing blackguard ;
Decides off-hand that right is wrong,
And reads the ten commandments backward."
The legislation of the country on the slavery
question was of the most corrupt and deteriorating
2o6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
character : whether we look at the local legislation
of the several States, delivering over the blacks
more and more completely, soul and body, to the,
most abject and debasing servitude, shutting out
the means of enlightenment and amelioration al-
lowed in earlier periods ; or the legislation of Con-
gress, violating grave ordinances which had been
declared final and unalterable, compromising and
then violating compromises, bartering sacred hu-
man rights for the broth of office, entering into war
with Mexico for the purpose of extending the area
of slavery, turning the whole North into a hunting-
ground for slaves, and outraging the most palpable
principles of law and justice in their arrest and re-
committal to slavery. Each and all these acts, from
the great Missouri Compromise, through all the pro-
slavery constructions placed upon the Constitution,
to the infamous Kansas perfidy and crime, were
not only destructive of good morals, but also posi-
tively barbarous and brutalizing in tendency the
abundant seed-sowing of the more recent outrages
and atrocities in the Southern States. The pro-
slavery theories, in their politico-moral bearings ;
the Scripture vindication of slavery, in its religious
bearing; the humiliating bondage of large ecclesi-
astical bodies to the slave power ; the loose sexual
relations of the whites with the slaves ; the almost
entire absence of ethical inculcations in connection
with the scanty religious instruction imparted to
MORALS. 207
the slaves, leaving them wholly undeveloped in
moral ideas, and immoral in habits while ardent in
religious sentiment ; and the brutal severity prac-
ticed to hold in subjection the rapidly multiplying
serfs were productive of an untold amount of
moral impurity and deterioration.
The statistics of homicides and other atrocious
crimes in the South show that the pernicious pro-
slavery seed-sowing of the century has produced a
fearful harvest. According to the last census, in
North Carolina there was one violent death to every
twenty-two thousand of population ; in South Car-
olina, one to nineteen thousand ; in Georgia, one to
ten thousand ; in Alabama, one to ten thousand ; in
Florida, one to four thousand ; in Mississippi, one to
nine thousand; in Louisiana, one to six thousand;
in Arkansas, one to six thousand three hundred ; in
Texas, one to two thousand five hundred. The
ratio in the nine States is one in seven thousand
three hundred ; and, even excluding Texas, which
shows such a horrible record, the proportion is one
to nine thousand six hundred. At this rate the
homicides in the whole United States should have
exceeded forty thousand, or nearly twenty times as
many as actually occurred. It may put these fig-
ures in a somewhat clearer light if we call attention
to the fact that the homicides in Florida exceeded
by two those in all the New England States ; that
Louisiana exceeded those for the two most populous
2o8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
States New York and Pennsylvania combined;
and that Texas alone records more than half as
many murders as all the States that were loyal dur-
ing the war.
" If statistics are good for any thing, these figures
prove conclusively that a state of society existed in
the South, previous to the passage of the Ku-Klux
bill, which demanded interference. In a great sec-
tion of the country, comprising fourteen States, with
a population of thirteen millions, life was so insecure
that one in every ten thousand met death by pre-
meditated violence in one year, and a large propor-
tion of these, in at least twelve of the States, was
traceable directly to an organization which aimed
at political power through murder and robbery."
Statistics recently collected in Kentucky, cover-
ing the period of about five years, (1874-1879,) in
several counties, present a most appalling showing
of high crimes and the laxity of law.
When will the barbarism engendered by slavery
pass away? " How long, O Lord, how long?"-
But, thank God, this most prolific of all the
sources of our demoralization, the institution of
slavery, is dead the greatest moral triumph of the
nineteenth century; the triumph of the higher vir-
tues of the American people. And in due time the
desolating effects of slavery must disappear.
MORALS. 209
Chastity and Divorce.
The French infidelity, so prevalent in America at
the close of the last and the beginning of the pres-
ent century, exerted a baleful influence upon social
and domestic relations. Numerous facts might be
cited, if the details were not so indelicate, showing
the prevalence of the grossest licentiousness, in
large sections of the country, and of unchastity, in
slightly milder forms, in even the better communi-
ties. Shocking examples of indiscriminate sexual
relations between parents and children, continuing
for years without civil interference, not in the fes-
tering centers of the population, but in the sparser
communities, might be cited, on the authority of
regularly drawn and duly attested affidavits. Data
now exist showing that rural towns in Massachu-
setts and Connecticut, of more than average thrift,
rank, and intelligence, favored with the ministra-
tions of some of the most eminent and faithful di-
vines, were not exempt from this evil, that enforced
marriages were frequent, and that the Chuiches,
much more frequently than in our days, were under
the necessity of administering discipline for crimes
against chastity.
In large sections of the land newly settled, and
either without Churches, ministers, and magistrates,
or only scantily supplied, there was little or no civil
or ecclesiastical recognition of matrimony, and men
14
2io PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and women assumed family relations without mar-
riage forms. These cases were very numerous.
Some of our most eminent civilians were the fruits
of the low habits prevailing in the beginning of this
century.
In the older portions of the land " runaways "
from matrimonial relations were frequent. The
stringency of the divorce laws gave little hope of
relief from unhappy unions. The comparative se-
clusion of local communities, then not penetrated
by railroads and telegraphs, and unvisited by ubiq-
uitous reporters, gave abundant opportunity for
concealment and remarriage, even though removed
but a short distance from a former residence. The
newspapers of that time abounded in advertise-
ments of " runaway wives." A gentleman writing
in 1815 said : " I cut out of all the newspapers we
received the advertisements of all the * runaway
wives,' and pasted them on a slip of paper, close
under each other. At the end of a month the slip
reached from the ceiling to the floor of a room more
than ten feet high, and contained one hundred and
twenty-three advertisements. We did not receive,
at most, more than one-twentieth part of all the
newspapers in the United States." Many, it is to
be presumed, were not advertised, and we have no
statistics of the runaway husbands.
About 1824-1826 Robert Owen and Fanny
Wright nearly simultaneously commenced their rad-
MORALS. 211
ical socialistic efforts, lecturing in all parts of the
country, and inculcating the most disorganizing
theories. It was a national excitement somewhat
like that of a religious revival or a political cam-
paign. The movement organized eleven commu-
nistic societies within a few years, and scattered
broadcast sentiments unfavorable to the dignity and
permanence of the marriage relation.
More recently, chiefly during the last forty years,
a series of legislative acts, in numerous States, have
removed the stringent restrictions upon divorce,
and the separations of husbands and wives have
become so numerous as to awaken much concern.
" Beginning with Connecticut, we find Benjamin
Trumbull, in 1785, mourning that 439 divorces had
taken place in Connecticut within a century, and
that all but 50 had occurred in the last 50 years.
About twenty years later, when the corrupt influ-
ence of French infidelity had reached its height,
President Dwight was alarmed that there was one
divorce to every hundred marriages. The evil, how-
ever, seems nearly checked in increase until 1843,
when ' habitual intemperance ' and * intolerable cru-
elty ' were added to the two existing causes for di-
vorce. Even then the increase was small. But in
1849 several causes were added, including the no-
torious ' omnibus clause,' making nine in all, and
jurisdiction was taken from the Legislature and
given to the courts. That year divorces numbered
212 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
94; the next year, 129; and in 1864,426. Then
for 15 years they averaged 446 annually, varying
less from year to year than the reported births
or marriages, or deaths. During this period the ra-
tio of divorces to marriages was I to 10.4. The re-
peal of the ' omnibus clause,' in 1878, reduced the
divorces of the next year to 316. Another slight
change in the law for the better was secured a year
ago.
" Vermont grants divorces for six causes. There
were 94 divorces granted in 1860, and from the close
of the war they increased to 197 in 1878, with the
ratio to marriages of I to 14. That year an amend-
ment to the laws resulted in a reduction of divorces
in the year following to 126.
" Rhode Island grants about 180 annually, and
her ratio is I to 13.
" New Hampshire prints no statistics either of
divorce or marriage, but it has been found that
there were 159 divorces in the entire State in 1870 ;
240 in 1875, and 241 in 1878. Three counties, that
had only 18 in 1840 and 21 in 1850, granted 40 in
1860, and 96 in 1878. There are fourteen causes
for divorce, but no more inclusive, probably, than
those of most other States.
" I do not know that the divorces of Maine have
ever been reported. I have secured an examination
of the county records in that State giving the di-
vorces of the 1 6 counties of the State for the year
MORALS. 213
1878. In these 16 counties there were 478 divorces
in that year. It is also found that in the five coun-
ties giving the number for 1880, there was an in-
crease of more than one third in the latter year,
from 166 to 223. Penobscot County granted 84
divorces last year.
" And now take Massachusetts, which I have re-
served to the last, because she is the heart of New
England, and for the facilities she affords for study-
ing this whole problem. This State, following
closely English law, granted divorce for only two
causes until 1860. That year there were 243 di-
vorces, or I to 51 marriages. Then, by a series of
acts passed, chiefly in 1860, '67, '73, and '77, the
causes for absolute divorce became nine, copying a
Connecticut vice just as Connecticut began to for-
sake it. In 1866 there were 392 divorces ; in 1870,
449; and in 1878,600. The ratio to marriages, i
to 51 in 1860, became I to 21.4 in 1878. It is
probable that in Massachusetts the increase still
goes on.
" If now we sum up for New England, there were
in the year of grace 1878 in Maine 478 divorces ; in
New Hampshire, 241 ; in Vermont, 197 ; in Massa-
chusetts, 600 ; in Connecticut, 401 ; and in Rhode
Island, 196; making a total of 2,113, an< ^ a larger
ratio in proportion to the population than in France
in the days of the Revolution. In France the ratio
of separation to marriages, latterly, is about i to 1 50 ;
214 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
in Belgium, of divorce to marriages, I to 270, with
a few separations ; and in England, of petitions for
both divorce and separation, I to 300. On the ba-
sis of population by the present census there was
one divorce to every 1357 inhabitants in Maine;
one to about 820 in Penobscot County, the seat of
a theological seminary ; one to every 1,443 m New
Hampshire; one to every 1,687 in Vermont; one
to every 2,973 in Massachusetts ; one to every 1,553
in Connecticut; and one to every 1,411 in Rhode
Island. But no State is likely to have a larger di-
vorce rate than Massachusetts, unless the laws and
discussion speedily check the evil.
" But the Catholic marriages are, in four States,
27 per cent, of the whole. Assuming what is very
nearly true, that there are no divorces among these,
the ratio of divorces to marriages among Protest-
ants is I to 1 1.7 for the four States together ; it be-
ing I to 15 in Massachusetts, I to 13 in Vermont,
I to 9 in Rhode Island, and I in less than 8 m
Connecticut.
" But what of divorce in the West ? Has not
this practice, in going West with the New En-
glander, run into greater extremes ? Few States,
if any, west of Ohio, collect statistics of divorce. In
Ohio the ratio for many years averaged I to 25,
and now it is about I to 18. Indiana has changed
her laws for the better, while Illinois has, it is
said, adopted better forms of procedure. No
MORALS. 215
city has had a worse reputation in divorce than
Chicago. Yet the records of Cook County, with a
population of about 600,000, for the five years,
1875-79, show a ratio of divorce suits begun to
marriage licenses taken out of I to 9.4. But for the
year 1875 it was found that one fifth of the peti-
tions heard were denied. Making this allowance
and the more strict practice of later years fully jus-
tified it the ratio becomes I to 12. Chicago is not
as bad as Hartford or New Haven." *
The last report f of Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chief
of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor in Massachu-
setts, contains a very succinct resume' of the legisla-
tion of that State in reference to divorce, since
1780. The divorce law of 1786 recognized only
two causes for divorce adultery and impotency.
Seven other causes have since been added sentence
to imprisonment at hard labor for five years or more,
desertion for three consecutive years, separation with-
out consent, refusal to cohabit and union for three
years with a religious sect or society holding the
relation of husband and wife unlawful, extreme
cruelty, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication,
abusive treatmert and neglect to provide. Under
these general causes there have been other sub-
* Monday Lecture delivered by Rev. Samuel W. Dike, of Royal-
ton, Vt., in Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass., January 24, 1881, and
published in full in the " Boston Traveler," January 25, 1881. Mr.
Dike is a high authority in the matter of divorce statistics.
f January 7, 1880, pp. 199-235.
216 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
causes or specifications, for which complete or par-
tial separations have been granted. The statistics
in this volume, gathered from the records of the
Massachusetts courts, covering a period of nineteen
years, (1860-79,) show forty-four causes or speci-
fications in which the courts have granted 7,233 di-
vorces, of which the following is a condensed sum-
mary, under eight general heads :
Desertion 3,013
Adultery 2,949
Intoxication 452
Extreme cruelty 375
Cruel and abusive treatment 223
Neglect to provide 154
Imprisonment 50
Impotency 17
" It will be observed," says Mr. Wright, " that
but 3,016 of these 7,233 divorces were granted for
causes that would have been valid even so late as
half a century ago. ' Desertion ' was not admit-
ted as a cause for divorce at all until 1838, and not
until after the passage of the law of 1857 could it
be used to any considerable extent. ' Intoxica-
tion' and 'cruel and abusive treatment' came in
with the revision of the laws of 1 860. Extreme
cruelty ' and ' neglect to provide ' did not until
1857 become causes for which decrees of full divorce
could be entered. Practically, therefore, more than
half of the whole number of divorces to which our
tables refer were granted for causes that have come
into legal existence within twenty-five years. . . .
" Of 1,169 divorces granted to wives in the whole
period, on account of ' intoxication/ ' extreme cru-
MORALS. 217
elty,' ' cruel and abusive treatment,' and ' neglect
to provide/ 985, or more than 84 per cent., were
decreed within the last half dozen years. It would
hardly do to assume that husbands have given so
much greater cause of late than ever before for
complaint in the directions indicated by these sev-
eral legal specifications. The explanation lies in
the fact that certain material modifications of law
took place in 1870 and 1873."
Simultaneously with this increase of divorces there
has been another serious fact, the decrease of the
number of marriages. In Massachusetts, in 19 years,
the average ratio was I divorce to about 36 mar-
riages ; during the past 3 years, it was I to 23 mar-
riages ; in Vermont, in 7 years, there were 730 di-
vorces to 15,710 marriages, or I to 21 ; in Ohio, in
1866, 1,169 divorces to 30,479 marriages, or i to 27;
in Connecticut, in 8 years, 2,910 divorces to 33,227
marriages, or i to n ; in Rhode Island, I to 14.
Several considerations claim attention
1. The increase of divorces during the past thirty
years is an ominous symptom ; and, in even the
most liberal view of the question, can but awaken
concern for the permanence of social order and the
stability of public virtue.
2. The comparison of the number of divorces with
the number of marriages annually is not satisfac-
tory; for the number of marriages varies with the
prosperity of the country and other causes. The
218 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
financial embarrassments following 1873 have di-
minished the number of the marriages, while they
have not reduced the number of the divorces; and
the larger facilities for obtaining divorces, granted
in 1870 and 1873, is another cause not to be over-
looked in such an investigation.
3. Loose legislation in regard to the matrimonial
relation is an evidence of a change in the type of
morals and a modification of the moral standard.
4. Some divorces, now granted, are for causes
which do not imply serious immorality, or for im-
moralities not new, and probably not so numerous
or so serious as in former times. Hence, the mere
fact of an increase of divorces does not imply an in-
crease of wickedness.
5. The divorces in our days, morally considered,
count against the runaways from matrimony and
the illegalized assumptions of marriage relations,
quite extensive under the deleterious influences
of French infidelity, less than one hundred years
ago. The elopements and runaways now are few
in comparison with those of that period, less even
than twenty-five years ago. Now, combining the
runaways and divorces, we find no such condition
of things as existed when one twentieth part of
the newspapers, in a single month, contained one
hundred and twenty-three advertisements of runa-
way wives.
We have only to go back a few centuries to find
MORALS. 219
the family a very different thing from what it is to-
day, with all the present evils. Out of what low
conditions, before the Reformation, has it gradually
risen into the dignity and purity with which we find
it invested ! It is not long since wives were exposed
for sale in England.* A gentleman in this country
in 1815, having access to not a very large number
of English sources of information, found in a single
year thirty-nine instances of wives exposed to public
sale, like cattle at Smithfield. In hotly contested
elections, in places where a freeman's daughter con-
ferred the right to vote by marriage,f it was common
for the same woman to marry several men. The
ceremony over, the parties went into the church-
yard, shook hands over an open grave, saying, " now
death do us part," and away went the man to vote
with his new qualification, and the woman to quali-
fy another husband at another church.
How have laws and customs pertaining to mar-
* The following is an extract from an English publication ;, " SHROP-
SHIRE. The town of Ludlow lately witnessed one of those scenes to
which custom has attached the character of lawful transactions in
the minds of the lo^ver classes. A well-looking woman, wife of John
Hall, to whom she had been married only one month, was brought
by him in a halter, and sold by auction in the market for two and
sixpence, with the addition of sixpence for the rope with which she
was led. In this sale the customary market fees were charged
loll, one penny ; pitching, three pence." New Monthly Magazine.
for Sept., 1814.
| The qualifications for voting differed at different places. Bristol.
England, is here referred to. See " Espriella," by Southey.
220 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
riage been purified and improved ! how much honor
and influence is now accorded to woman ! how has
the sacredness and sweetness of home-life been de-
veloped throughout Christendom ! This home sanc-
tuary still has its evils, but less numerous and in-
veterate than those which cursed the family before
Protestantism arose.
Numerous socialistic communities, organized in
this country on an antimarriage basis, have nearly
all disappeared ; and those remaining have aban-
doned the system of promiscuous sexual relations.
The recent change in the Oneida Community has
received much attention, and is clearly the effect
of the advancing moral sentiment of the nation.
Impure Literature.
The immorality of much of our current literature
and its pernicious influence, deserves more atten-
tion than we can give it in the present limits. The
number of trashy and sensational papers published
in New York city alone has been stated* to be
twenty-five, with an aggregate circulation of three
hundred and thirty-six thousand copies weekly.
Add to this vast number a reasonable estimate of
the circulation of other papers of the same class, in
other cities, and multiply the total by the average
number of readers, say three or five to each copy
of a paper, and we have an audience of several mill-
* "National Quarterly Review," July, 1879.
MORALS. 221
ions, chiefly boys and girls, young men and young
women, to whom these papers minister intellectual
f ooc j with many, their only nutriment. These pa-
pers have been classified as bad, worse, worst.
" The first class do not contain that which is ob-
scene or profane to any considerable extent, but are
full of highly sensational stories. The titles of some
of them, selected at random, indicate their char-
acter: * Dashing Dolores, or Chincapin Dick on the
Border,' ' Spider and Stump, the Plagues of the
Village/ ' The Boy Pedestrian, or, Walking for a
Life,' etc. The staple characteristic of these stories
is the narrative of adventures. There is no real
portrayal of character, no picturesque description,
no pure sentiment nothing but the recital of
thrilling, blood-curdling adventure after adventure.
Other stories in these papers recite in appropriate
slang the tricks and practical jokes played by dar-
ing youngsters upon their parents and guardians.
The distinction between the two lower classes of
papers is a question simply of more or less. They
have sensational stories, dealing largely with the
relations of the sexes, together with illustrations of
current events of a sensational character, portraits
of burglars, murderers, and other criminals, and
pictures of crime. In their reports of crime, espe-
cially those against purity, they enter into the min-
utest details, and they are spiced not infrequently
with accounts of the doings in saloons and dance-
222 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
halls. The effect upon the reader, the ' Review*
writer observes, is as if he were put into constant
companionship with criminals. Crime is not only
made familiar to him, it is glorified, and his imag-
ination is stimulated until he is ready to imitate the
adventures which have been painted for him in such
brilliant colors." *
The fruits of such reading were justly described
by the writer already referred to :
"The completed product, then, brought forth as
the result of these publications, is a foul-mouthed
bully, a cheat, a thief, a desperado, a libertine.
Instead of a clean-minded, high-toned, honorable
young man, not afraid of work, and knowing that
whatever is of value in this world is gained by
work a young man of courage, in which the moral
element is greater than the physical, a young man
respecting the law and other men's rights, a young
man worthy of the love of a good woman we should
have one who, when the fictitious gloss, the stage-
tinsel, the mock-heroic glamor, had been rubbed off,
would be found preferring to live by his wits rather
than his labor; rotten at heart, and hence foul in
speech ; as likely as not a betrayer of innocence : a
pest and a plague in society." f
It is seriously feared that our public libraries
foster rather than restrain the cravings for the sen-
* Editorial in " Boston Journal," Aug. 2, 1879,
\ " National Quarterly Review " July, 1879.
MORALS. 223
sational thus awakened. " The gravity of this ques-
tion was confessed in a recent congress of librarians,
and the ratio of sensational fiction in the various
libraries, (in some Sunday-school libraries,) is ad-
mitted to be ominously large, in spite of all that
has been done to diminish it. The nature of the
difficulty is illustrated by the fact that the Hartford
librarian recently reported that one boy had taken
out one hundred and two story books in six months,
and one girl one hundred and twelve novels in the
same time."
This is a great and subtle evil. A New York
'judge, recently interviewed, traced a great deal of
the current crime to the influence of the flashy and
sensational story papers. But, besides, there are
the dime novels, cheap song books, et id omne genus,
turned out by the ton, and equally unhealthy to
morals. Nor should we fail to specify the perni-
ciously illustrated weeklies.
While fully accepting these facts, and in no sense
depreciating their importance, we must not forget
that the Christian public are fully aroused to resist
this evil. It is being assailed by the pulpit, the
press, the schools, and the public lectures, and or-
ganized movements have been formed against it.
An immense work has been accomplished by that
ever-to-be-honored champion of reform, Mr. An-
thony Comstock, in protecting society against this
malignant foe, and a better sentiment is becoming
224 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
apparent of itself, we may hope, to prove a salu-
tary safeguard.
But great as is this evil, it is only a slight blem-
ish upon the vast mass of the general literature of
our times, the character of which, as compared
with previous centuries, has immeasurably im-
proved. Where do our times furnish novels of the
vicious character of those of Smollett, Fielding, and
their company? And yet such books were read by
all classes in their day, in the higher as well as the
lower ranks of English society. Where are our
poets who babble loudly of vice " in dainty verse,"
as did Pope, Moore, Byron, etc. ? A writer in
"BlackwoodV recently said : "Pope's most melo-
dious, correctest couplets were interspersed with
lines which would damn for ever and ever any
modern poetaster."
Another said : " It is now necessary to prepare
expurgated editions of Shakspeare and of Dryden
if we would introduce them into our families.
Coming down almost to our own days, compare the
works of Lord Byron and of Tom Moore with the
works of Tennyson and of Longfellow. Here is
the title of one of De Foe's most popular works, so
much of it as decency will allow us to quote :
' Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, who
was born in Newgate, and during a Life of Con-
tinued Variety for Threescore Year, besides her
Childhood, was Twelve Year a Harlot, Five Times
MORALS. 225
a Wife, whereof once to her own Brother, Twelve
Year a Thief, Eight Year a transported Felon to
Virginia, at last grew Rich, lived Honest, and died
a Penitent.' Such a book, reaching the widest cir-
culation of any book of its time, reveals the state
of public morals."*
Crime.
The subject of crime should not be overlooked
in these inquiries, for the study of morals cannot
be dissociated from the study of crime. Moralists
and legislators mutually influence each other. Un-
der advancing conditions of society the moral lapses
of one generation become the criminal offenses of
another, and deeds once praiseworthy become pun-
ishable. In the progress of an ever-expanding
civilization, religious beliefs, theories of ethics,
science, the growth of commerce and trade, and
whatever affects the moral tone of society, exert an
influence upon criminal legislation.
Many complain of the recent growth of great
evils, but we believe that great crimes are relatively
less, both in this country and in Europe, than be-
fore the present century, and that piety and mo-
rality are higher than ever before, except in the
earlier periods of a few of the American colonies,
when, of course, the condition was anomalous, and
would not fairly admit of such a comparison.
* Editorial in the " Christian Advocate," New York City, Novem-
ber 30, 1876.
15
226 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The difficulty in the way of comparing the crime
of the past with that of the present is the want of
sufficient exact data. No single individual has had
the needed amount of personal observation, at once
comprehensive and minute, and the public statistics
of previous periods are too scattering and imperfect
to form a definite basis for calculation. The
amount and character of crime against society, as
recognized by the police, may be assumed as a
pretty good standard of the public morality; but
even that is confessedly imperfect, and mostly lim-
ited to quite recent dates. Perfect statistics of
criminal jurisprudence, for any given State or city,
or for the whole country, through the successive
decades of a century, cannot now be obtained, and,
even if they could be, some abatements and modi-
fications, suggested by collateral facts, would be
found necessary. During the past twenty or thirty
years considerable improvement has been made in
collecting and arranging criminal data, some of
which will be introduced in this discussion.
But it is too palpable to be disguised, nor are we
disposed to do so, that great crimes have been
shockingly frequent since the close of the late civil
war. The large cities have become centers of
crime, where it multiplies, and often claims im-
punity. Lechery riots and putrefies, groggeries
keep open on Sunday in the face of worthless offi-
cials, filthy performances draw crowded audiences
MORALS. 227
to theaters, and elaborately furnished gambling
hells flourish unnoticed. The larger cities are ba-
bels of manifold crimes, in crowding regiments, be-
sieging and threatening the very existence of law
and order.
Grave charges have been made, with too much
truth, we fear, against the official guardians of law
and order, in our larger cities, as the aiders and
abettors of crime. The report of the Legislative
Committee in New York, in 1875, appointed to in-
vestigate the conduct of the officials of New York
city, gave a startling picture of the demoralization
of the police, the offices of the District Attorney,
the Coroner, and the Sheriff, the Prisons, and the
Reformatories. Even the detective force, under
Captain I , was described as a band of skillful
and treacherous robbers, who, when in lack of sub-
jects, robbed and betrayed each other, to keep their
hands in." We cannot pause to give even a tithe
of the deplorable facts developed by this commit-
tee, nor need we speak in detail of similar things
elsewhere.
Nor in the larger cities only. The rural com-
munities, also, have furnished cases of daring atroc-
ity. Crimes against life and property have seemed
to move in waves, sometimes for a few months,
coming with shocking frequency. The newspapers
have freely discoursed of " The Reign of Violence,"
" The Era of Blood," " The Carnival of Crime,"
228 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and sounded notes of alarm. An editor, not given
to sensationalism,* said, " The problem revealed in
such developments of the murderous propensity is
certainly one calculated to justify the profoundost
anxiety of every thoughtful citizen, not only be-
cause the evil has reached alarming proportions,
but because the mere fact of prevalence begets a
sort of social influenza, which becomes a distinct
and additional source of crime."
The editor of one of our largest religious news-
papers has thus summed up these complaints
against the crimes of our times :
" To bring the whole case before us, let us cata-
logue the crimes, charges, criminations and recrim-
inations, and the conflicting convictions concerning
public affairs. So much has been poured into the
public ear that disheartened men are not a few.
Many charges have been urged on both sides with
a view to make them public convictions. We will
emphasize them, then analyze them. It is trum-
peted abroad that distrust, the forerunner of de-
struction, fills the very air ; that virtue herself veils
her face, lest an idolatrous multitude should brand
her as a hypocrite ; that even integrity weeps at
the bar of the public judgment, waiting for a vindi-
cation by events. It is said that every place of
public trust is polluted ; that thieves in the public
treasury consort with criminals in the halls of jus-
* The " Boston Journal."
MORALS. 229
tice ; that creatures, wearing the badges of honora-
ble and ancient orders, fawn about the steps oi*
power that they may barter the secrets of friend-
ship for the booty of conspirators ; that the slime
of corruption has reached the most holy place, till
avenging angels seem to guard the very approaches
to the mercy-seat. But what is worse than all else,
the very efforts at reform are alleged to be con-
ceived in sin and born in iniquity. Partisans seek
not criminals, but victims. If any scrap of honor
remains in public life it attracts assault.
" Liars and informers and thieves can fatten at
the public expense, to secure room for greater
crimes. Language can do but poor justice to the
case when men who have plundered the treasury
are the sole protectors of the government they
failed to bankrupt and overthrow. If these things
be true, it is no wonder that the air is full of accusa-
tions. In the last year we have seen thirty-seven
investigating committees appointed apparently to
slander political antagonists whose demerit is, at
the worst, only equal to that of their persecutors.
We have nearly three hundred indictments for
offenses that were fatal to honor. Over seventy
have pleaded guilty to crimes that involve the hon-
or of a vast net-work of officers.
"The case is summed up in a few terribly dark
characters. Public integrity is said to be lost in the
sewer where politicians are spawned ; so that all
230 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
turpitudes in public servants are accounted for, if
not justified, by the use of the single term l politi*
dan' Public trust, that at once partakes of the
honor of the citizen and the fidelity of the father,
rests as lightly on the political conscience as the
passing shadow of a summer cloud. Office is said
to mean opportunity for spoils. Justice is called a
cat-o'-nine-tails with the stock end in the hand of
the great criminals, while the small rogues and
helpless victims dance at its business end. Faith in
eternal verities is said to stumble over its own
deserted altars, strangled by the profligacy of its
own priests. Private fortunes are thought to be in
perpetual peril from the treachery of personal friends
as well as from the assaults of organized bands of
plunderers." *
Astounding cases of defalcation, forgery, and
other offenses against trust and honor, involving
in heavy crime men of highest respectability, of
lofty religious profession, pillars of Churches, and
conspicuous in Christian and charitable labors, have
been the most painful and staggering to public con-
fidence of all the recent developments. While set-
ting their hands to deeds for which they now lie in
penitentiaries, they were " repeating every Sabbath
the prayers of the Church ; singing songs hallowed
by the voices of martyrs ; giving freely of stolen
goods to Christian benevolences; and seemingly
*" Christian Advocate," New York city, Nov. 30, 1876.
MORALS. 231
delighting in deeds of charity more than in hoard-
ing gold. So tortuous, serpentine, and idiotic, under
the wiles of evil, have consciences become." Faith-
less officials have lived in splendid mansions, driven
fast horses, and traveled in foreign lands, on the
money of poor people, putting industry and econo-
my at a discount.
The effect of these oft-repeated defalcations has
been fearfully cumulative. Sermons, homilies,
scathing editorials, public and social indignations,
have multiplied, inculcating virtue, protesting
against venality, and warning of the consequences
of dishonesty. Then straightway one supposed to
be incorruptible takes a hand in the unequal game,
and surprises the public with a fresh example of
perfidy and ruin. Within a brief period a single
New England city has furnished a half-dozen illus-
trations of defaulters in high social and religious
positions.
No theory fully accounts for the recent increase
of crime. Sometimes it is said to be owing to the
infusion of a large immoral foreign population into
the country; but the next moment we hear of some
horrid atrocity by a native American of education
and good social standing. Then we talk of the
cities as the peculiar abodes of crime ; but the next
day a quiet rural district furnishes a case which for
savagery matches anything perpetrated in the vilest
haunts of the large centers. It is impossible to go
232 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
to the deepest root of homicidal crime, for it in-
volves " some of the most occult and difficult prob-
lems of mental and moral psychology." Malignant
ulcers, horrid deformities, and infectious distempers
have always afflicted the highest civilizations, and
probably will continue to do so.
We have given the alleged demoralization so
much prominence and emphasis that we may do
full justice to many palpable facts, and lest we
should seem to unduly eulogize the present age.
But a broad and discriminating analysis of these
unfavorable aspects of our times, in the light of
previous times, will throw a clearing light upon the
page, and show that the indications are not doleful
but hopeful ; that some are temporary reactions un-
der temporary causes ; that others are eddying cir-
cles in the stream of progress ; others, first, and
probably transient, out-puttings of new and imma-
ture stages of civilization ; and that, whatever shad-
ows here and there may darken the picture, its
average light and beauty are immeasurably greater
than in former days.
There are many weighty considerations which
shed an alleviating light upon the situation.
First of all, it must be borne in mind that a large
part of the increase of crime is apparent rather than
real. It is not simply that more crimes are com-
mitted, but more are reported. " We read about
defalcations and rascalities, but we forget that we
MORALS. 233
skim the whole creation every morning and put the
results in our coffee. Years ago a crime had to be
of unusual proportions to make its way into an ad-
joining State. Only the giant crimes could cross
the continent. But now we see and know every
thing."
"The ubiquitous reporter," says the editor of the
" Boston Journal," (July n, 1879,) "is responsible
for the gloomy showing. His note-booU and pen-
cil are every-where, and the telegraph is the ready
agent for transmitting news to all parts of the
world. The scope of the press has vastly broad-
ened of late years, and its facilities for collecting
news are immensely multiplied. We have had the
curiosity to look back over some early files of ' The
Journal/ in order to show by comparison the
change which has taken place. Selecting an issue
of the paper at random, in July, 1850, we find that
out of thirty-two columns contained in the paper
precisely one third of a column is taken up with
telegraph news, and two thirds of a column with
local news, half of the latter space being devoted to
an account of tenement-house life on Fort Hill. Of
actual news, gathered by reporters and by telegraph,
the paper contained hardly more than half a col-
umn. * The Journal ' of that day was not less
enterprising than its contemporaries ; but journal-
istic ideas and ideals were altogether different. The
newspaper reader then was content with the narrow
234 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
horizon which his paper supplied him, and troubled
himself very little about matters which went on at
a distance. The newspaper editor presented news
as it happened to come, and when it came, and was
not given to making special exertions for procuring
it. How different this is from the journalism of to-
day, with its net-work of agencies, embracing the
most insignificant places and the most remote quar-
ters of ttfe world ; with its complex facilities and
mighty rivalries ; with its special correspondents
here, there, and every-where scouring the deserts
of Central Asia, exploring Africa, watching the mil-
itary movements in Zululand, and even going out in
quest of a way to the North Pole we hardly need
say. The editor of thirty years ago would have
stood aghast at the expenditures for news collecting
necessary to a journal of to-day. But we may note,
in passing, that in the scanty space devoted to
news in the issue of July, 1850, to which we refer,
we find mention of nine crimes."
What proportion of crime is apparent and what
is actual cannot be satisfactorily answered. Our
bureaus of statistics are preparing materials which
may at some time assist us. Unquestionably, more
crimes are now committed than twenty or thirty
years ago. But during this period great changes
have taken place in the composition of our popula-
tion.
It must be evident to all that as society develops
MORALS. 235
life becomes more rapid and intense, and the liabil-
ity to break down under overstrain increases, with
those naturally frail or ill-balanced ; but such fail-
ures do not indicate a general deterioration of
morals. An over-wrought civilization will exhibit
some painful features. The high nervous tension
characteristic of our times easily slips into some
form of derangement or aberration, or enfeebles self-
control, and makes men easy victims of temptation
and passion, to which in a truly normal condition
they would not have succumbed. "I believe," said
an English writer, " it may hold true that any
period of great mental activity in a nation will be
prolific of crime. The Greeks were sad knaves ;
that is to say, there were sad knaves among them ;
and so, God knows, there are in England, at the
present day of free trade and swift intercommunica-
tion, stimulating mental activity into rapid, perhaps
morbid, action. The knavery of the Italian repub-
lics was enormous hidden from us, however, to
some extent by their astounding ruffianism. Mac-
chiavelli, Guicciardini, and a host of other writers,
show how deeply the depravity of actual life had
corroded all moral principles. The theory of the
Italians was worthy of their practice, and their
practice of their theory. Yet what marvels of in-
tellect they were intellect in all its branches ! "
Another effect of advanced civilization is that the
higher the taste is cultivated the fewer pictures do
236 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
we see which challenge admiration. A nearer in-
spection of the Fe"nelons, Madame Guyons, Augus-
tines, etc., would present points of criticism to us
which did not arrest attention in their age ; and
future ages may exalt into first-class saints some of
the average saints of to-day.
In talking of the enormous wickedness of large
cities, sufficient allowance is not made for the pal-
pable fact that large aggregates of population neces-
sarily concentrate and intensify large aggregates of
evil. In the year 1800 the population of London
did not vary much from the present population of
New York city; but the amount of crime and the
criminal population of London at that time far ex-
ceeded these elements in New York at the present
time. Colquhoun's " Police of London " furnished
ample statistics of London crime eighty years ago.
The number of offenses designated as " high crimes,"
in a single year, was 10,880;* and the number of
* Later statistics of the police and ciime of London : In 1831 the
population comprised within the metropolitan police district of Lon-
don was 1,468,442, and the number of police was 3,341. In 1878 the
population was 4,534,040, ("British Almanac and Companion,"
1880, p. 131,) and the police numbered 10,477. The ratio of increase
was nearly the same in both.
The Chief Commissioner's Report for 1878 ("British Almanac
and Companion," 1880, p. 273) shows :
Arrests 83, 746
Summarily convicted or held for trial 57>33
Subsequently discharged after trial.. 817
Total convicted 56,221
MORALS. 237
persons living by " different sorts of villainy regu
larly carried on" was 119,500, or one for every nine
inhabitants. These figures were the results of " long:
experience and minute inquiries " by Mr. Colqu-
houn, and " did not include every kind of fraud and
dishonesty practiced." We do not believe our
national metropolis, with all its corruptions, can
produce such a record. But the forces of good are
relatively more numerous, active, and powerful in
large populations than in smaller. Virtue also ag-
gregates and concentrates in large populations.
What powerful centers of moral, reformatory, and
religious agencies, of world-wide influence, are New
York and London, and how vastly more so, too,
relatively, than eighty or a hundred years ago.
The past fifteen years have compared favorably
with other post-bellum periods. Wars are the pro-
lific causes of moral deterioration, deadening and
brutalizing the finer sensibilities, cheapening the
estimate of human life, and introducing an era
of fictitious prosperity, greed, and extravagance.
But, as compared with other periods and people,
we hardly know what luxury means, as might be
demonstrated by scraps gathered from the ancient
Of this number 16,227 were cases of drunkenness, leaving 39, 99^
cases of more serious offenses, in a police district containing 4,534,-
040 inhabitants, or one for 113 inhabitants. But, according to Mr.
Colquhoun, as cited above, in 1800, with a population of 958,863,
there were 10,880 "high crimes," or one for 89 inhabitants. This
is an indication of progress.
238 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and modern world. Roman luxury squandered in
a single dinner amounts equal to many modern for-
tunes ; Roman youths of seventeen summers needed
from three to five millions of dollars " to make them
even ; " vast Roman estates often changed hands for
the merest trifle, to gratify pride or appetite ; Ro-
man freedmen purchased three hundred thousand
dollar estates from desperate debauchees, for one
hundred dollars ready money; Mark Anthony
squandered three quarters of a billion of the public
money ; in Roman thoroughfares tables were pub-
licly spread with money for the purchase of votes ;
in the Roman baths thousands of men and women
were abandoned, without shame, en masse, to the
lowest crimes. These are a few citations showing
the demoralization following successful Roman wars.
Coming nearer to our own times, we look at En-
gland after the Restoration, and find Hobbes pub-
licly teaching that the will of the king is the ground
of right and wrong, and the standard of morals,
under such doctrine, the lowest, perhaps, of any
court since the days of the Caesars. Even " the Re-
stored Church was powerless, because it had driven
out the Puritans to make room for itself. Saved
by the sinners of that age from the saints, it could
do little or nothing to correct the evils that flooded
the land." * His fifteen illegitimate children en-
* See editorial in "Christian Advocate," New York city, Nov. 30,
1876, from which some of these citations are made.
MORALS. 239
dowed and ennobled by Parliament, the king aban-
doned himself to his score of vile mistresses.
Squandering upon his sons public money raised for
a war against Holland, he was still in want ; and, in
spite of his plundering of the treasury, was destitute
of linen, his unpaid grooms having carried it off for
their pay.
The typical periods of a previous chapter furnish
ample facts, which may be cited, showing our
more favorable condition, even in this post-bellum
period.
The recent period of financial straits, depressing
business, closing up large manufacturing and mechan-
ical establishments, and throwing out of employment
several hundred thousand men, in all parts of the
country, has been one of the most productive
causes of crime. Great crimes often spring, not so
much from vicious purposes, as from downright
idleness. The unemployed have not far to go
before they tumble into dangerous pitfalls, or are
drawn into fatal allurements. It is easy enough for
vice to come from having nothing to do.
It is to be feared that the sensational and detailed
accounts of crime, which some journals publish,
awaken a morbid emulation among the criminally
disposed, and suggest acts which might not other-
wise be thought of. Thus a murderer becomes an
object of interest as soon as he is arrested. Ladies
weep in the court room when he is tried ; and
240 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
when he is condemned heaven and earth are moved to
save him from the gallows. Leniency in sentences
and flagrant abuse of the pardoning power have
diminished the restraint upon crime. The laws are
right, but a maudlin sentimentalism has interfered
with their execution. Take away the fear of pun-
ishment, and the criminal classes become rampant.
There has also been too much disposition to
speak of successful crime as " smartness." Great
swindlers have been exalted above ordinary pil-
ferers and pickpockets. The perverted popular
moral sense has honorably discriminated in favor
of Wall-street gamblers over the denizens of the
gambling " hells."
Our greatest and meanest criminals have been
the " game "men to the people, " chiefs "of the
" rings," " sachems " of Tammany. Their very ef-
frontery has been a species of heroism. Such
things indicate low commercial morality, and have
exerted a deteriorating influence. But this spell
has been broken, and we are doing better. A better
moral sentiment aroused the people ; the " sachem "
was compelled to succumb to the majesty of law;
and now no position, however sacred, shields from
arrest and conviction.
The influence of the large foreign immigration dur-
ing the past thirty years, infusing lower and antago-
nistic moral elements into our population, has been
several times incidentally alluded to, as a cause of
MORALS. 241
much of the moral decline which has been apparent.
This new and heterogeneous element has been a
large one, sufficient to impart a changed aspect to
American society. Between 1850 and 1880 eight
millions of foreigners, a number nearly equal to one
third of the total increase of our population during
that period, were added to our people. Their im-
mediate offspring, partaking fully of the same ideas
and habits, have swelled the number to nearly one
half of our total increase. So large an addition of
people of loose moral culture has been a severe
strain upon our morals. Their drinking habits have
given a new impulse to the use of alcoholic liquors,
and their holiday-Sabbath habits have exerted an
evil influence on our communities, relaxing the
sanctity of the Lord's day. French and German
Communists have become a serious element of troub-
le, and may yet tax our virtue and wisdom more
severely. The people of foreign extraction in New
England, constituting twenty per cent, of the popu-
lation in 1870, furnished seventy-five per cent, of
New England crime probably also true of other
sections of the country. This is the testimony of
United States official statistics.
And yet it is idle to say that our greatest crimes
are committed by escaped criminals from Europe.
We must confess that people of our own nursing
commit a large share of the flagrant offenses :
that maelstroms of vice in our midst are ready
16
242 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
to engulf newly arrived immigrants ; that we have
done comparatively little to throw around these new-
comers saving moral influences ; and that we have
allowed multitudes of children from Ireland, Ger-
many, and Italy, of parents too poor or depraved
to care for them, to become waifs, to grow up with-
out any purposes higher than brutal indulgence, and
to swell the terrible aggregate of our criminal classes.
And, further, it must be acknowledged that our
rural population furnishes a considerable per cent,
of our gross criminals. The excitements and variety
of city life attract young men from the country, -to
become victims of evil, and rapidly descend the
terrible gradations of crime.
But it is also a very noticeable and encouraging
fact, that large portions of our foreign population
have very greatly improved in morals and intelli-
gence since they came among us. Even those
representing the Roman Catholic Church have
changed for the better by inhaling the atmosphere
of Protestant society ; and hence American Roman-
ism exhibits a higher moral type than European
Romanism. Italian and Spanish Romanism could
not exist in the United States. Among these
signs of moral elevation may be mentioned the
purchase of houses, farms, and lands, in all portions
of the country, by industrious and economical for-
eigners, and the enrollment of one hundred thou-
sand Irishmen in total abstinence societies.
MORALS. 243
May it not be said that we have endured the
heavy strain upon our moral forces from so large
and sudden a foreign increment quite as well as
could be expected, and that the improving indica-
tions now warrant the hope that, after another
score of years, with due effort by those already
arousing and concentrating for the work, we may see
a still higher moral development ?
The latest statistics indicate a decrease in crime
in the largest cities. In Boston, where a half-dozen
years ago murders were so frequent, there has been
but one murder for about a year and a half. The
report of the Police Justices for 1880, in New York
city, contains encouraging facts. While the city
population has increased over seventy thousand in
the last five years, crime has diminished more than
twenty-five per cent. This improvement is attributa-
ble to the growing temperance sentiment, the discour-
agement of willful pauperism by systematic charities,
the enforced attendance upon schools, the punish-
ment of truancy by the civil authorities, the relative
decrease in the foreign-born population since 1870,
the widely extending mission work among the most
degraded population, and the increase of the prac-
tical activities of the Churches. And yet a suf-
ficient amount of crime remains, in startling and
destructive forms, to tax all the virtues and ef-
forts of the better portion of society for higher
progress.
244 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
A common misconception often leads to hasty
and improper conclusions in regard to the preva-
lence of crime. Statistics of crime are often ac-
cepted, without the needful discrimination in re-
gard to the progress of criminal legislation, which is
constantly increasing the number of offenses cog-
nizable by law. The figures themselves, accepted
without discrimination, show an apparent increase
of crime, when much of the increase is affected by
legislation. " Civilization has raised many things
formerly considered perhaps as immoral, and as
offenses against moral law, into well-defined crimes,
and subject to punishment as such. The result is,
we are constantly increasing the work of criminal
courts, by giving prosecuting officers new fields to
canvass, and by adding to the list of offenses defined
as crimes. The number of sentences is thus in-
creased comparatively."* " The number of offenses
designated as crimes by the criminal code of Mas-
sachusetts largely exceeds that of other States ; for
instance, the statutes of Massachusetts compre-
hended, in 1860, one hundred and fifty-eight offenses
punishable as crimes, while the code of Virginia
for the same year recognized but one hundred and
eight, or fifty less. The same is true, to a greater
or less extent, of nearly if not quite all the other
States." f
* " Eleventh Annual Report, Bureau of Statistics of Labor, State
of Massachusetts," Jan., 1880, p. 193. f Ibid., p. 178.
MORALS. 245
This tendency of civilization, by legislative enact-
ments to increase the list of offenses recognized as
crimes, must be kept distinctly before our minds,
when the present is compared with the past.
In earlier times many serious offenses against
individual, social, and public welfare were hardly
elevated into the dignity of crimes. In large circles
of men killing was no murder, taking no robbery,
the violation of a woman no rape, in the modern
sense. Further on, robber chieftains were tolerated
even by governments which enacted laws for the
suppression of robbery and violence. From these
lower conditions the law of improvement can be
traced, restricted to no class or race, but wide as
the range of history. It is seen in the progress of
language, and the progressive significance of words,
as well as in statutory legislation.
The times are not very remote when brave law-
breakers not only believed themselves good men and
true, but even had the sympathy of large numbers
of their fellow-countrymen. In the history of crim-
inal legislation in England, says the " Encyclopaedia
Britannica," " we find the ideas of the primitive
tribesmen steadily resisting the advance of civiliza-
tion, retreating very slowly from position to posi-
tion, and rarely yielding one without a long and
desperate struggle." " The crime of forcible entry
hardly ceased to be common before the eighteenth
century. When valor was the greatest or only vir-
246 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tue, one clan took land by force from another."
" Long after this half-savage condition of society
it remained a maxim of the English law, that there
was no legal possession of land without actual
seisin." " As late as the reign of William IV. the
fiction of a forcible entry continued to be one of the
chief implements of the conveyancer's art."
"The modern security of life and propeity of
every description represents the triumphs of new
ideas over old. . . . Fraud has never increased
with the increase of trade and civilization. It in-
fected commerce at the very beginning, and ex-
isted during the darkness of the Middle Ages in
every form then possible. It may, and it sometimes
does, assume new shapes, as society groups itself
anew, as occupations and the relations of man to
man are changed. . . . With infinite difficulty has
civilized mankind so far gained the victory over
its own primitive nature as to concur, with some
approach to unanimity, in reprobation of the forger-
monk, the brigand-knight, and the man who
regarded a woman as a chattel and a tempting
object for appropriation."
" It is most necessary to bear in mind the con-
trast between the habits and ideas of one period
and of another, if we wish to estimate correctly the
position of the criminal in modern society, or the
alleged uniformity of human actions to be dis-
covered by statistics. There is, no doubt, some
MORALS. 247
truth in the statement that in a modern civilized
country Great Britain, for example the statistics
of one year bear a strong resemblance to the statis-
tics of another in many particulars. But a little
reflection leads to the conclusion that there is noth-
ing at all marvelous in such coincidences, and that
they do not prove human nature to be unalterable,
or circumstances to be unchangeable. They only
show, what might have been predicted beforehand,
that human beings of the same race, remaining in
circumstances approximately the same, continue to
act upon nearly the same motives and to display
nearly the same weaknesses. The statistics of a
quarter of a century, of half a century, even of a
whole century, (if we could have them complete for
so long a period,) could tell us but little of those
subtle changes in human organization which have
come to pass in the lapse of ages, and the sum of
which has rendered life in Britain, in the nineteenth
century, so different as it is from life in the sixth.
... If, for instance, we look at the statistics of
homicide and suicide in England during any ten
recent years, we perceive that the figures of any one
year very little exceed or fall below the general
average. Yet no inference could be more erroneous
than that homicide has always borne the same
proportion to population in England as at pres-
ent ; for in the reign of Edward III. there were, in
proportion to population, at least sixteen cases of
248 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
homicide to every one which occurs in our own
time." *
We have no statistics of crime in Great Britain
prior to 1840, but the following tables, collated from
English sources,f show a great improvement since
that time :
THE HIGHER CLASS OF CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS.
Average for England
three years.}: and Wales.
Scotland.
Ireland.
United
Kingdom.
1840-1842 ....
23,980
2,907
10,118
37,005
1850-1852
21,140
3,150
13,979
38,269
1860-1862 ....
13,753
2,508
3,343
19,609
1870-1872 ....
11,920
2,28l
2,623
16,824
1876-1878
12,203
2,111
2,312
16,626
The following table will indicate the relative
progress, by showing the number of inhabitants for
one criminal conviction, in the given periods :
Average for England
three years. and Wales.
Scotland.
Ireland.
United
Kingdom.
1840-1842 ....
664
902
810
722
1850-1852
854
919
466
713
1860-1862
1,463
1,222
1,729
1,477
1870-1872
1,909
1,476
2,057
1,873
1876-1878
2,111
1,682
2,309
2,011
The above tables show that the number of crim-
inal convictions, from 1840 to 1878, decreased, in
*" Encyclopaedia Britannica." Ninth Edition. Vol. vi. Article,
" Crime."
f These statistics are taken from the "Financial Reform Al-
manac," London, 1880; Whitaker's "London Almanac," 1880;
and the "Encyclopaedia Britannica." Ninth edition.
\ The average for these years in each period is taken, because in
some single years the number is exceptionally large or small. This
gives a more just basis for comparison.
MORALS. 249
England and Wales, from 23,980 to 12,203 ; in Scot-
land, from 2,907 to 2,11 1 ; in Ireland, from 10,118
to 2,312; and in the United Kingdom, from 37,005
to 16,626. But during all this time the population,
except in Ireland, was increasing. Comparing with
the population, we find that in England and Wales,
instead of one conviction for high crimes for 664
inhabitants from 1840 to 1842, there was only one
for 2,111 inhabitants from 1876 to 1878.* In Scot-
land it had decreased from one for 902 inhabitants
to one for 1,682 inhabitants ; in Ireland, from one
for 810 to one for 2,309 inhabitants; and in the
United Kingdom, from one for 722 inhabitants to
one for 2,011. The ratio of improvement in En-
gland and Wales was 3.18 fold; in Scotland, 1.86
fold ; in Ireland, 2.85 fold ; in the United Kingdom,
2.78 fold. These statistics fully justify the state-
ment in Whitaker's " London Almanac" for 1880,
page 203, that " the criminal element is happily on
the decrease, and will be further diminished as the
lower classes become better educated."
But popular education promotes general morality.
The wide-spread conviction that the increase of
education will lead to a decrease of crime and pau-
perism is susceptible of at least partial demonstra-
tion from the following statistics of England and
Wales, which show an encouraging decrease of the
* Calculated for 1877 on the basis of population given in the
London Almanacs for 1880.
250 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
pauper population since 1850, and vast increase in
attendance upon the public schools.
PAUPERS OF ALL CLASSES IN ENGLAND AND WALES RECEIVING
AID " IN-DOORS " AND " OUT-OF-DOORS." *
Average yearly, from 1850-1852, 871,953, or one for 2O.6 inhab-
itants.
Average yearly, from 1860-1862, 895,869, or one for 224 inhab-
itants.
Average yearly, from 1870-1872, 1,046,327, or one for 21.7 inhab-
itants.
Average yearly, from 1876-1878, 773,548, or one for 31.7 inhab-
itants.
Here is evidence of an actual decrease of nearly
100,000 paupers since 1850, while the population in-
creased about 6,500,000. f Instead of about 5 pau-
pers in every 100 persons there are only about 3.
Similar progress has been made in the education
of the masses. The progress of popular education
in Europe and America is one of the brightest indi-
cations of the times. Especially does it appear in
an interesting light in connection with the diminu-
tion of high crimes in England. At the opening
of this century the number of schools, public and
private, in all England, numbered only 3,363. " In
1818 it was found that one half of the children
were growing up without an education. A few
years after it was noticed that of all the persons
who came to be married, one third of the men and
* See the "Financial Reform Almanac," London, 1880.
f According to recent calculations by the Registrar-General.
MORALS. 251
one half of the women could not sign the register.
In the manufacturing districts it was still worse."
In 1850 the schools in England, of all kinds, had in-
creased to 45,000 ; but these were almost wholly
paid schools. In England and Wales the govern-
ment schools, in 1850, numbered only 1,844, but
they increased to 14,875 in 1878, and the annual
grants for their support increased from 431,594 in
1868 to 1,415,333 in 1877. The average attend-
ance in these schools, in 1850, was 197,578; in 1860,
751,325; in 1870, 1,255,083; in 1876, 2,007,732.
Although the adult population is yet little affected
by this recent progress in school provision and at-
tendance, nevertheless a vast improvement is per-
ceptible among the adult generation, as is proved
by the constantly growing number of those able to
sign their names to the marriage registers. In the
quinquennial period, 1841-1845, in England and
Wales 32.6 per cent, of the men and 48.9 per cent,
of the women who were married signed the register
with their marks, being unable to write. From
1871 to 1875 only 18.5 per cent, of the men and
25.2 per cent, of women merried were of this class.
The Registrar-General, in his thirty-eighth annual
report, in 1877, g ave the hopeful calculation that,
" if instruction increases in future years at the same
arithmetical rate as it has done in the years from
1841 to 1875, then all the men will be able to write
in thirty-eight years, and all the women in thirty-one
252 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
years." And in reference to Ireland, Mr. Robert
Mackenzie says : * " How broad and deep the foun-
dations of a prosperous future have been laid may
be read in the fact that in 1875 there were 1,012,000
Irish children attending the national schools, repre-
senting an educational condition unsurpassed in
Europe." The removal of Ireland's social and civil
disabilities must in due time follow.
The statistics of crime in the United States are,
for the most part, fragmentary, covering periods of
such brief duration, or gathered and arranged in
plans so diverse, as not to afford a satisfactory basis
for a just comparison. But great improvement is
being made. The statistics of crime in Massachu-
setts, recently published,f are the best specimens
of this advance. They show a great increase of
crime after the close of the civil war. The sen-
tences for crime went up from 17,276, in 1865, to
46,132 in 1873, when it reached its maximum, since
which time it declined to 28,149, in 1879. These
figures for 1879 show that the bulk of crime, as in-
dicated by sentences, has increased 70.4 per cent,
since 1860, while the population has increased 50.4
per cent., or 20 per cent, more than the increase of
the population. But, examining these statistics, we
find that out of 28,149, the total sentences in 1879,
* " The Nineteenth Century," Franklin Square Library, pp. 22, 28.
f Report of Hon. Carroll D. Wright, chief of the Bureau of Sta-
tistics of Labor in Mass., January, 1880.
MORALS. 253
direct rum crimes occasioned 16,871 ; minor crimes,
10,662; and felonies and aggravated crimes but 616.
The latter class furnished 505 in 1860. While the
population, from 1860 to 1879, increased 50.4 per
cent., general crime, eliminating all direct rum-
crimes, increased but 20.1 per cent. The liquor
offenses have fluctuated according to the raids of
executive officers, in obedience to the prevailing
sentiments of the administration or the require-
ments of existing laws. But the prosecution of
high crimes depends upon steady, settled princi-
ples of government. The whole number of sen-
tences for the crimes of murder and manslaughter
for the twenty years was 1 10, an average of five
and a half per year. These crimes have not kept
pace with the population. The same is true of the
whole body of high crimes. While they have " in-
creased in a deplorable degree," they have not
kept pace with the population, this class of sen-
tences increasing 39.5 per cent., and the popula-
tion 50.4.
The foregoing conclusions are ably demonstrated
by Hon. Carroll D. Wright, in his last " Report of
the Bureau of the Statistics of Labor to the Legis-
lature of Massachusetts," (January, 1880.) He pro-
ceeds further to show the prison population of the
State of Massachusetts, in the last twenty years, in-
creased 47.7 per cent., or 2.7 per cent, less than the
whole population, and adds : " This analysis would
254 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
be quite crude without understanding the effects of
legislation upon criminal statistics. It should not
for a moment be supposed, because the tables show
a decided increase in the number of sentences for
any year, that more crime existed during that year ;
as, for instance, that, because drunkenness, as repre-
sented by sentences, reached an increase of 276.4
per cent, in 1873 over the number for 1860, that
much more drunkenness occurred in 1873 than in
1860. The cause is to be found either in legislation
or public sentiment, which caused a more vigilant
prosecution of offenders."
The care of orphans is receiving, both in England
and America, increased attention, not only as a
philanthropic measure, but also as a wise provision
of political economy a means of reducing the
amount of crime. From orphanage and pauperism
come crime. Statistics show that a large part of
the criminals were first destitute orphans, driven to
crime by want and neglect. Delinquent and desti-
tute children become petty thieves or beggars, and
thus ripen into a harvest of crime. The recent mul-
tiplication of institutions for orphans and the des-
titute has improved morals and public security ; and
the future will, doubtless, bring still greater benefits,
CHAPTER III.
THE PRESENT PERIOD.
^CONTINUED.)
Intemperance. Pauperism.
Dueling. The Economic View.
English Morals. Longevity.
New England Morals. Sanitary Science.
Immigration. Philanthropic Agencie*
Irreverence, etc. Penal Inflictions.
Criticisms and Testimonies.
MORALS. 257
CHAPTER III.
THE PRESENT PERIOD. (CONTINUED.)
Intemperance.
r | ^HE vice of intemperance, so conspicuous during
*- the closing quarter of the last century, wrought
with increasing malignity, until it reached its cul-
mination in the year 1825. The average annual
consumption of distilled spirits and wine, but chiefly
distilled liquors, (no account being made of beer,
ale, etc.,) in 1790, was two and a half gallons per
capita ; in 1810 it had increased to four and a half
gallons ;* in 1823 to seven and a half gallons f for
distilled spirits alone ; and in 1830, after four years
of vigorous temperance work, \ it was six gallons, or
a half a gill daily for every inhabitant of all ages
and conditions. At the latter date there were
400,000 confirmed drunkards in the land, " not in-
cluding those in some stage of progress toward the
fixed habit," or one for every thirty inhabitants.
* Statistics prepared by Hon. Samuel Dexter, LL.D. See " Re-
port of the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemper-
ance," 1814.
f " Boston Recorder."
\ The American Temperance Society was organized in January,
1826.
17
258 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
A writer in the old " American Cyclopedia," pub-
lished in 1830,* gives the following account of the
drinking customs of this early period, in the light
of which we cannot fail to see the great moral prog-
ress that has since been made :
" The men now upon the stage remember, from
their childhood till within the last ten years, to have
seen distilled spirits, in some form, a universal pro-
vision for the table, at the principal repast, through-
out this country. The richer sort drank French
and Spanish brandy ; the poorer, West India, and
the poorest, New England, rum. In the Southern
States whisky was the favorite liquor ; and the
somewhat less common articles of foreign and do-
mestic gin, apple brandy, and peach brandy, made
a variety which recommended itself to the variety
of individual tastes. Commonly at meals, and at
other times by laborers, particularly in the middle
of the forenoon and afternoon, these substances
were taken, simply diluted with more or less water.
On other occasions they made a part of more or less
artificial compounds, in which fruit of various kinds,
eggs, spices, herbs, and sugar, were the leading in-
gredients.
" A fashion at the South was to take a glass of
whisky, flavored with mint, soon after waking ; and
so conducive to health was this nostrum esteemed,
that no sex and scarcely any age were deemed ex-
* Article, " Temperance Societies."
MORALS. 259
empt from its application. At eleven o'clock, while
mixtures under various peculiar names sling, tod-
dy, flip, etc. solicited the appetite at the bar of
the common tippling-shop, the offices of the pro-
fessional men and the counting-room dismissed
their occupants for a half hour to regale themselves
at a neighbor's or a coffee-house with punch, hot
or iced, according to the season ; and females and
valetudinarians courted an appetite with medicated
rum, disguised under the chaste names of Huxants
Tincture or St ought on s Elixir.
" The dinner hour arrived, according to the dif-
ferent customs of different districts of the country,
whisky and water, curiously flavored with apples,
or brandy and water, introduced the feast ; whisky,
or brandy and water, helped it through ; and whisky
or brandy, without water, often secured its safe di-
gestion, not again to be used in any more formal
manner than for the relief of occasional thirst, or for
the entertainment of a friend, until the last appeal
should be made to them to secure a sound night's
sleep. Rum, seasoned with cherries, protected
against the cold ; rum, made astringent with peach-
nuts, concluded the repast at the confectioner's ;
rum, made nutritious with milk, prepared for the
maternal office ; and, under the Greek name of par-
egoric, rum, doubly poisoned with opium, quieted
the infant's cries.
" No doubt there were numbers who did not use
260 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ardent spirits, but it was not because they were not
perpetually in their way. They were an established
article of diet, almost as much as bread ; and with
very many they were in much more frequent use.
The friend who did not testify his welcome with
them, and the master who did not provide bounti-
fully of them for his servants, were held niggardly ;
and there was no social meeting, not even of the
most formal or sacred kind, where it was considered
indecorous, scarcely any where it was not thought
necessary, to produce them. The consequence was,
that what the great majority used without scruple
large numbers indulged in without restraint. Sots
were common -of both sexes, various ages, and all
conditions ; and, though no statistics of the vice
were yet embodied, it was quite plain that it was
constantly making large numbers bankrupt in
property, character, and prospects, and inflicting
upon the community a vast amount of physical and
moral ill in their worst forms."
Such is the description, by an able writer living
in those times, of the social drinking customs in
the period when intemperance reached its culmina-
tion in America. In England the evil was not less
rampant. It infested all circles, and became espe-
cially a social vice. It was deemed indispensable that
visitors should evince their appreciation of the hospi-
tality they received by becoming intoxicated. The
host claimed it as his due that every guest should
MORALE. 261
drink until he could drink no longer. " The supreme
crowning evidence that an entertainment had been
successful was not given till the guests dropped,
one by one, from their chairs to slumber peacefully
on the floor till the servants removed them/' The
worst phases of society, in our day, in either country,
fail to parallel the general habits then.
From 1808 to 1815 a few beginnings were made,
in various localities in the United States, in the di-
rection of reform, with meager results. The organi-
zation of the American Temperance Society, in 1826,
inaugurated more thorough, energetic, and far-reach-
ing efforts, and, for thirty years, the Temperance
Reformation was one of the most mighty and ex-
tensive movements in the nation. The moral ren-
ovation was incalculable. The average annual con-
sumption of distilled and fermented spirits, beer and
ale excepted, declined from seven and a half gallons
in 1823, to two and a half gallons in 1850.
Intemperance was, however, still a great evil, of
immense power and sway, and its desolations were
fearful. In the State of Massachusetts, in the year
1849, of 2,598 paupers, 1,467, or 56 per cent., and of
8,760 committed for crime, 3,341, or more than 38
per cent., resulted from intemperance. In the city
of New York, in the same year, there were 4,425
licensed houses, 750 selling without license, and
3,896 selling on the Sabbath. In a single quarter
1,600 persons were arrested for drunkenness, 1,485
202 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
for intoxication and disorderly conduct, 744 for
vagrancy, 1,214 f r assault and battery, and 1,006
for disorderly conduct, besides more serious crimes.
In Philadelphia, in 1849, there were admitted to the
alms-house 5,119, of whom 2,323 were intoxicated
when received ; and in the mayor's court 5,987 per-
sons were under arrest for drunkenness and disor-
derly conduct, and only 324 for other crimes. In
the State of New York, in 1849, 36,610 persons were
committed for crimes perpetrated under the influ-
ence of intoxicating liquors, and 69,260 were in the
poor-houses from intemperance.
Between 1850 and 1855 "The Maine Law" was
enacted in about a dozen States. For a time it was
faithfully executed, with splendid results. Large
numbers of towns, chiefly rural, were almost wholly
rid of the evil of intemperance. So clear and bene-
ficial was the influence in Massachusetts, that Gov-
ernor Briggs, only a short time after the adoption
of the law, declared that it had already been worth
one hundred millions of dollars to that State alone.
This was the period of the best temperance habits
in the United States.
After that time a great abatement in temperance
efforts was apparent, seemingly under the false con-
viction that the battle had been fought, and that the
enactment of stringent laws, entirely prohibiting the
sale of liquors as a beverage, had put a final stop to
the evil of intemperance. But "while men slept,
MORALS. 263
the enemy sowed tares;" and a reverse movement
has since taken place in the sentiment of total
abstinence, and also of prohibition. Many, once
fully committed to these principles, have abandoned
them as extreme and impracticable ; and the con-
sumption of the milder alcoholic beverages has in-
creased and spread into circles from which they
were once excluded. The use of distilled liquors,
however, declined from 1870 to 1879, as will be seen
in the table below; but the figures for 1880 indi-
cate an increase again. The following table, pre-
pared with extraordinary labor and care, is believed
to be thoroughly reliable, and will, in part, indicate
the progress made :
CONSUMPTION* OF FOREIGN WINES AND FOREIGN! AND DOMES-
TIC DISTILLED SPIRITS OF ALL KINDS IN THE UNITED STATES.
Year.
Gallons Consumed.
iSioJ
33.278,505
1823
75,000,000
I830|
77,196,120
1850 i
57,428,989
1870 \
89,558,489
1878 1
58,800,754
1879 \
50,865,207 1
1880
74,895,180
4i gallons.
7i "
6 "
2 "
2J
* Exports and re-exports deducted.
t American wines are not included, because no reliable statistics can be ob-
tained. Appleton's " Cyclopedia" estimates that 20,000,000 gallons are made an-
nually ; but this is too high, and only an estimate.
$ Carefully collated from United States official documents, and closely revised.
For years ending June 30.
On the authority of the " Puritan Recorder" for that year.
E On the authority of the old " American Cyclopedia."
T Since 1870 the quantity of wine imported has decreased more than one half;
and the quantity of American distilled liquors exported has increased.
264 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
CONSUMPTION OF BEER, ALE, ETC.
V ar. Gallon, Consumed. **%&&*
1850* 36,678,444 1 1 gallons.
1870* 189,430,195 nearly 5 "
1878* 273,989,588
1879 344,622,378
1880 414,190,350 8i
NOTE. No account is made of the adulteration of liquors, for there
are no statistics of the quantities.
The foregoing table shows .that the quantity of
distilled spirits and foreign wines consumed in the
United States has considerably decreased from
seven and a half gallons per capita in 1823, to six
gallons in 1830, to two and a half gallons in 1850,
to two and one third gallons in 1870, and one and
one half gallons in 1880. But the quantity con-
sumed in 1880 increased greatly over the quantity
in 1878 and 1879.
On the other hand, the consumption of beer, ale,
etc., has vastly increased from one and three fifths
gallons per capita in 1850, to five gallons in 1870,
and eight and a quarter gallons in 1880, or nearly
seven gallons increase for every inhabitant. There
has also been a great increase in the quantity of
native wine manufactured and consumed, while the
foreign wines imported have very much decreased.
It should be said that distilled liquors are exten-
sively adulterated and expanded, and that such
* Carefully collated from United States official documents, and
closely revised. For years ending June 30.
MORALS. 265
liquors do not enter into any computations. This
is not, however, a recent evil, nor is it probably rel-
atively more extensive than thirty or forty years ago.
The Washingtonian speakers, from 1840 to 1845,
who went forth to tell their stories of inebriation
and ruin, often complained of the vile compounds
with which they had been deceived and injured;
and we find Addison, in the " Spectator," mention-
ing the vile concoctions manufactured in his day,
by a fraternity of chemical operators, in dens under
the streets of London.
A recent editorial in the " Boston Journal" said :
" A distinguished Englishman, now in this city, ex-
pressed himself most warmly in regard to the sobri-
ety of our people. He declares that during* his stay
in the United States he has seen but four drunken
men. He says that, as a rule, the people do not
drink, and, to him, it is a matter of profound sur-
prise that wherever he has been he has found that
the use of strong liquors is abandoned. It may be
true that his lines have led him among a better class
of people, for drunkenness prevails to some extent
among the lower classes, but in a far less degree
than was observable years ago. Intemperance is
no longer tolerated in good society. It is no longer
tolerated in business circles. A young man knows
that he stands no chance of success in life if he is
addicted to the use of strong drinks, and, what is a
still stronger provocative of temperance, the youth
266 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of our country know that life is sacrificed by the
use of spirits, and that length of days and a Vigorous
old age are not boons which can be expected by
those who violate the laws of health. This great
change has been brought about by that enlight-
ened public sentiment which prevails, and this feel-
ing is increasing."
The aspect of most rural towns in respect to tem-
perance is encouraging. Not a tithe of intemper-
ance exists as compared with fifty years and more
ago. Maine retains her famous law, and a high au-
thority' 34 ' says there is not an open bar in the whole
State. In 1832 there was one for every 225 per-
sons. The Maine Law is so far sustained that a
more stringent amendment was made in 1877, with-
out a dissenting vote in the Legislature.
Our adopted fellow-citizens, who in large num-
bers have come among us, settling chiefly in large
centers of population, have given a more unfavor-
able aspect to society in respect to drunkenness.
But even this class is coming to learn the necessity
and value of abstinence, and is organizing for the
promotion of this virtue. They are already enrolled
in large numbers as abstainers from alcoholic liq-
uors. The Catholic Total Abstinence Union held
its ninth session at Detroit in September, 1879, a ^
which delegates were present representing over 500
* Address of Ex-Governor Dingley, at Winthrop, Maine, Decem-
ber 6, 1877 ; and letter from Hon. Neal Dow, February 12, 1878.
MORALS. 26;
Catholic Temperance Societies, and a membership
of nearly 100,000.
The decline in the consumption of the more fiery
drinks is a fact attested by the daily observation of
men whose personal knowledge extends back thirty
01 forty or fifty years. The great reformatory
movements from 1872 to 1876, under the "Crusad-
ers," the " Woman's Christian Temperance Union,"
Dr. Reynolds, Francis Murphy, and Mr. Moody,
introducing a more positive religious element into
this department of effort, greatly improved many
localities, and placed the virtue of temperance on
purely moral grounds.
But a reaction has followed, carrying back to
their cups many reformed men ; and the general
introduction of beer into common life, within a few
years, is leading many young men and women
downward in intemperance. There is reason to be-
lieve that the free use of beer, which was advocated
on moral grounds, as a means of decreasing drunk-
enness, is likely to prove the means of more ex-
tended intemperance and ruin, as it did in England
after the enactment of the celebrated " Beer Act "
some years ago. Sufficient time has not yet
elapsed to determine what the results will be ; but
the indications are regarded by many as ominous
of evil.
In the British Isles intemperance is still an evH
of enormous dimensions. It is estimated that the
268 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
people of Great Britain and Ireland expend annu-
ally from one hundred to one hundred and twenty
millions sterling on intoxicating liquors. " For
upward of a generation," says Mr. Mackenzie, *
" nobly persistent and self-denying efforts have been
put forth by associations of men impressed with the
magnitude of these evils, to direct adequate atten-
tion to the subject. After many years of discour-
aging toil they are now rewarded with a measure of
success." Recently it was publicly stated that there
are now no less than 4,000,000 of total abstainers in
Great Britain.f Within a few years, in addition to
the moral-suasion measures long used in this reform,
other supplementary means have been resorted to
for the purpose of guarding, strengthening, and es-
tablishing reformed men, and keeping the young
away from the temptation of strong drink. They
have especially provided for working men,J who
have hitherto had but few places of resort but the
public houses where liquors are sold. The first
movement was made in Dundee, where a coffee-
house was established for working men twenty-five
years ago. In Leeds, in 1867, the first " British
Workman's Public House " was opened. A com-
pany with this designation was organized, in 1875,
* " The Nineteenth Century," Franklin Square Library, p 25,
note.
f " The British Almanac and Companion," p. 30. 1880.
\ See article on Temperance Refreshment House Movement in
the "British Almanac and Companion." i8So. Pp. 38-58.
MORALS. 269
in Liverpool, with a capital of $100,000, which has
now thirty-five of these houses open, with accom-
modations for 10,000 persons. In Manchester the
Coffee Tavern Company was started in 1877. It
has eight houses opened to the public, with an av-
erage weekly attendance of 65,000 persons. In nu-
merous other towns and cities similar houses have
been founded.
Dueling.
Dueling, a custom of former ages introduced
into England by the Normans, has had a luxurious
growth among Anglo-Saxon populations on both
sides of the Atlantic. Before the opening of this
century it became a capital offense, in England and
the United States alike, to kill in a duel ; but pub-
lic sentiment was so tolerant of dueling that juries
would not ordinarily convict the offenders, and they
were seldom arrested. Far into the present century
it was frequently practiced by men in high and low
stations alike. In England, Fox, Pitt, Castlereagh,
Lord Hervey, Canning, the Duke of York, Daniel
O'Connell, the Duke of Richmond, Wellington, and
others, all fought duels the latter as late as 1829,
and others as late as 1850. In the United States,
De Witt Clinton and John Swartwout, in 1802 ;
Hamilton and Burr, in 1804; Benton and Lucas;
Jackson and Dickinson ; Clay and Randolph, in
1826 ; Cilley and Graves, in 1838 ; and others later,
are a few of the more notable examples. Dueling
270 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
was a national sin, and no bar to the highest civil
position in the gift of the nation. Since 1850 it ha?
nearly disappeared in both countries a clear indi-
cation of moral progress.
In England the reform is attributed largely to
Prince Albert. He induced the Duke of Welling-
ton and the heads of the service to use their influ-
ence to discredit and discourage the odious prac-
tice. But there were other and wider influences at
work, in the general progress of the times, which .
were the effectual agencies under which the im-
provement came. M'Carthy says:* " Nothing can
testify more strikingly to the rapid growth of genu-
ine civilization, in Queen Victoria's reign, than the
utter discontinuance of the dueling system. When
the queen came to the throne, and for years after,
it was still in full force. ... At the present hour
a duel in England would seem as absurd and bar-
barous an anachronism as an ordeal by touch or a
witch-burning. Many years have passed since a
duel was last talked of in Parliament, and then it
was only the subject of a reprobation that had some
work to do to keep its countenance while adminis-
tering the proper rebuke. But it was not the in-
fluence of any one man, or even any class of men,
that brought about in so short a time this striking
change in the tone of public feeling and morality.
* "A History of Our Own Times," by Justin M'Carthy. Harper
Brothers. 1880. Pp. 106, 107.
MORALS. 271
The change was partly the growth of education and
of civilization, of the strengthening and broadening
influence of the press, the platform, the cheap book,
the pulpit, and the less restricted intercourse of
classes."
English Morals.
At the beginning of the century England, in man-
ning her navy, supplemented her system of volun-
tary enlistment by the barbarous methods of the
press-gang. Any seaman who could be stolen from
the merchant service was carried on board of a
ship-of-war and compelled to fight. A band of men
lurked in the sea-ports armed with this terrible
power to seize any returning sailor.
Military and naval discipline was maintained by
the use of the lash, the doctor standing by to see
how much the victim could bear. The torture was
often changed, at short intervals, until five hundred
lashes were inflicted ; or, if unable to bear so much,
he was taken down, carried to the hospital, and re-
cruited, then brought back to receive the balance
of his punishment. When the attempt was made,
after the battle of Waterloo, to limit such punish-
ments to one hundred lashes, it failed through the
opposition of Lord Palmerston, and there was no
reform until after 1846, when, a sailor dying under
the lash, the number of lashes was limited to fifty ;
and twenty years later the House of Commons de-
creed that flogging, in the time of peace, should be
272 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
wholly abolished. The new army bill proposes to
entirely abolish flogging in the national service.
Women and children worked in coal-pits, drag-
ging little wagons by a chain fastened round the
waist, and crawling like beasts, on hands and feet,
in the darkness of the mine. Children of six years
were habitually employed, their hours of labor ex-
tending to fourteen and sixteen daily. They were
often mutilated and sometimes killed with impunity
by their brutalized associates. There being no ele-
vating machinery, women carried the coal to the
surface, climbing long wooden stairs, with baskets
on their backs. Little boys and girls of five and
six swept chimneys. Being built narrower than
now, only a child could crawl into them, often
driven by blows to the horrid work. Sometimes
they were burned by the hot chimney, sometimes
stuck fast in the narrow flue, and extricated with
difficulty, and occasionally taken out dead. Parlia-
ment refused to interfere, and not until 1840 was
this practice suppressed. Children of six were
often put to work in factories. The hours of labor
ranging from thirteen to fifteen daily, the chil-
dren often fell asleep at their work, and received
injuries by falling against the machinery, or were
beaten by the overseer to keep them awake. They
were stunted in size, pallid, emaciated, scrofulous,
and consumptive. Recent laws in England and
America have alleviated their condition. After
MORALS. 273
1833 no child could be employed in England under
nine years of age, and those under thirteen were
limited to forty-eight hours a week. Ten years
later the hours of labor were further reduced for
all classes of operatives. And numerous other al-
leviations from exacting toil have since been made.
These things, related by Mr. Mackenzie, in his
sketch of the English people, were also in some
measure true of the United States.
Of English morals, at the opening of this cent-
ury, and the improvement since that time, the
same writer * says : " Profane swearing was the con-
stant practice of gentlemen. They swore at each
other, because an oath added emphasis to their as-
sertions. They swore at inferiors because their
commands would not otherwise receive prompt
obedience. The chaplain cursed the sailors, be-
cause it made them listen more attentively to his
admonitions. Ladies swore orally and in their let-
ters. Lord Braxfield offered to a lady at whom he
swore, because she played badly at whist, the suffi-
cient apology that he had mistaken her for his wife.
Erskine, the model of a forensic orator, swore at
the bar. Lord Thurlow swore upon the bench.
The king swore incessantly. When his majesty
desired to express approval of the weather, of a
handsome horse, of a dinner which he had enjoyed,
this " first gentleman in Europe " supported his
* " The Nineteentn Century," Franklin Square Library, p. 18.
18
274 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
royal asseveration by a profane oath. Society
clothed itself with cursing as with a garment.
" Books of the grossest indecency were exhibited
for sale side by side with Bibles and prayer books.
Indecent songs were sold, without restraint, on the
streets of London, and sung at social gatherings
by the wives of respectable tradesmen, without
sense of impropriety.
" Many causes have conspired to bring about the
remarkable improvement which has taken place in
the moral tone of British society. Among these
the influences exerted upon public morals by the
pure domestic life of Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert fills no inconsiderable place. The intellect-
ual ability recognized in the queen and her hus-
band, and their manifest devotion to the public
good, added largely to the authority which their
high station conferred upon them, and disposed the
nation to be guided by their example. The queen
and prince lived conspicuously blameless lives in
the earnest and effective discharge of the family
and public duties which their position imposed.
Their example confirmed and powerfully re-en-
forced the influences which at that time ushered
in a higher moral tone than had distinguished
previous reigns."
MORALS. 27;
\
New England Morals.
Much has been said about the decline of morals
in New England. It should not be overlooked
that this section of the country has undergone a
great change in its population. It has been a great
emigrating region a feeder of the West. First,
Western New York was peopled from New En-
gland ; then the large Western Reserve region in
Ohio ; then all other portions of the West received
large accessions, continually depleting the original
stock of New England. Hon. John Sherman, at
the New England Dinner in New York city,* said :
" We have in the West more people of New En-
gland ancestry than you have in all New England,
with New York thrown in." Confining our calcu-
lations to the nativity of those living in 1870, we
find that the United States Census for that year
shows 801,301 inhabitants born in New England, a
number equal to one third of her population born,
and then residing, in New England, who were liv-
ing in other sections of the Union. Within forty
years not less than one half of all born in New
England have gone forth to other States. While
this depletion has been going on, carrying with it
the best elements of New England life, the vacant
places have been filled by a very different class of
people. The same census shows 638,001 persons,
* December 22, 1878.
276 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
or nearly one fifth of the whole population of New
England, born in foreign lands, 421,850 more, both
of whose parents were foreign-born, and 84,957
more, one of whose parents was foreign -born ; total
1,144,809, or one third of the whole population,
either foreign-born, or one or both of whose parents
were from foreign lands. From 1850 to 1870 the
actual increase of the native-born inhabitants of
this section was 327,956, and of the foreign-born
431,752; but probably full one third of the native-
born increase was from foreign parentage, and
hence foreign in ideas, habits, etc., which, deducted
from the former number and added to the latter,
gives 541,080 increase of the foreign element to
218,682 of the native in the last two decades.
Such changes, extending to one third of the popu-
lation, and so extensively engrafting a different
class of habits and customs, clearly accounts for a
very considerable part of the modification that has
been apparent in the character of New England
society. But while New England has suffered
from this loss, other sections of the country have
been immensely benefited.
Reverence, etc.
Is it said that the feeling of reverence has greatly
declined during the present century? that funda-
mental truths have lost their sanctity, and the spirit
of veneration is exhaling? True; and this is what
MORALS. 277
has been repeatedly said during previous centuries.
Nor is it altogether an evil omen. Moral ideas, as
well as scientific theories, are undergoing a sifting
a process attended with gain as well as peril. We
are, indeed, outgrowing that excessive reverence
which, in the past, has been unreasonable and akin
to superstition. We are casting off our supersti-
tions ; but the next generations may discover that
we have retained many of them. We are accus-
tomed to characterize one of the past stages of
society as " the pagan," and another as " the elfic ;"
and only those whc live after us can characterize
the stage in which we live.
As society advances in intelligence reverence be-
comes more intelligent and rational. We have a
more rational reverence than our ancestors. Con-
sidering the natural law of rebound to extremes,
are we not doing quite well ? Do we not exhibit a
good degree of morally conserving power?
Are we told that " moral questions are becoming
unsettled, and the moral judgments, whether of in-
dividuals, or of the Church, or public opinion, have
lost much, and with many have lost all their
weight?" It has been well replied that these
things " result from two excellent features of the
times the exposure of old fallacies and the culti-
vation of mental independence." Revolutions in
thought know no limits. Every thing must be
tested the false sifted out, the husk separated from
2;8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the kernel. The domain of morals must endure
these siftings, and modifications of moral ideas are
inevitable.
This spirit is wide spread. " The debris of old
maxims, notions, and institutions strews the land,
as the shells of the seventeen-year cicada strew the
woods of New Jersey. Their time was out, and
they had to go ; the world had no more room nor
tolerance for them. But they leave us necessarily
the knack of questioning and the habit of demoli-
tion of looking on old things as candidates for the
hammer and the fire. And this, of course, devel-
ops a spirit that is proud of not leaning on anti-
quated supports, and is only too ready to call any
thing antiquated that is not new."
And here is our danger. " This spirit not only
insists upon testing afresh all things that are clearly
doubtful, which is the sacred duty of every genera-
tion ; but it discards that most wholesome principle
which accepts provisionally what has hitherto been
believed, and throws the burden of proof on who-
ever assails it. Now, the irreverent mind of the age,
so much of it as there may be, holds under indict-
ment whatever has come down to us from a former
generation, because it has come down."
But this is no new tendency. This spirit per-
vaded Great Britain on the eve of the Wesleyan
reformation. Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight described
the same condition of things in this country in the
MORALS. 279
time of the general prevalence of French infidelity
here, at the close of the last century, which the ris-
ing tide of evangelical Christianity, after the great
revival of 1799 to 1800, very considerable sup-
pressed. It is one of the alternate waves of modern
progress.
But is it said that "public opinion was once, and
to a very influential degree, a unit in this country,"
on moral questions ? and that " there was no reason
to doubt what the judgment of society would be
upon an unfaithful wife, or a defaulting officer, or a
perjured witness, or an evil doer in the ministry? "
When and where? Only in New England, in the
very earliest colonial times. In the Middle and
Southern colonies it was never so, except in a few
localities. Certainly the last quarter of the last cent-
ury did not exhibit such moral superiority, when
men notoriously dissolute and gross held the high-
est positions in public life, and a perfidious intriguer,
debauchee, and duelist was an almost successful
candidate for the presidency of the United States.
Such a man could not be a candidate for the presi-
dency to-day. Disreputable conduct in the Chris-
tian ministry was not as thoroughly and as easily
subjected to discipline then as now. Many who
held high positions in the ministry and in the
State then would not be tolerated in those positions
now. We believe the moral judgment of society is
clearer, more uniform and emphatic to-day, than
280 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ever befoie for one hundred years. Christianity
has evidently made great moral progress. The
apostolic Church was probably purer in morals than
that which preceded it. But it appears, however,
from the apostolic epistles, that, even in the days
of the apostles, false and pernicious doctrines and
corrupt practices existed in the Church. St. Paul's
remarks concerning the Lord's Supper show this.
We read, in I Cor. xi, 21, " For in eating every one
taketh before other his own supper: and one is
hungry, and another is drunken." Is there a Church
in Christendom that needs such a rebuke? Again,
we read : " It is reported commonly that there is for-
nication among you, and such fornication as is not
so much as named among the Gentiles, that One
should have his father's wife." St. Paul is speak-
ing not of those without, but of persons tolerated
in the Corinthian Church, who were guilty of prac-
tices which would expel them from any Church in
these days. He interposed to elevate the standard.
A clear evidence of a high-toned morality, rising
above the corruptions of the times, is the current
dissatisfaction with the evils which have been afflict-
ing us, the impatient demand for the purification
of society, the sharp indictment of public evils, their
fearless exposure and scathing criticism. We are
ferreting out corruption and applying caustic rem-
edies. These are indications of moral sensitiveness,
vitality, and recuperative power. Criticism and
MORALS. 281
self-introspection are auspicious omens the diag-
nosis, which precedes the prescription. Vigorous
remedies are closely following the analysis. Every-
where the call is for official honor, fidelity, pure laws
and equitable civil service. Reform is the watch
word in most circles the talismanic word in polit-
ical and ecclesiastical life. We are finding our reck-
onings and mending our course. Beating against
the wind is sometimes better than sailing before it.
The moral sentiments of society are mighty and
cumulative. The action of the two great political
parties, in nominating Generals Garfield and Han-
cock, both morally unobjectionable men, as candi-
dates for the Presidency, is a concession, by poli-
ticians, to the moral sentiment of the country.
Paiiperism.
Pauperism, though less obviously, yet more reli-
ably, than crime, indicates the standard of public
morality. Most cases of publicly recognized pau-
perism arc intimately related to criminality and
viciousness of character as their cause, though the
criminal cause of poverty is often found in a differ-
ent person from the individual sufferer. Pauperism
generally increases and diminishes with the decline
and advance of public morals. If this is a correct
conclusion, a reference to the statistics of pauper-
ism, in almost every parish in the nation, will afford
the most gratifying refutation of the late lamenta-
282 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tions over the "moral declension'* of the country.
Without adducing statistics, we are sure that no
well-informed person will question the general ac-
curacy of the assumption that pauperism has greatly
diminished during the century.
In regard to both crime and pauperism, a dis-
tinction should be made between persons educated
among us and those whose characters were formed
under influences antagonistic to the influences
which prevail among ourselves. A Protestant of
foreign birth may be presumed to have a character
not wholly different from that of an American.
The the religious element is the most considerable
one, though we must still claim for our free institu-
tions an influence for good, a tendency to engender
a rational patriotism, a self-respect, and a general
moral sentiment, which cannot be looked for under
a despotic government. If, then, in this reckoning,
we confine ourselves either to native Americans, or
to Protestants and persons of Protestant parentage,
the result will show a very much larger relative
diminution of crime and pauperism. Removing all
foreigners and their children, or all Romanists and
their children, from our penitentiaries and eleemos-
ynary institutions, the remnant will be very small
compared with the mass of our Protestant popula-
tion. Take out the emigrant paupers, and you will
find that the masses have advanced astonishingly in
this respect since the Revolution.
MORALS. 283
It must be remembered that many of the fathers
of New England owned the bodies of their laborers
and domestics, and that this condition of things, in
a modified form, in large sections, extended into
this century. The condition of workingmen has
improved relatively to the wealth of the land ever
since. Wages of every kind bear a higher propor-
tion to the things needed for comfort and conven-
ience than ever before for two hundred years.
Said Theodore Parker :
" If you go back one hundred years I think you
will find that, in proportion to the population and
wealth of this town or this State, there was consid-
erably more suffering from native poverty then than
now. Now public charity is more extended and
more complete, works in a wiser mode, and with
far more beneficial effects, and pains are now taken
to uproot the causes of poverty pains which our
fathers never thought of."
Rev. Timothy Dwight, D.D., writing in 1815,
estimated the paupers in the towns of New En-
gland' outside of cities at one for three hundred
inhabitants, a ratio far exceeding the present.
Another minister,* referring to the condition of
things at the time of his settlement, in 1810, at
North Coventry, Conn., a fair sample of many in-
land towns, at that time, said :
* Rev. George A. Calhoun, D.D., sermon on the fortieth anniver-
sary of his settlement, 1850.
284 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
" There were only four floors with carpets ^ n
them, but four houses painted white, and not moie
than ten four-wheeled vehicles. Even whitewash
on the walls of rooms was very seldom used. Nor
was the difference in the times merely. Real pov-
erty was the cause. Even in the condition in
which they did live, there were few who had money
at interest compared with those who were in debt,
and those whose farms were mortgaged. Property
was constantly changing hands by the foreclosure
of mortgages and insolvency. But the expense of
living then, as compared with now, was very small.
What, then, was the reason for this depression in
worldly circumstances ? Their gains were con-
sumed, and they were oppressed, by the use of in-
toxicating drinks." " At least one man in every
score became a drunkard, and not a few women
were addicted to habits of intemperance." " There
was probably not one in five hundred who did not
believe that the use of intoxicating drinks, as a
beverage, was absolutely needful."
The Economic View.
A writer in the " Fortnightly Review,'* (June,
1880,) said: "We are at length beginning to read
history in the light of Economic causes. These
causes, silent, simple, potent, and pervading, have
been always, and must be always, at work in all
sorts of societies, in all ages, from the most rude to
MORALS. 285
the most artificial." He then directs attention
" to the following epitome of the evidence relat-
ing to the progress of the population of England,
and in England and Wales since the close of the
eleventh century," and to certain inferences there-
from, which throw much light on the question of
moral progress.
" The researches which have been undertaken
and the discussions which have occurred regarding
the population of England, and of England and
Wales, at various periods antecedent to the first
actual census of 1801, justify us in accepting the
following results as near the truth : About the year
iioo (Henry I.) the total population of England
was certainly not more than 2,000,000 of persons,
if so many. After the lapse of three centuries it
had become (including Wales) 2,750,000 in 1400,
(Henry IV.) The lapse of another century raised
it to somewhat less than 3,500,000 in 1500, (Henry
VI 1.) At the close of the reign of Elizabeth, in
1600, the population was 4,500,000. In 1700, un-
der William III., it was 5,500,000. In 1801 the
first census gave the population of England and
Wales at 9,250,000, and in 1880 it is computed offi-
cially that the total has risen to quite 25,000,000.
" From these figures we deduce the following very
striking variations of progression, always remem-
bering that soil, climate and seasons, and national
character, have remained essentially the same, and
286 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
that there has not been any foreign invasion: In
the three centuries (1100-1400) the increase was
700,000, or 233,000 in each, equal to about 10 per
cent, in each hundred years. In the single century
(1400-1500) the increase was 700,000, or 25 per cent.
In the next single century (1500-1600) the increase
was 1,110,000, or 30 per cent., and it was the same
total increase, equal to 25 per cent., in the hun-
dred years 1600-1700. But in the following cent-
ury (1700-1800) the increase was more than
3,500,000, equal to say 64 per cent. ; and in the
eighty years (1800-1880) the increase has been the
vast total of nearly 16,000,000, equal to 172 per
cent. The percentages of increase have been, there-
fore, (stated in general terms,) for each of the seven
periods of one hundred years, as now described, 10,
10, 10, 25, 30, 25, 64, and for the last eighty years
172 per cent., and, if emigration be allowed for, this
last percentage would be largely increased.
" We find in this statement a foundation of solid
evidence regarding the progress of this country in
the resources and appliances of civilization ; that is
to say, in the growth of capital and skill and sci-
ence. In a country by nature temperate and fer-
tile, a population which increases slowly means
(apart from circumstances of a very special kind
not easily overlooked) a country the people of
which are deficient in the wealth and knowledge
whereby reasonable food, clothing, and shelter can
MORALS. 287
be provided, and diseases and epidemics averted or
cured. Devastating invasions or domestic wars, for
example, the Turkish inroads in the East of Europe,
or the Thirty-years' War in Germany, may, when they
occur, reduce the population of a fertile region to
;i low ebb for a considerable time. But in the case
of England during the four hundred years from
I TOO to 1500, there were no sweeping calamities of
this nature to account for the fact that the popu-
lation grew only at the rate of 10 per cent, in each
of the first three, and at the rate of only 25 per
cent, in the last of the four centuries indicated.
Nor can it be said that the government of the
country during these four centuries was ill-suited
to the times, or more corrupt or oppressive than
the governments of other parts of Western Europe.
On the contrary, the English kings and English
statesmen of the period in question were consider-
ably better and wiser, on the whole, than their for-
eign contemporaries. The small number of people
and their tardy increase can be attributed only to
the circumstance that capital accumulated so slowly
that each generation had the greatest physical diffi-
culty in maintaining as many offspring as would
just replace it, sometimes with a trifling surplus
and sometimes with a deficiency. And this inces-
sant conflict with nature for mere life necessitated
dense ignorance, the rudest and hardest labor, the
diseases and epidemics which follow close upon
288 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
hunger, cold, and exposure, and the sweeping de-
struction of infant and advanced life."
Longevity and Sanitary Science.
Another class of facts throws light upon this
question ; we refer to the average extent of human
life. Vice, whether it results in squalid poverty or
in sensual luxury, is always unfriendly to health and
longevity, while viciousness of character is both di-
rectly and indirectly destructive of human life.
These propositions are so obvious as not to need
proof or illustration. It is ascertained that the av-
erage measure of human life, in this country, has
been steadily increasing during this century, and is
now considerably longer than in any other country.
The proximate agencies that have produced this
result are thrift, temperance, parental care, and self-
control all proofs of public and private virtuous-
ness of character. This is one of the most reliable
tests of our real moral status ; and it must be grant-
ed that the conclusion to which it leads is highly
satisfactory, although much remains to be done.
Sanitary science, a department of study almost
unknown until recent times, is every-where receiv-
ing attention and working out beneficent results.
There are few people whose sanitary condition is
not better than that of their fathers. Progress is
quite perceptible in Great Britain, France, Germany,
and the United States. Especially marked is the
MORALS. 289
economy of life among the young, on whose imma-
ture strength evil sanitary conditions press most
heavily. The influence of sanitary legislation traces
its benign and enduring record in the higher phys-
ical conditions of city populations, in comparative
exemption from epidemic diseases, and the increased
duration of human life. At the beginning of the
century the deaths in London exceeded the births,
and the growth of the metropolis depended upon
immigration from the provinces. In England and
Wales, in 1710, the annual death-rate was 28 in ev-
ery 1,000 persons; in 1837 it na( ^ fallen to 24.7 ; in
1876, according to Mr. Mackenzie,* it was 21 ; while
in Hungary it was 37.2 ; in Austria, 29.4 ; in Italy,
28.7; in Prussia, 25.4; in France, 22.7. A great
improvement has been effected ; but " the waste of
human life is still discreditably great."
TABLE OF THE AVERAGE ANNUAL RATES OF MORTALITY IN
THREE ENGLISH CITIES.
p t Number LONDON. LIVERPOOL. MANCHESTER
3 s ' of years. In 1,000 persons. In 1,000. In 1,000,
1865-66 2 25.5 40.2 33.5
1867-70 4 23.8 31.1 31.8
1871-74.... 4 22.8 30.1 30.2
1875-78 4 22.9 27.8 28.6
In 1840-44, with 16,367 inhabitants to the square
mile, in London, the average annual mortality was
24.5 persons in 1,000 ; in 1874-78, with 28,602 inhab-
itants to the square mile, therate was 22.9. Rela-
* " The Nineteenth Century," Franklin Square Library, p. 26,
note.
19
290 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
tively, the rate of mortality, figured according to
density, should have been 26.2. Here is a saving
of 12,178 lives annually in London, from 18/4 to
1878, as compared with the death-rate and density
in 1840 to 1844. This improvement the Registrar-
General attributes, in part, to the extensive sew-
erage introduced, measuring 1,300 miles.*
Philanthropic Agencies.
One of the noblest traits of the century is the
development of organized voluntary effort to relieve
the suffering and raise the fallen. Near the begin-
ning of this century the humane spirit of Christian-
ity was seen struggling for a wider dominion. It
came forth slowly, for a long period of hatred, per-
sonal bitterness, and bloodshed had preceded, and
left its spirit lurking in all departments of society.
But after the great European war which ended in
the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, a spirit of tol-
eration, tenderness, and forbearance began to pre-
vail, and men's minds were directed to the work of
helping the helpless, protecting the unprotected,
providing for the needy, and alleviating suffering.
Charities, many of them before unknown, sprang
up and multiplied. Hospitals, infirmaries, dispen-
satories, asylums, homes for the aged, lodging-
houses, institutions for the blind, the deaf and
dumb, the idiotic, and for drunkards, have been
* See " The British Almanac and Companion," 1880, p. 121
MORALS. 291
established every-where, and number their inmates
by hundreds of thousands. Children without guard-
ians have been snatched by merciful hands from the
perils which surrounded them, and committed to
institutions for education and training. Fallen
women are gathered into institutions devoted to
their moral recovery. Criminals whose terms of
punishment have expired are provided with employ-
ment. A vast machinery of charities, with a spirit
of noble devotedness, is spreading its net-work of
kindly influences in all our cities and towns. Five
hundred * charitable societies in London expend
$5, 000,000 annually ; and in New York city about
$4,000,000 annually are expended. In the United
States 43 institutions care for 5,743 deaf and dumb
annually ; 30 institutions for the blind minister
to 2,179 pupils annually; n idiot asylums minis-
ter to 1,781 idiotic and imbecile persons. The first
two classes of these institutions show a property
of $10,000,000, and the three classes an annual ex-
penditure of $2,250,000, for persons heretofore left
to be trodden down and passed by with indifference.
Not to specify other humane and philanthropic in-
stitutions, it may be said that nearly all institutions
and organizations for these unfortunates have had
their origin since the battle of Waterloo. This dis-
position to raise the fallen, to befriend the friend-
* Low's " Hand-Book to the Charities of London," 1879-1880,
shows one thousand charitable institutions in that city.
292 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
less, is now one of the governing influences of the
world, whose dominion is widening every year, and
winning to its support a growing public sentiment.
Penal Inflictions.
Within one hundred years the criminal laws of
even the most enlightened countries were atro-
ciously savage, and administered in a relentless
spirit. Hon. Edmund Burke said he could obtain
the consent of the House of Commons to any bill
imposing punishment by death. English law recog-
nized two hundred and twenty-three capital crimes
not wholly a legacy of the Dark Ages, for one
hundred and fifty-six of them bore no remoter date
than the reigns of the Georges. " If a man injured
Westminster bridge he was hanged. If he appeared
disguised on a public road he was hanged. If he
cut down young trees, if he shot rabbits, if he stole
property valued at five shillings, if he stole any thing
at all from a bleach-field, if he wrote a threatening
letter to extort money, if he returned prematurely
from transportation for any of these offenses he was
prematurely hanged. . . . Men who were not old
when the battle of Waterloo was fought were fa-
miliar with the nameless atrocities which it had been
customary to inflict upon traitors. Within their
recollection men who resisted the government were
cut in pieces by the executioner, and their dishon-
ored heads were exposed on Temple Bar to the de-
MORALS. 293
rision or pity of passers-by. It seemed, indeed, as
if society were reluctant to abandon these horrid
practices. So late as 1820, when Thistlewood and
his companions were executed for a poor, blunder-
ing conspiracy which they were supposed to have
formed, the executioner first hanged and then be-
headed the unfortunate men. The prison accom-
modations provided by the State were well calcu-
lated to reconcile criminals even to the gloomiest of
all methods of deliverance. It was in 1773 that
John Howard began his noble and faithful researches
among the prisons of England, but many years
passed before remedies were found for the evils
which he revealed. In Howard's time the jailer re-
ceived no salary : nay, he often paid a considerable
sum for the situation which he filled. He was re-
munerated by fees extracted at his own pleasure,
and often by brutal violence, from the wretches who
had fallen into his power. It was his privilege to
sell their food to the prisoners, and to supply, at an
extortionate price, the straw which served them for
beds, unless they were content to sleep on the damp
floor." *
The penal codes and usages of all civilized coun-
tries retained too long the barbarism of the le,;s-
enlightened ages. But a marked modification in
statutes and prisons has been apparent in the last
sixty years. The more sanguinary penalties of
\ Mackenzie's " Nineteenth Century." Harper & Brothers.
294 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
other ages have been left behind, and the retribu-
tion which savors of vengeance has been eliminated.
Penal justice is administered with reference to what
is required for the safety and well-being of society
not exact retribution so much suffering for so much
crime but the principle of self-defense, security,
and reformation.
Criticisms and Testimonies.
It has been well said, " It takes but little length
of line to touch the bottom " of such criticisms on
current morals as appeared in the October " Atlan-
tic " last year. But many good people inconsider-
ately indorse such criticisms, notwithstanding "they
come not much short of violating the ninth com-
mandment." There is much carping and unjust
depreciation of our times, a whining tone of dis-
trust, and an exaggerated confession, often both un-
intelligent and unmanly. A sensational press pa-
rades, in exaggerated and highly colored forms, the
disgusting details of pollution, and many eagerly
catch them up, depreciate the present, and pro-
nounce lofty eulogiums upon the past. Many are
notoriously incapable of appreciating the virtues of
the age in which they live, but have a keen scent
for corruption, a horrid relish for scandal, look with
a fixed, contracted gaze upon the ulcers which af-
flict their fellows, and presume that every body else
but themselves has ulcers.
MORALS. . 295
If we search the records of the past for contem-
poraneous recognitions of a golden age, we shall
fail to find them. In the course of our review we
have found men of each generation dwelling upon
the degeneracy of their age, and the preachers
thundering against its unprecedented vices. " The
present always lies bare to the gaze, with all its de-
formities and hideousness in view, while the enchant-
ment of distance hangs over the past."
But, thank God, there are not wanting those of
high intelligence, of accurate observation, of close
scrutiny, who have studied the moral condition of
our times in the light of preceding ages, who hail
the multiplying indications of the brightening days.
Theodore Parker said : " It is very plain that the
people of New England are advancing in wealth,
intelligence, and morality ; but in this general march
there are little apparent pauses, slight waverings
from side to side ; some virtues seem to straggle
from the troop ; some to lag behind, for it is not
always the same virtue that leads the van. ... It
is probable that the morals of New England in gen-
eral, and of Boston in special, declined somewhat
from 1775 to 1790. There were peculiar but well-
known causes, which no longer exist, to work the
result. . . . To estimate the moral growth or de-
cline of this town we must not take either period as a
standard. But take the history of Boston, from 1650
to 1700, from 1700 to 1750, and thence to 1800, and
296 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
you will see a gradual but decided progress in
morality in each of these periods. From 1800 to
1849 this progress is indisputable and well marked.
Let us look at this a little in detail.
" It is generally conceded that the moral charac-
ter of trade has improved a good deal within fifty
or sixty years. It was formerly a common saying
that, ' If a Yankee merchant were to sell salt water
at high tide, he would cheat in the measure.' The
saying was founded on the conduct of American
traders abroad, in the West Indies and elsewhere.
Now things have been changed for the better. I
have been told by competent authority that two
of the most eminent merchants of Boston, fifty or
sixty years ago, who conducted each a large busi-
ness, and left very large fortunes, were notoriously
guilty of such dishonesty in trade as would now
drive any man from the Exchange. The facility
with which notes are now collected by the banks,
compared with the former method of collection, is
itself a proof of the increase of practical honesty;
the law for settling the affairs of a bankrupt tells
the same thing. Now this change has not come
from any special effort ; and consequently it indi-
cates the general moral progress of the community."
After speaking of the improvement of the moral
tone of the press, he says : " Yet a publicity is now-
adays given to certain things which were formerly
kept more closely from the public, eye and ear
MORALS. 297
This circumstance produces an apparent increase of
wrong-doing, while it is only an increase of public-
ity thereof. . . . There has been a great change for
the better in the matter of intemperance in drink-
ing. . . . Probably there is not a respectable man
who would not be ashamed to be seen drunk, in
ever so private a manner, or who would willingly
get a friend or a guest in that condition to-day.
Go back a few years, and it brought no public
reproach, and, I fear, no private shame. A few
years further back, it was not a rare thing, on great
occasions, for the fathers of the town to reel and
stagger from their intemperance."
Another eminent gentleman said : " The present
age is not pre-eminently a bad one. On the con-
trary, I believe the present age to be the purest and
best the world has ever seen. It is not an age of
gross licentiousness, either in life or literature, as
some former ages have been. The student of liter-
ature meets few * terrible temptations.' Writers
like Tom Paine would be to-day turned out of the
synagogues of skeptics."
The late Hon. Rufus Choate is said to have
maintained that there had been a decided growth
in political and personal morality since the early
days of the Union, and two Massachusetts gentle-
men with whom he was conversing, as well quali-
fied as any to judge of such matters, concurred in
his views.
298 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The editor of a leading secular daily* said : " If
we look back over the history of England, even in
modern times, we shall easily note several distinct
periods when the moral tone of the nation was low,
politics were corrupt, and every thing apparently
tending to ruin. And yet a few years in each in-
stance enabled the people to outgrow these dele-
terious influences, until finally the age of Victoria
maybe considered, on the whole, decidedly superior
in all moral elements to that of any former sover-
eign. Nor have we any reason to doubt that the
unfavorable peculiarities of the present times, in the
United States, are ephemeral, and must yet yield
to the inherent moral vigor of the Nation."
A short time before his death, Hon. Charles
Sumner was asked : " And what do you think, Mr.
Sumner, of our country are we going to destruc-
tion?" " No, no," cried Mr. Sumner, emphatically;
" I believe in the Republic. I believe in the future
of our country." " But think of all the lawlessness,
the anarchy, and corruption every-where prevailing.
We are treading in the footsteps of France. What
can save us from falling as she has done?" " It is
true," he answered, sadly, " these terrible disclos-
ures in New York, in Washington, in Kansas, in
Louisiana, are enough to make us tremble. The
worst feature of it is the apathy of the people.
When corruption is discovered the judgment of the
* " The Boston Journal," 1875.
MORALS. 299
people should strike like the thunderbolt." After
a pause his face brightened, and he concluded :
" But it does not matter. Our people have im-
mense recuperative power. I believe in their recu-
perative energy. I believe in the Republic."
One of the most vigorously edited of our secular
dailies,* noted for its independent criticisms, said :
" Let the 'Atlantic ' essayists, and Professors Shedd
and Schopenhauer, and the millenarians, tell us of
the night. Let them put out the storm signals,
and fix the buoys, and ring the fog-bells. We may
have to slow up for a while ; we may have to beat
against winds just now dead ahead, and currents
drifting strong toward a lee shore ; but God lives
as well as the devil, and this pessimistic tack will
bring us, in the next wearing of the ship, well ahead
in the open sea."
The stringent morals of the Puritans are often
referred to. Rev. Washington Gladden said : f " I
should like to explore the period of the Reforma-
tion and the days of the earlier Puritanism, and
show you, by typical cases, how far inferior to our
own the moral standards and practices of those
days were. We should find them, indeed, vastly
higher and purer than those we have encountered
in the earlier days of the Church, for progress is
the law of God's kingdom in the world ; but there
*"The Springfield Republican," 1879.
f Thanksgiving Discourse, Springfield, Mass., Nov. 28, 1878.
300 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
would be proofs enough that none of the former
days were better than these.
" The kingdoms of this world are becoming the
kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. It is his
power that is doing all this mighty work. It is the
influence of his Gospel, more than all other causes
combined, that has purified our jurisprudence that
has revealed to men the great doctrines of rights, and
taught them how to secure and maintain their
rights ; that has lifted the family out of the pagan
degradations and the mediaeval corruptions ; that
has gradually purified the sentiments and the eth-
ical ideas of society, so that all our institutions are
pervaded by its spirit, and all our civilization shines
with the Light that lighteth every man that cometh
into the world."
A leading religious editor* said: "The world
never saw such extensive business organizations as
at the present time. When one man, like a Stew-
art, can combine the abilities of several hundred
men, and reap the margins on all their work, we
cannot doubt general confidence.
" Take the single branch of business known as
banking. How it depends upon letters of credit,
and on dispatches, and on statements ! Think of
the millions that daily pass through the channels of
exchange, and how seldom a penny rolls out into
any by-way. It hardly amounts to the one hun-
* " Christian Advocate," Nov. 30, 1876.
MORALS. 301
dred thousandth part of one per cent. Take the
25,000 men in American banks that have it in their
power to steal : see how seldom they do it. The
cases will not average more than one every two
weeks, or one in a thousand a year. A leading
banker said not long ago, ' I would be willing to
take the men up from the street as we meet them,
and put them in charge of the vault, saying, " This
vault is open, you watch it for an hour," and not
one in a hundred would disappoint the confidence.'
We are not all abandoned. Honesty is not one of
the lost arts.
" Take another class of community now much
abused by certain secular papers. There are now
more than 80,000 ministers in the United States.
Make an estimate of the percentage of failures in
morals. There is not an average of one a month in
the entire land. One in 6,500 is not a bad showing
for a year. Would to God there were none at all !
But we are far ahead of the infant Church, where
the failures were one in twelve. . . . We have great
reason to hope, for we are going in the right direc-
tion. Slavery is not defended, but dead. Alcohol
is no longer imbibed in the pulpit, but denounced.
Corruption is not concealed and apologized for, but
denied and condemned ; the cry against it is de-
manded by the public conscience. The Churches
were never more vigorous in their evangelizing
work. The credit of the nation has been so estab-
3O2 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
lished that its paper has advanced from thirty-five
to ninety cents on the dollar. The losses on dis-
bursements by corruption and fraud were never so
small in the entire history of the country as at
present.
" In the time of Van Buren the loss was $21 15
on every $1,000. Now it is only twenty-six cents.
In the days of Buchanan, United States bonds bear-
ing six per cent, interest, issued to pay current ex-
penses of the government, which exceeded the rev-
enues by over $75,000,000, were hawked about the
country, and sold with great difficulty at seventeen
per cent, discount. Now four and a half per cent,
bonds sell at par. Surely capital, which is the most
sensitive nerve in the world, does not indicate much
distrust. . . . We are bad enough, but we are bet-
ter than ever in the past. God has not a surplus
of earthly governments that do as well by the
masses of the people as our government does. We
may confidently expect him to use us as long as we
are fit for use ; then he will do the next best thing
with us."
Said another eminent preacher and writer : " All the
great ideals of civilized life of to-day are baptized in
the spirit of the Gospel. Ideals are the engines that
draw men up to higher planes of being. It is from
ideals that aspirations spring, and it is by them that
development is produced ; although they may be but
little flickering lights, they are like the north star
MORALS. 303
that guides men, and that enables them to find
their way on the trackless sea by its constant bright-
ness. The ideals of the family, the ideals of active
men in commercial relations, the ideals of the pa-
triot, the, ideals of the whole civilization of our
time, are essentially Christian. Honor, truth, pu-
rity, self-denial, love, intelligence, and general man-
liness, are all largely inspired and shaped by the
Spirit of Christ. . . . The steady shining of the
Spirit of Christ through the ages has imbued laws
and formed customs. In the procedure that is most
universally approved among civilizations there is an
element of Christianity that has entered into it ; so
that, besides conceptional Christianity and the
Christianity of the record of the Book, there is a
concrete Christianity, which consists of the equity,
purity, justice, love, and generosity that are incul
cated by the customs, public sentiments, laws, and
institutions of human society." *
Moral self-poise is one of the best tests of true
progress. The masses of the world have not yet
reached a perfect equilibrium, as occasional occur-
rences remind us ; but how much greater the self-
control of the human race than one hundred years
ago ! Arbitrary enactments and standing armies
are now little better than mockeries ; for men with
elevated ideas need no overawing forces to restrain
or compel them. Popular outbreaks against law
* Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 1878.
304 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and government, once so frequent, are now compara-
tively rare, seldom disastrous, and are usually quieted
by personal moral influence rather than by force.
International difficulties, once decided wholly by
the sword, are coming to be settled chiefly by
diplomacy. International conferences seem destined
to supplant sanguinary encounters. In pending
elections the sharpest partisan agitations, enlisting
however much of acrimony, and sometimes exciting
painful apprehensions for the future peace and sta-
bility of governments, quietly subside with the
verdict of the people the most ardent demagogues
promptly bowing to the popular will. Men are
learning, more than ever before, thai they can dis-
agree and yet live happily together. France has
at last come, may we not believe, after many unsuc-
cessful experiments, to a condition in which its
excitable elements are susceptible of that self-con-
trol essential to republican government. One hun-
dred years ago, or even fifty or thirty years ago, it
was not possible. England and America have also
improved in this regard. Many far-off lands, Aus-
tralia, some Polynesian isles, Southern and Western
Africa, portions of South America, and Mexico, only
a little time ago dominated by savagery or an intol-
erant priesthood, are learning the great moral les-
son of self-government. ' Thus, under the tutelage
of Christianity, God is fulfilling the ancient predic-
tion, " 1 will write my laws in your hearts" etc.
III. SPIRITUAL VITALITY,
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
The Eve of the Lutheran Reformation.
The Eve of the Wesleyan Reformation.
The Eve of the Edwardean Revival.
The Eve of the Revival of 18OO-18O3.
OF
III.-SPIEITUAL VITALITY.
CHAPTER I.
TYPICAL PERIODS.
SPIRITUAL Christianity had almost disap-
peared when Protestantism arose. The spirit
of ecclesiasticism was dominant, and the Roman
hierarchy, assuming all control of spiritual functions,
raised its imperious head between the individual
and his God. Imposing forms and elaborate cere-
monials supplanted spiritual life. Piety retired to
cloisters, which, indeed, developed some conspicu-
ous examples, but disfigured by morbid introspec-
tion, abnormal ecstasy, physical flagellation, and
antinomian quietism. Pining to dwell
" In dark monastic cells,
By vows and grates confined,"
these illustrious religionists, whose devotion the
Church of Rome has proudly cited as evidences of
her high spiritual capabilities, overlooked the prime
obligation of true saintship
41 Freely to all ourselves we give,
Constrained by Jesus' love to live
The servants of mankind."
308 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
In such a period Luther appeared, protesting
against the exclusive functions of the Romish priest-
hood, and proclaiming every man his own priest.
The theory of the priesthood of believers, as an is-
sue with the hierarchy, was fought out in the great
Reformation of the sixteenth century ; but it was
only imperfectly realized in the practical life of the
Reformation Churches. We recognize it, in an ex-
cessive and fanatical form, among the Anabaptists
in Germany, who claimed immediate and even
prophetic inspiration, and, a little later, among the
early Quakers. It had a better but yet imperfect
development among the Puritans.
Absorbed in the outward battle of great princi-
ples, the Reformation, in its earlier stages, did not
exhibit much spirituality, except in some of its best
leaders, in whose hearts the most radical truths
were combined with intense religious devotion.
Nor did early Protestantism exhibit much mis-
sionary and soul-saving power. The subject of
spiritual regeneration did not receive the distinct-
ive prominence which it had in the primitive
Church.
Before the death of Luther all Northern Europe
had broken away from the Papacy, and the Refor-
mation was established by law. Great religious
wars occurred, extending through three generations,
during which the spirituality of Protestantism was
extinguished and its aggressive power lost. It be-
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 309
came political, and contented itself with maintain-
ing itself within its own limits.
From Luther to Wesley few revivals occurred,
except at long intervals, among the Presbyterians in
Scotland, the Moravians, and in some of the earliest
Churches of the Massachusetts Colony. One hun-
dred and fifty years ago spiritual death and formalism
pervaded the Protestant Churches of Europe and
America. No aggressive impulse, no lay activities,
no outgoing desire for the salvation of the world,
marked the period. The New England Churches
had a few feeble missions among the Indians ; En-
glish Protestantism had one society that reached
beyond the British Isles the " Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," or-
ganized in 1701 for the benefit of English colonists
on foreign shores, not for heathen populations; and
on the Continent of Europe a missionary afflatus
had just come upon the Moravians, under which
they went forth to sublime achievements.
It will now be necessary to sketch the progress
of Protestantism more in detail, and examine closely
the changing phases of its history. As we do so
we shall notice at considerable length the period of
spiritual decadence in England and America one
hundred and fifty years ago, from which, in the
former country, it emerged into a gradual develop-
ment for more than a century ; and, in the latter,
it partially and temporarily emerged, but was fol-
3io PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
lowed by another period of decline, from which it
has since risen into grander life and progress than
ever before.
It should be kept in mind that Protestantism
never claimed perfection. Exceedingly immature
at first, and ever a growth, it started upon its career
with great disadvantages, heavily encumbered with
relics of popery and mediaeval life, beclouding its
vision, depressing its spirituality, dividing its coun-
sels, and holding its laity in partial bondage. The
English Reformation, embarrassed with state pat-
ronage, imperfectly restored the primitive idea of
Christianity as " the kingdom of God within."
Typical examples of spirituality under the English
Reformation, Churchmen and Puritans, bright and
worthy of their times, fall below more recent stand
ards. Pure and noble men they were, in advance
of the next preceding centuries, and some of them
ahead of their own age ; but the spiritual influence
of the movement was confined to narrow circles.
Southey says : " Among the educated classes too
little care was taken to imbue them early with this
better faith ; and too little exertion used for awak-
ening them from the pursuits and vanities of this
world to a salutary and healthful contemplation of
that which is to come. And there was the heavier
evil that the greater part of the nation were totally
uneducated ^Christians no further than the mere
ceremony of baptism being for the most part in a
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 311
state of heathen, or worse than heathen, ignorance.
In truth, they had never been converted ; for, at
first, one idolatry had been substituted for another
in this they had followed the fashion of their
lords and when the Romish idolatry was expelled,
the change on their part was still a matter of nec-
essary submission. They were left as ignorant of
real Christianity as they were found."
With such a view of the English Reformation it
is not surprising that it was subject to alternations
and reactions, and that the rigorous dispensation of
the Puritan Cromwell should be followed by the lax
and dissolute reign of Charles II. Churchmen and
Nonconformists alike bear concurrent testimony
respecting the low condition of religion from the
time of Charles II. to the middle of the eighteenth
century. The reaction against Puritanism, follow-
ing the restoration of the Stuarts, left a universal
blight upon the nation. A total irreligion and life-
less formality spread every-where. A haughty dis-
like repelled the spiritualities of religion. Arch-
bishop Leighton complained that the Church was
" a fair carcass without a spirit."
The pathetic lamentation of Bishop Burnet,* in
1713, on the state of the Church, has often been
quoted : " I am now," he says, " in the seventieth
year of my age, and, as I cannot speak long in the
world in any sort, so I cannot hope for a more
* " Pastoral Care."
312 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
solemn occasion than this of speaking with all due
freedom, both to the present and to the succeeding
ages. Therefore I lay hold on it to give a free
vent to those sad thoughts that lie in my mind,
both day and night, and are the subject of many
secret musings. I cannot look on without the
deepest concern when I see the imminent ruin
hanging over this Church, and, by consequence,
over the whole Reformation. The outward state
of things is black enough, God knows, but that
which heightens my fears rises chiefly from the in-
ward state into which we are unhappily fallen."
Referring to the condition of the clergy, he says :
" Our ember-weeks are the burden and grief of my
life. The much greater "part of those who come to
be ordained are ignorant to a degree not to be ap-
prehended by those who are not obliged to know
it. The easiest part of knowledge is that to which
they are the greatest strangers. Those who have
read some few books yet never seem to have read
the Scriptures. Many cannot give a tolerable ac-
count even of the Catechism itself, how short and
plain soever. This does often tear my heart. The
case is not much better in many, who, having got
into orders, come for institution, and cannot make
it appear that they have read the Scriptures or any
one good book since they were ordained, so that
the small measure of knowledge upon which they
got into holy orders not being improved, is in a
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 313
way to be quite lost ; and then they think it a
great hardship if they are told they must know the
Scriptures and the body of divinity better before
they can be trusted with the care of souls."
Watts declared that there was " a general decay
of vital religion in the hearts and lives of men ;''
that this condition extended " to Dissenters as well
as Churchmen ;" that it was " a matter of mournful
observation among all who lay the cause of God to
heart ;" and he called upon " every one to use all
possible efforts for the recovery of dying religion in
the world/' * Another writer asserts that 4< the
Spirit of God had so far departed from the nation
that hereby almost all vital religion is lost out of
the world." f The "Weekly Miscellany" (1732)
said : " The people are engulfed in voluptuousness
and business, and a zeal for godliness looks as odd
upon a man as would the antiquated dress of a
great-grandfather."
In Scotland, under the early visits of Whitefield,
the Churches were somewhat quickened, but the
work was limited in extent and power by divisions
and dissensions, and was followed by a deeper
moral slumber, called " the midnight of the
Church." The infidelity of the times had infected
the ministry, and only tame " moral sermons/' after
the style of Blair, were preached, and convivial cir-
* Preface to his " Humble Attempt," etc.
\ Harrison's " Sermons on the Holy Spirit."
314 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
cles were more attractive than pulpits to the clergy.
Dr. Hamilton said : " To deliver a Gospel sermon,
or to preach to the consciences of dying sinners,
was as completely beyond their power as to speak
in the language of angels. . . . The congregations
rarely amounted to a tenth of the parishioners, and
one half of this small number were generally, dur-
ing the half-hour soporific harangue, fast asleep.
They were free from hypocrisy ; they had no more
religion in private than in public."
A writer in " Blackwood's Magazine " said of that
period that it was " singularly devoid, not only
of religion, but of all spirituality of mind, or refer-
ence to things unseen. ... It was one of the mo-
ments in which the world had fallen out of thought
of God. Other ages may have been as wicked, but
we doubt whether any age had learned so entirely
to forget its connection with higher things, or the
fact that a soul which did not die an immortal
being akin to other spheres was within its clay.
The good men were inoperative, the bad men were
dauntless ; the vast crowd between the two, which
forms the bulk of humanity, felt no stimulus to-
ward religion, and drowsed in comfortable con-
tent."
Lecky says : " A great skeptic described the
nation as ' settled into the most cool indifference
with regard to religious matters that is to be found
in any nation in the world.' '
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 315
Leland,* an eminent Dissenter, said : " It cannot
escape the notice of the most superficial observer
that an habitual neglect of public worship is be-
coming general among us, beyond the example of
former times." " People of fashion," said Arch-
bishop Seeker, f " especially of that sex which
ascribes to itself the most knowledge, have merely
thrown off all observance of the Lord's day, . . .
and if, to avoid scandal, they sometimes vouch-
safe their attendance on divine worship in the
country, they seldom or never do it in town."
Cabinet councils and cabinet dinners were con-
stantly held on that day.J Sunday card-parties,
during the greater part of the eighteenth cent-
ury, were fashionable entertainments in the best
circles.
Bishop Butler said : " The general decay of re-
ligion in this nation, which is now observed by
every one, has been for some time the complaint
of all serious persons." " The influence of it is
more and more wearing out of the minds of men,
even of those who do not pretend to enter into specu-
lations upon the subject; but the number of those
who do, and who profess themselves unbelievers,
increases, and with their numbers their zeal."
* Leland's " View of the Deistical Writer," ii, 442,
f Seeker's Sermons, works i, 114, 115.
J Stanhope's " History of England," vii, p. 320.
' Rambler," 30, etc.
316 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Addison said : " There is less appearance of re-
ligion in England than in any neighboring state or
kingdom."
Crossing the Atlantic, we find the Churches of
the American Colonies not much better. The Vir-
ginia Colony was never noted for either its morality
or piety, and the tendency was downward rather
than upward. In Maryland, under the numerous
civil and ecclesiastical distractions which prevailed
through the seventeenth century, things were
even worse. The Lord's day was generally pro-
faned, religion despised, and the clergy were scan-
dalous in behavior. In the New York Colony the
Dutch Church, dependent upon the mother Church
in Amsterdam, performed its work under serious
embarrassments ; and the Episcopal Church, sus-
tained by the civil power, partook of the prevailing
laxity in English manners at home.
The Presbyterians, commencing under the inde-
fatigable labors of the spiritual and apostolical
Makenzie (1684) and Mackie, (1692,) spread through
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. But the pio-
neers passed away, (1708, 1716,) and a change came
over the Churches. Being in close affiliation with
the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland and Ireland,
and receiving their ministers from those countries,
they partook of the same spirit that was working
such deteriorating results in the Churches of the
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 317
British Isles. The primitive zeal of Makenzie and
his compeers declined, " revivals of religion were
nowhere heard of, and an orthodox creed and a
decent external conduct were the only points on
which inquiry was made when persons were admit-
ted to the communion."
-And no more was required of the ministers, ex-
cept intellectual and scholastic qualifications. Vi-
tal piety almost deserted the Church. The sub-
stance of preaching was a " dead orthodoxy,"
which laid no emphasis on human sinfulness or
regeneration. " Some of the preachers," says Dr.
Gillett,* " whom Tennent rebuked, were unques-
tionably l Pharisee preachers.' Among them, too,
were bitter opponents of the ' revival ' which subse-
quently occurred, ' if not of evangelical religion.' "
A change of heart not being required of members
or preachers, unconverted men became pastors.
Some of them, subsequently awakened under
Whitefield's preaching, mourned over themselves
as " soul-deceivers and soul-murderers."
Puritan New England was not exempt from the
general decline. The early Churches were noted
for piety, and during the first thirty years after the
landing of the Pilgrims deep spirituality prevailed
almost continual showers of refreshing. Subse-
quently spirituality declined, and at the close of
the century there were many lamentations over
* " History of the Presbyterian Church."
3i8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the low state of religion. The eighteenth century
opened with no improvement. In 1702 Increase
Mather said : " Look into our pulpits and see if
there is such a glory as there once was. Look into
the civil state. Does Christ reign there as he once
did ? How many churches, how many towns, there
are in New England over which we may sigh and
say the glory is gone." Dr. Trumbull described
the condition of Connecticut in similar terms. In
1707 the downward tendency, attributable, in part,
to the adoption of the Half-way Covenant forty-
five years before, was accelerated by the action of
Rev. Solomon Stoddard, of Northampton, a man
of larger public influence than any other in west-
ern New England, whose subversive practice of
admitting unconverted persons to the Lord's sup-
per, at first feebly resisted, became current in many
Churches. The Half-way Covenant had admitted
the impenitent, if baptized in infancy, to Church
fellowship, so far as to allow them to become
voters, but not to partake of the Lord's supper.
It was the wooden horse within the walls of Troy.
Henceforth they were admitted to full fellowship in
the Church if correct in faith and not scandalous
in life. From this time justification, regeneration,
and the cognate doctrines were discarded, or
preached in new and accommodated forms. Piety
being no longer a condition of membership, nor of
ministerial ordination, zeal was at a discount, and
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 319
refined moralizing and speculation constituted the
staple matter of pulpit discourses.
Spasmodic efforts, like the convulsive twitchings
of dying muscles, were occasionally put forth to
arrest the decline. In 1725 Cotton Mather, in be-
half of the convention of ministers, petitioned the
Legislature that, " in view of the great and visible
decline of piety," a Synod might be called to
remedy the unhappy condition, but without avail.
Two fatal epidemics, carrying off from one tenth to
one seventh of the people in some localities, pro-
duced temporary alarm, but did not essentially
change the religious condition.
The evil tendencies working down through En-
glish society from the coronation of Charles II., un-
binding the safeguards of virtue and faith, and pro-
moting skepticism, frivolity, and profligacy, were
only too contagious among the children of the Pil-
grims, the Covenanters, and the Cavaliers. The re-
ligious enthusiasm of the fathers had passed away,
and devotion, self-sacrifice, and sanctity of life had
subsided into staleness of thought and stagnancy
of feeling in all the colonies. The Churches were
valleys of dry bones.
In such a condition of the Churches in Great Brit-
ain and the American Colonies the memorable re-
ligious movements known as the Wesleyan Refor-
mation in England, and "the Great Awakening"
in this country, commenced. Simultaneous and
320 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
unique, but unconnected, these remarkable quick-
enings bore the divine impress.
The Wesleyan movement, beginning in the indi-
vidual longings of the Wesleys and Whitefield after
spiritual life and purity, became at once a revival
and a reformation. It emphasized spiritual life,
spiritual power, holiness of heart and life, and the
priesthood of believers. The latter, one of the
leading theses of the Reformation, but imperfectly
carried out in the actual life of the Reformation
Churches, except the Moravians, developed into a
distinguishing feature of the Wesleyan movement.
All converts, male and female, were joyful witnesses
for Christ, and went forth to active labor for their
new Master. Wesleyanism was characterized by
intense vitality. Social services, the favorite privi-
leges of the people, were almost as prominent as the
preaching of the Word, and large numbers of lay
preachers and exhorters went forth into neglected
by-ways.
This movement gave a broad impulse to English
Christianity. Wesley, forming societies, and White-
field forming none the former Arminian and the
latter Calvinistic, but one in impulse and purpose
awakened the spiritual life of the national Church
and also of the dissenting bodies. English Protest-
antism became a live, aggressive, regenerating force.
Under the influence of Whitefield and the Countess
of Huntingdon, Calvinistic Nonconformity rose, as
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 321
from the dead, with an energy increasing ever since ;
while, in co-operation with Wesley, a powerful
evangelical party arose in the Establishment, and
new measures of gospel propagandism were inau-
gurated, which have kept British Christianity alive
and extended its activities into far-off lands " sit-
ting in darkness and the shadow of death." Chiefly
out of this spiritual quickening came forth those
great Christian enterprises through which British
piety has spread its influence around the globe.
"The British Bible Society, most of the British
Missionary Societies, Tract Societies, the Sunday-
schools, religious periodicals, negro emancipation,
etc., all arose, directly or indirectly, from this im-
pulse." *
Isaac Taylor said the Established Church owes
to the Wesleyan movement, " in great part, the
modern revival of its energies ; " and, " by the new
life it has diffused on all sides, it has preserved from
extinction and has reanimated the languishing Non-
conformity of the last century, which, just at the
time of the Methodist revival, was rapidly in course
to be found nowhere but in books." Also Mr.
Leckey says of the Wesleyan movement that " it
incalculably increased the efficiency of almost every
religious body ; " f that " it has been more or less
felt in every Protestant community speaking the
* Mr. Lecky's " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. ii,
p. 674.. f Ibid., p. 682.
21
322 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
English tongue ; " * and that Wesley " has had a
wider constructive influence in the sphere of practi-
cal religion than any other man who has appeared
since the sixteenth century." f Dean Stanley has
uttered similar tributes to Wesley.
At the time when the Wesleys and Whitefield
were pressing into higher spiritual life in England,
across the Atlantic, in the Massachusetts Colony, in
the retired town of Northampton, the ablest young
minister of the age, a descendant of a London cler-
gyman in the days of Elizabeth, was striking mass-
ive blows against the foundations of false hope on
which, in stupid lethargy, the Churches were repos-
ing. Jonathan Edwards, born in the same year
with John Wesley, was a fellow-champion with him
of spiritual religion, evangelical theology, and ad-
vanced spiritual movements. He proclaimed with
powerful cogency man's lost condition, Christ's
death the only ground of justification, and the ne-
cessity of regenerating grace. His bugle-call awak-
ened the slumbering Churches, and aroused them
to higher spirituality. In Central and Western
Massachusetts and in Connecticut a large number
of towns were quickened, and the dormant Churches
of New Jersey also felt the pulsations of the new
life. The Edwardean revival attracted much atten-
tion; but the visit and labors of Whitefield extended
* Mr. Les) y's " England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. ii,
p. 690. f Ibid., p. 687.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 323
the circle of its influence, and made it the great re-
ligious event of the period.
In the Middle States the way had been providen-
tially preparing. In 1718 Rev. William Tennent, a
clergyman of rare scholarship and deep piety, emi-
grated from Ireland, and about 1729 established
at Neshaming, not far from Philadelphia, the famous
u Log College " as a training school for ministers
the first Presbyterian school in America. Here, at
a time when a cold and formal religion called only
for intellectually drilled ministers, candidates for the
sacred office received both intellectual and spiritual
culture, and a body of young preachers was raised
up who warmly welcomed the coming of Whitefield.
Under his flaming ministrations the influence of
Edwards' revival was suplemented and extended,
saving the languishing Churches of the Middle
States from extinction. The Tennents, father and
three sons John, Gilbert, and William, 2d Finlay,
Robinson, and Davenport, all educated at the " Log
College," were leaders in this movement.
The Presbyterian Churches assumed an attitude
of aggressiveness and power ; faithful men were en-
thused and enlisted in active labor ; Nassau Hall
received its birth and baptism ; and Whitefield's
preaching and the reading of his published sermons
introduced Presbyterianism into Virginia. Much
of " the stock from which the Baptists in Virginia,
and those farther south and south-west, sprung was
324 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
also Whitefieldian." In New England, Wheelock,
the founder of Dartmouth College, and the in-
structor of many Indian youth who became mission-
aries to their red brethren, lighted his torch in this
flame. Brainerd was fired from the same altar, and,
under the last sermon of Whitefield, Benjamin Ran-
dall, the founder of the Free- Will Baptists, was
awakened.
The result of the revivals, not to speak of other
gains, was the addition of from 20,000 to 30,000
members to the Churches. But more serious errors
and irregularities accompanied these movements
than have characterized the revivals of later times,
leaving ample occasion for criticism, even by the
friends, in cooler moments of review. The Churches
of the Middle and New England States were divided.
A stout resistance to the extreme measures of the
revivalists, and a growing spirit of dissent the in-
cipient stages of the later Arian and Socinian devel-
opment sharply arrayed parties against each other.
The revival, therefore, with all its great and never-
to-be-depreciated advantages, was not an unmixed
blessing, but left behind a residuum of evil, to har-
rass the Churches, and bring again coldness and
death.
There speedily followed a long period of spiritual
decline, extending through a half century, occa-
sioned by new and continually multiplying troubles:
the French and Indian wars, the political agitations
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 325
ushering in the Revolution, the sanguinary scenes
and deep trials of that severe contest, the pecuniary
embarrassments following it, the agitations connect-
ed with the organization of the Federal Govern-
ment, the local rebellions in several of the States,
the infusion of English Deism through the British
officers aiding in the French and Indian wars, and
the spread of French infidelity, during and after the
struggle for independence.
The disbanded armies poisoned every community
with skepticism and immorality. On the borders,
lawless Indians and renegade white men kept the
settlers in perpetual alarm. In large sections there
was no other vestige of the Christian Sabbath than
a faint observance of the day as a time of rest for
the aged and a play-day for the young. The in-
trigues of infidel politicians thickened around the
best statesmen ; and, without Divine interposition
and the steady moral courage of Washington, the
newly emancipated people would have relapsed into
anarchy.
The Half-way Covenant was a prolific source of
evil to the Congregational Churches of New En-
gland. " In the light of it," says Rev. Dr. Tarbox,*
"we can easily understand why the Churches of
Massachusetts were in a very unhealthy condition
* Historical Survey of the Congregational Churches of Massa-
chusetts, 1776-1876. "Minutes of the General Association of Mas-
sachusetts, 1877," p. 42.
326 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
one hundred years ago. They had not, it is true
lost all their power as Churches of Christ, but they
were greatly shorn of their strength. From 1745
on to the close of the century there was a woeful ab-
sence of those special breathings of the Holy Spirit
which we call revivals of religion. The Churches
were built up as to numbers, but largely with earth-
ly materials, and the standard of Christian conduct
came to be very low.
" We talk of the good old times, but all through
the last century there were strifes and contentions
in many of these Churches, such as were far below
the Christian standards of the present day. We
refer to these things not to dishonor our fathers,
but rather to honor the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in
its power to overcome evil, and make the world
better from generation to generation.
" The drinking habits of all classes, ministers in-
cluded, hung like a dead weight upon the Churches.
Ordinations were scenes of festivity, copious drink-
ing having a large share in this festivity, and an
ordination ball often ended the occasion. Not very
far from the period of the Revolution several coun-
cils were held in one of the towns of Massachusetts,
where the people were trying to be rid of a minister,
who was often the worse for liquor, even in the
pulpit, and once, at least, at the communion table;
but some of the neighboring ministers stood by him,
and the people had to endure him till his death."
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 327
Such was the condition of the Churches in the
older communities. The younger settlements were
even worse. Rev. David Rice, who went to Ken-
tucky in 1/83, said,* "I scarcely found one man,
and but few women, who supported a creditable
profession of religion. Some were grossly ignorant
of the first principles of religion ; some were given
to quarreling and fighting; some, to intemperance;
and perhaps most of them were totally ignorant of
the forms of religion in their own houses." And
yet " many of them procured certificates of having
been in full communion and good standing in the
Churches from which they had emigrated."
The religious outlook was dismal indeed. Spirit-
uality was at a low ebb. The revival idea nearly
died out of the actual life of the Churches. Many
of them, decimated by the war, and sunken in
apathy, dragged a miserable existence. From 1745
to I797f only few and comparatively small revivals
of religion occurred: in 1764 and 1770, under the
* " Memoirs of Rev. David Rice, of Kentucky."
f " Long before the death of Whitefield, in 1770, extensive reviv-
als in America had ceased. And, except one in Stockbridge, and
some other parts of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, about the year
1772 ; and one in the north quarter of Lyme, Connecticut, about
the year 1780; and in several towns in Litchfield County, Con-
necticut, about the year 1783, I know of none which occurred after-
ward, till the time of which I am to speak, (1797-1803.)" Rev. E. D.
Griffin, D.D., Letter on Revivals to Rev. William B. Sprague, D.D.
(See Sprague's " Lectures on Revivals." Albany, 1832. Appendix,
p. 151.)
328 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
labors of Dr. Laddie, in New York city; in 1767, a
small revival, with only ten or twelve converts, in
Norfolk, Connecticut; in 1778, at Vance's Fort,
Pennsylvania; in 1781-1787, in the region of Cross
Creek, Upper Buffalo, Lebanon, and Cross Roads,
Pennsylvania; in 1772 and 1784, at Elizabeth, and
in 1790, at Hanover, New Jersey; in 1764, 1785,
and 1791, under Dr. Duel's labors, at Easthampton,
Long Island; in 1788-89, in the upper regions of
Georgia; in 1795, under the labors of Dr. Griffin,
at New Hartford, Connecticut, and again in 1799;
in 1781 and 1788, in Dartmouth College, but not
again for seventeen years; in Yale College, in 1783,
but not again until after 1800, the undergraduate
membership of the College Church dwindling to
four or five; and in 1757, 1762, and 1773, in Prince-
ton College, and not again until 1813, during which
time, according to Dr. Ashbel Green, there were
only two or three students who professed religion,
and only four or five who scrupled to use profane
language. These were almost all the revivals for
fifty years. William and Mary's College was "a
hot-bed of infidelity," and Harvard College of Arian
and Socinian sentiments.
Writing of this period, one pastor said, " Prior to
this year (1799) there never was any extensive re-
vival of religion in this town ; " another mentioned
a small revival in 1767, and another in 1783, and
nothing more until 1799; another said, "I cannot
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 329
learn from any of the first settlers that theie had
been any remarkable revivals in this town, until
June, 1799;" an d Rev. Ebenezer Porter, of Wash-
ington, Connecticut, in 1803, wrote, "Though this
Church has enjoyed a preached Gospel with very
little interruption since its formation, a period of
sixty-four years, nothing that could be properly
termed a revival of religion had ever taken place
until the present." In describing the condition of
things in Lenox, Massachusetts, a pastor wrote:
" The situation of this Church calls for the earnest
prayers of all who have any heart to pray. The
number of its members is not much greater than it
has been at any time for twenty-five years, and al-
most all of them are burdened under the infirmities
of years. Not a single young person has been re-
ceived into it for sixteen years." And another, in
Canton, Connecticut, said, " Religion has gradually
declined among us, the doctrines of Christ grow
more and more unpopular, family prayer and all the
duties of the Gospel are less regarded, ungodliness
prevails, and modern infidelity has made alarming
progress among us. It seems as though the Sab-
bath would be lost, and every appearance of religion
vanish, yea, that our Zion must die without any
helper, and that infidels will laugh at her dying
groans." We might multiply these testimonies, for
these were not the exceptional utterances of men
of melancholy temperament, but the frequent and
330 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
almost universal expression of the best minds of that
day.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church,
embracing men of high character, broad culture,
and superior intelligence, in its Pastoral Letter, in
1798, said : " A dissolution of religious society seems
to be threatened by the supineness and inattention
of many ministers and professors of Christianity."
" The statements of the Assembly," says Rev. Dr.
Gillett, " grave and startling as they were, were by
no means exaggerated. The prospect for religious
progress or improvement was almost cheerless. By
public men in high station infidelity was boldly
avowed. In some places society, taking its tone
from them, seemed hopelessly surrendered to the
impious and the blasphemer."
The last two decades of the eighteenth century
were the darkest period, spiritually and morally, in
the history of American Christianity so dark and
ominous of evil that it was a fruitful topic of dis-
course, of correspondence, of profound inquiry and
consultation ; and numerous fasts were appointed
by the ecclesiastical bodies annual fasts, quarterly
fasts, monthly fasts, and weekly fasts and, in some
localities widely separated, a half hour at sundown
on Saturday night, and a half hour at sunrise on
Sunday morning, were devoted to special prayer
for the divine blessing on the land.
CHAPTER II.
THE NEW SPIRITUAL ERA.
New Life. "Young Men's Christian Asso-
The New Life Organizing. eiations.
The New Life Aggressive. Foreign Missions.
New Lay- Activities. Pecuniary Benevolence.
City Missions. Imperfections.
Home Missions. Type of Religious Character.
The Outlook.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 333
CHAPTER II.
THE NEW SPIRITUAL ERA.
IN the midst of the low spiritual condition de-
scribed at the close of the preceding chapter the
great religious awakening, known as " the revival
of 1800," performed its beneficent work. From
1795 to 1797 a few isolated revivals occurred in
western Massachusetts and Connecticut, but in the
autumn of 1799 the Holy Spirit was more power-
fully poured out in Eastern Tennessee and Ken-
tucky. The flame of revival rapidly spread, cross-
ing the Blue Ridge into Virginia and North Caro-
lina, extending southward and northward through-
out almost the entire land. It continued, with va-
rying force, from 1799 to 1803, but most deeply
marked the years 1800 and 1801, and inaugurated a
new era of deeper spirituality in the American
Churches.
Rev. Dr. Tyler said : * " Within the period of
five or six years, commencing with 1797, it has
been stated that not less than one hundred and fifty
Churches in New England were visited with * times
of icfreshing from the presence of the Lord.' '
* " New England Revivals." By Rev. Bennett Tyler, D.D.
334 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Rev. Ebenezer Porter, D.D., said: "The day
dawned which was to succeed a night of more than
sixty years. As in the valley of Ezekiel's vision,
there was a great shaking. Dry bones, animated
by the breath of the Almighty, stood up new-born
believers. The children of Zion beheld with over-
flowing souls, and with thankful hearts acknowl-
edged, ' This is the finger of God.' The work was
stamped conspicuously with the impress of its di-
vine Author, and its joyful effects evinced no other
than the agency of Omnipotence." Rev. E. D.
Griffin, D.D., said : " I could stand in my door, at
New Hartford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and number
fifty or sixty contiguous congregations laid down
in one field of divine wonders, and as many more
in various parts of New England."
Since that time American revivals have been fre-
quent and extensive, attracting the attention of
European divines as remarkable phases in the history
of the Christian Church. Rev. Dr. Gardner Spring
said : " From the year 1800 down to the year 1825
there was an uninterrupted series of these celestial
visitations spreading over different parts of the
land. During the whole of those twenty-five years
there was scarcely a time in which we could not
point to some village, some city, some seminary,
and say, * Behold what God hath wrought.' ' Rev.
Dr. Heman Humphrey said: " It was the opening
of a new revival epoch, which has lasted now more
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 335
than half a century, with but short and partial in-
terruptions. . . . Taken altogether, the revival pe-
riod, at the close of the last century and the be-
ginning of the present, furnishes ample materials
for a long and glorious chapter in the history of
redemption."
Between 1825 and 1845 these spiritual visitations
were very powerful ; from 1848 to 1857 was a period
of reaction and spiritual decline, following the wide-
ly extended, but abnormal, Millerite excitement ;
but since the great revival of 1857 and 1858, the re-
vival seasons, except during the civil war, have been
more frequent and continuous, and the declensions
less disastrous. Numerous local Churches have
enjoyed a well-nigh uninterrupted revival condition
for many years, few weeks passing without conver-
sions. In later years, too, there has been less ex-
citement, and less of the peculiar physical phenom-
ena which characterized the early revivals in Scot-
land among the Presbyterians, in England under
the Wesleys, in America under Whitefield and Ed-
wards, and in Tennessee and Kentucky at the be-
ginning of this century. A more deliberate and in-
telligent action of the religious sensibilities is every-
where apparent. And the fruits of this new life
have been an increase of nearly ten millions of com-
municants in the Evangelical Churches from 1800 to
7^80 a gain without a parallel in religious history.
As one of the effects, though, in an important
336 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
sense, a cause, of these great revival movements,
and an unmistakable evidence of the deepening
spiritual vitality of the American Churches, we
have the every-where patent fact of a more general
and intelligent acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit's
influences as the efficient agent in all spiritual
work. During the last one hundred and fifty years
this doctrine has come to a fuller recognition than
ever before for eighteen centuries, and Christian
men are accustomed to labor in humble reliance
upon this divine agent for spiritual success. The
supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit in awak-
ening sinners, in begetting and sustaining Chris-
tian experience the vital and vitalizing power in
true piety has come into very distinctive promi-
nence in the religious literature also of this period.
As a consequence, there has been a deeper awaken-
ing of the religious consciousness, a wider explora-
tion of the field of religious experience, a develop-
ment of a more joyful and victorious type of piety,
and a spirit of heroic effort in keeping with our best
ideals of pure Christianity.
New wine must have new bottles ; new life devel-
ops new organizations. The old methods of relig-
ious work no longer sufficed. The vigorous con-
verts of the new era became conspicuous as organ-
izers and standard-bearers of great advance move-
ments. Under the hay-stacks on the banks of the
Hoosac, Mills, Hall, and Richards, three devoted
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 337
young students of Williams' College, all fruits of
the revival of 1800, " prayed into existence the em-
bryo jf foreign missions," and soon after, at Ando-
ver, enkindled the ^hearts of Newell, Nott, and
Judson with the same flame. Dr. Justin Edwards,
one of the wisest and most influential organizers
of moral and religious enterprises, and the most
effective champion of the temperance and Sabbath
reforms this country ever knew ; and Jeremiah
Evarts, Esq., devoted to religious literature, mis-
sions, temperance, Sunday-school and tract move-
ments, and numerous others were also fruits of
that revival. Home Missionary, Foreign Mission-
ary, Bible, Tract, and Sunday-school Societies
sprang up sporadically in the new religious soil.
Rev. Heman Humphrey, D.D., writing about
1850, alluding to the far-reaching results of the re-
vival of 1800, said :
" The glorious cause of religion and philanthropy
has advanced, till it would require a space not
afforded in these sketches so much as to name the
Christian and humane societies which have sprung
up all over our land within the last forty years.
Exactly how much we at home and the world
abroad are indebted for these organizations, so rich
in blessings, to the revivals of 1800, it is impossible
to say, though much every way. ... It cannot be
denied that modern missions sprang out of these
revivals. The immediate connection between them,
22
338 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
as cause and effect, was remarkably clear in the
organization of the first societies, which have since
accomplished so much ; and the impulse which
they gave to the Churches to extend the blessings
which they were diffusing, by forming the later affil-
iated societies, of like aims and character, is scarcely
less obvious."
The religious quickening in England, under the
Wesleys and Whitefield, was followed, at the close
of the last and the beginning of the present cent-
ury, by the organization of numerous societies for
Christian and beneficent purposes. Foreign and
Home Missionary, Bible, Tract, Sunday-school,
Educational, Peace, African Amelioration, Seamen's,
Prison Discipline, and Philanthropic, Societies were
organized, with extended ramifications, mostly be-
tween 1780 and 1830, with additions and enlarge-
ments since the latter date. Their pecuniary re-
ceipts are among the most wonderful examples of
modern munificence, and the fruitage of Bible, tract,
and mission work is marvelous.
The same tendency followed the religious quick-
ening in America. During the present century
American Christianity has fully attested its deep
vitality by its wonderful self-organizing power.
The numerous local societies for missions, home and
foreign, tracts, Bibles, Sunday-schools, temperance,
education, the Sabbath, seamen, etc., which came
into existence during the first two decades of this
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 339
century, were subsequently combined * into large
national organizations, with countless auxiliaries
covering the entire land. Each successive decade
has developed new organizations, and extended
more widely the old, comprising all conceivable
forms of benevolence and beneficence, and enlisting
an army of Christian workers, outnumbering the
largest armies of ancient or modern times. The
last quarter of a century has witnessed no decline in
these agencies, but rather a vast increase in their
number, resources, workers, and the scope of their
operations, beyond any previous period, even sev-
eral times greater than in the previous half century.
Besides the purely Christian organizations directly
connected with the Churches, there are numerous
philanthropic, social, civil, educational, and reform-
atory societies, indirectly or directly growing out of
the impelling life-flow of Christianity. Thus has
the new life attested its divinity quickening, en-
lightening, humanizing, reforming, and saving men.
" The poor have the gospel preached unto them."
This new life has also been wonderfully aggress-
ive and expansive, following closely the large pop-
ulations spreading over our broad national domain
with enlightening and saving influences. Pioneer
preachers, colporteurs, and Sunday-school agents,
stepping closely in the footprints of pioneer settlers,
hailing the cabin builder with religious salutations,
* Mostly from 1820 to 1830.
340 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
calling him to an extemporized worship on his half-
hewn log, and including his home in a plan for
future religious visitation, in the spirit of zealous
propagandism, founded Churches, Sunday-schools
Church seminaries and colleges, and made the wil
derness, less than three generations ago a vast mora
waste of howling savages, to bud and blossom with
the institutions of Christian civilization In the
region beyond the western line of New York, Penn-
sylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia,
which, in the year 1800, had but few scattering
Protestant Churches, there were, according to the
Census of 1870, 37,855 Protestant Church organiza
tions, or two thirds of all the Protestant Churches h
the United States the abundant harvest of zeal
ous pioneer seed-sowing. And what a multitude
of cognate religious institutions accompany these
Churches, comprising an amount of Christian life
scarcely paralleled in any other land the results
of seventy years' labors, fully testing the spiritual
vitality of the American Churches.
A great change has taken place in the spiritual
activities of the Churches. Formerly, prayer-meet-
ings, except in the occasional revival seasons, were
rare, and only a very few persons were allowed or
expected to participate in them. All through the
last century, and for some time into the present,
this custom prevailed. The gifts of the laity were
not exercised, and their voices were seldom heard in
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 341
exhortation or supplication. Rev. Mr. Fisk,* of New
Braintree, Mass., had been pastor of that Church
eleven years before he heard the first word of prayer
from one of his members. And when the little
band of zealous evangelicals went off from the Old
South Church, Boston, in 1808, to organize the
Park-street Church,f as a breakwater against the in-
coming tide of Arianism, they met several times for
consultation before any one of even these redoubt-
able champions of orthodoxy had sufficient courage
to open his lips in vocal prayer. Women never
prayed or spoke in any religious services.
" The only religious meetings of the week were
on the Sabbath. There was no evening lecture, no
altar for social prayer, no intercessions in concert
for the coming of the kingdom, no schools for the
religious education of the young, no religious
weekly periodicals, discoursing earnestly of the
signs of the times, the demands of the age, the
great questions of faith and practice, or giving tid-
ings of the refreshing visits of the Spirit abroad, and
thus quickening the sympathies and animating the
activities of Christians at home." There were no
associations for printing and scattering Bibles,
tracts, etc.
* See his " Half-Century Discourse."
f " Memorial Volume."
$ Deacon S.muel Willis, Judge Samuel Hubbard, and Peter Ho-
bait, Jun., in the " Memorial Volume of the Park-street Church,
Boston," p. 130.
342 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
During the present century marked progress has
been made in the practical working of the principle
of the universal priesthood of believers ; and numer-
ous modifications have been made in the usages and
politics of all the religious denominations, bringing
into prominence and activity Christian men and
women in great moral and spiritual enterprises.
True Christianity, claiming the whole world for its
field, is, in its nature, irrepressible and aggressive.
Almost within the period of a generation social
religious services have not only come to be regarded
as indispensable, but increasingly prominent, often
gathering the largest audiences of the Sabbath.
These meetings are for the most part lively and
spiritual a great advance upon those of other days
the few old-time prayers and exhortations having
given place to " a cloud of witnesses " for Christ.
Large numbers of Christian laymen and women are
engaged in religious work in our cities and desti-
tute localities throughout the country. Religious
services in halls, depots, groves, public squares,
popular watering-places, etc., are held by Young
Men's Christian Associations, and tons of religious
tracts are annually distributed. The prisons, alms-
houses, and reformatory institutions, are visited,
and Sunday-schools are sustained in them, by lay
workers. Sunday-schools, conducted by laymen,
become nuclei of Churches; systematic religious
visitation is maintained in large centers by pious
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 343
women; praying-bands, of young men and older
men, conduct series of religious services ; and sys-
tems of colportage are carried on, by unordained
men, through which large quantities of tracts and
religious volumes are scattered in the land.
An order of deaconesses, or class of devout
women engaged in religious labors, has been rec-
ognized in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and
the late Triennial Convention authorized the ap-
pointment of lay-preachers. The Methodist Epis-
copal Church has 12,475 local preachers, and all
branches of Methodism in the world about eighty
thousand.
City missions, almost entirely the work of the
present century, are conducted by lay agencies.
The Boston City Mission Society (Orthodox Con-
gregational) was founded in 1816; the New York
City Mission and Tract Society in 1827 ; a few oth-
ers, and but very few, were elsewhere organized at
this early period.*
In the great revival of 1830-1832, particularly in
connection with the religious labors of Harlan Page
and others in New York city, a new interest was
awakened in personal efforts for the salvation of in-
dividuals, and in city evangelization. But the work
slowly progressed, and it is worthy of special notice,
that since the year 1850 city mission work through-
out the United States has received a much greater
* See "Church Almanac," 1879, p. 27.
344 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
impulse, and the amount of money and labor ex-
pended has increased beyond all calculation. At
the present time no cities are without these agen-
cies, and they are chiefly in the hands of evangelical
Protestantism.
" The utilization of lay help," says Charles Mack-
eson, " to supplement the work of the clergy, is a
modern improvement of no slight importance ; and,
in the Diocese of London alone, has brought into
the field 2,788 unpaid laborers, 121 of whom hold
-the Bishop's license to conduct services for the
poor. All these centralized and consolidated agen-
cies may be fairly reckoned as not the least impor-
tant elements in the progress of religion and phi-
lanthropy in London ; and not one of them can be
said to be superfluous in a condition of society
which, unlike that of the continental city, or even
of the English provincial town, has led to an almost
complete separation of classes, until between the
east and west of London, there is literally 'a great
gulf fixed ;' and it is to bridge over the chasm that
the efforts of all who wish well to the race must be
directed."*
The Annual Reports of the Boston City Mission-
ary Society, (Orthodox Congregational,) probably
the most thoroughly organized, intelligent, and
spiritual body of laborers in the United States,
furnish the most gratifying exhibits.
* "British Almanac and Companion," 1880, p. 134-5.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 345
SUMMARY FOR FORTY YEARS, (1840-1880* inclusive.)
Number of religious visits made 1,275,607
" " religious visits made to the sick 182,568
" tracts distributed 6,960,728
" " Bibles distributed 8,252
" " Testaments distributed 10,516
" " prayer-meetings held 55,651
* " persons hopefully converted 2, 169
" " times, pecuniary aid to families 175,437
" " garments given away 176,304
Amount of money received and given to the poor $141,461
Amount of money received for the Society $376,099
The following table will show how much more has
been done by this society, in the ten years, (1869-
1879,) tnan m ten Y ears prior to 1850(1841-1850)
a growth similar to that of all city mission societies :
1841-1850. 1869-1879.
Religious visits made 70,014 404,702
Religious visits to the sick ., 4,792 65,914
Tracts distributed 2,121,251 1,252,641
Bibles distributed 1,448 2, 169
Testaments distributed 779 4,166
Prayer-meetings held 3,492 I7, 2 39
Persons hopefully converted 270 771
Pecuniary aid to families, number of times. 7, 518 70,365
Garments giv< n away 1,3 73, 8 9
Money received and given to the poor. . . . $4,666 $66,311
Money received for the Society $39,443 $138,093
These figures show an increase of from five to
sevenfold in the labors and beneficence of the latter
period over the former.
In the city of New York f the total number of the
* Year ending December 31, 1880.
f See Document No. 20, of N. Y. City Mission Society, 1881.
346 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
city missionaries is reckoned at 266, who make
800,000 visits each year. Besides these are hun-
dreds of tract visitors and poor visitors, and other
voluntary agents of various Churches and societies,
who are continually going about and doing good.
There are 118 Protestant missions in this city, where
Sabbath-schools, preaching, and other religious and
moral services, for adults, or children, or both, are
regularly carried on. The latest Census gives 356
Protestant Sabbath-schools, with 88,237 scholars on
roll, and an average attendance of 56,187. And of
Roman Catholics, Jews, etc., there are 62 Sabbath-
schools, having 27,589 scholars on roll, and an aver-
age attendance of 81,274. Forty-five Protestant
missions are permanently established in suitable
commodious chapels, with the Christian ministry
and ordinances, and others are rapidly approaching
this condition.
The largest of these societies is the New York
City Mission, now and for many years under the
able superintendence of Mr. Lewis E. Jackson. It
has in its employ forty missionaries, who make near-
ly eighty thousand visits and calls annually, carry-
ing help, sympathy, comfort, and Christian influence
to twenty thousand families outside of parochial
care. The following are the
RESULTS OF THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1880.
Mission Chapels 5
Missionaries 40
Missionary visits 45,910
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 347
Missionary calls made and received 33,789
Volunteer visitors and helpers 186
Bibles and Testaments given 7o
Books loaned and given 379
Children led to Sabbath-schools 1,888
Children led to day-schools 137
Persons induced to join Bible classes 593
Persons persuaded to attend churches and missions 4 2 77
Temperance pledges i>38
Religious meetings 4,266
Persons restored to Church fellowship 4
Persons united with Churches 261
Three organized Churches. Whole number received, 1,707,
present number I,OI2
Four Mission Sabbath-schools, with 2,000 children taught
during the year. Average attendance 1,5^
Aggregate attendance upon religious services during the year 250,000
1,932 families and 5,581 persons aided ; cash distributed $3,268 95
Tracts distributed 700,000
RESULTS OF FIFTY-FOUR YEARS, (1826-1880.*)
Years of missionary labor 1,256
Missionary visits 2,421,994
Tracts distributed 51,476,740
Bibles and Testaments given to the destitute 90,027
Books loaned and given 174,787
Children gathered into Sabbath-schools 114,842
Children gathered into day-schools 23,667
Persons gathered into Bible classes 15,723
Persons induced to attend church. 257,652
Temperance pledges obtained 56,809
Religious meetings held 126,366
Converts united with Evangelical Churches 13,911
Amount expended (fifty-four years) $1,217,194 85
The following figures, prepared by Mr. Lewis E.
Jackson,, show the character of the mission-field in
* Chiefly since 1835.
348 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
New York city. Other large cities are rapidly ap-
proximating similar exhibits.
POPULATION. The population of the city of New York, accord-
ing to the United States' Census of 1880, is 1,206,577.
SEXES. Of the population of the city, 590,762 are males, and
615,815 are females.
TRANSIENT POPULATION. The transient or floating population
may be estimated as follows : in any one day, on an average, we may
suppose, there are of immigrants, temporarily stopping in the city.
5,000 ; of seamen and boatmen, 5,000 ; of visitors at hotels, 10,000 ;
of visitors at boarding and lodging-houses, 10,000 ; or in all say
30,000.
NATIVITIES. 727,743 persons were born in the United States ;
and 478,834 persons are from foreign countries of forty different
nationalities.
CHURCHES AND ACCOMMODATIONS. There are 489 churches,
chapels, and missions of all kinds, with accommodations for 375,000
persons.
PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND ACCOMMODATIONS. There are 396
Protestant places of worship, with accommodations for 275,000.
PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND COMMUNICANTS. There are 278
regularly incorporated Protestant Churches, with an average mem-
bership of 300, which would give a total of 83,400 communicants.
SABBATH-SCHOOLS AND ATTENDANCE. There are 418 Sabbath-
schools of all denominations, with an attendance of 115,826 pupils.
PROTESTANT SABBATH-SCHOOLS. There are 356 Protestant Sab-
bath-schools, with an attendance of 88,237 pupils.
YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN. The number of males be-
tween the ages of 15 and 30 years, is 145,749. The number of fe-
males between the ages of 15 and 30 years, is 172,777. Probably
30,000 of the latter are servants.
CHILDREN BETWEEN FIVE AND FOURTEEN. The numbci of chil-
dren in the city between the ages of five and fourteen is 204,275.
The number from five to eighteen years of age is 270,496.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. In the schools under the Board of Edu-
cation there is an average attendance of 130,076.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS, ETC. In parochial schools, industrial schools,
private schools, colleges, etc., there must be 35,000 more.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 349
WHOLE NUMBER AT SCHOOL. In the public schools and private
schools, etc., there are probably 165,076 regularly in attendance.
The number of pupils who attend these schools for a longer or shorter
period is over 250,000.
STREET CHILDREN. Children growing up without any instruction
are variously estimated, but may be set down at about 10,000.
City mission organizations are now universal in
all American cities, and all of them the growth of
the last sixty years.
The general home missionary work of the coun-
try has enlisted a large amount of lay and clerical
talent, and developed astonishing results. The un-
paralleled increase of our population since 1790
has created extraordinary demands upon the Chris-
tian activity of the American Churches. With an
average yearly gain in population more than three
times as large as in any European country, new vil-
lages and cities springing up as by magic, and the
inhabitants spreading over an immense territorial
area, it has been incumbent upon the Churches to
furnish the new communities with religious watch-
care and instruction. Large masses of ignorant and
unevangelized people from other lands Papists and
Rationalists from Europe, and heathen from Asia
have crowded to our shores, and the utmost dili-
gence and sterling virtue have been required to pre-
serve the land from misrule and ruin. How have
these moral and religious necessities been met ?
Has the spiritual vitality of the Churches been suffi-
cient for these demands?
350 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The great' revivals of religion extending through
the nation at the opening of the nineteenth century,
followed by successive waves of spiritual impulse in
the subsequent decades, prepared the Churches to
appreciate the necessities of the situation, and in-
spired them with the requisite spirit of self-sacrific-
ing labor. Home Missionary Societies, the imme-
diate fruits of the new revival era, sprang up, mul-
tiplying auxiliaries and laborers, and spreading
through thousands of localities. In reviewing the
century we cannot fail to recognize the profound
significance of those providential movements which
turned back the dark tide of infidelity spreading
over the land at the close of the last century, and
prepared the way, in the American Churches, by
which the nation has been religiously permeated
and strengthened to endure so well the severe strain
from the large exotic and heterogeneous masses ab-
sorbed in its population.
The full record of the labors of these Home Mis-
sionary Societies, about twenty-five in number, not
including City Societies, would fill many pages with
most significant statistics and evidences of im-
mense spiritual force. Their toils and triumphs
cannot be matched in either ancient or modern
times.
The following partial aggregates, taken from offi-
cial reports, of Home Missionary Societies, combine
such data as can be obtained fora single year (1879:)
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 351
Ministers, licentiates, colporteurs, and teachers employed
by eighteen societies 9.33
Localities supplied, reported by eight societies 9.365
Conversions and additions to the Churches reported by
nine societies 26,918
Churches organized in one year reported by five socie-
ties 332
Sunday-schools organized in one year reported by four so-
cieties. 4,621
Sunday-school scholars reported by ten societies 548.569
Time spent in labor, by missionaries, in one year, reported
by seven societies, equal to (years) 1,906
Religious visits in one year reported by missionaries of five
societies 920,202
Prayer-meetings held by missionaries of three societies in
one year 17,131
The system of colportage, inaugurated by the
American Tract Society in 1841, has been another
important lay agency, exhibiting, in a practical form,
the vital religious force of the Churches. In 1850
their number had increased to 508, and their labors
were extended to the German, Irish, French, Welsh,
Norwegian, and Spanish populations, both Prot-
estant and Papal, in all portions of the land, but es-
pecially throughout the Mississippi Valley. They
went forth from house to house, selling religious
books wherever practicable, bestowing them gratu-
itously among the poor, accompanying their visits
with religious conversation and prayer, holding re-
ligious meetings, forming Sunday-schools, promot-
ing temperance, and in many other ways advancing
the kingdom of .God.
352 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The following partial summaries of the Home
Missionary and Colportage work, full of instructive
significance, will be pondered with pleasure and
profit :
RELIGIOUS VISITS.
By missionaries of the Baptist Home Missionary Society
in forty years, (1840-1880) 1,667,813
By agents or colporteurs of Baptist Publication Society
in fifty-six years, (1824-1880) 664,580
By colporteurs of American Tract Society in thirty-nine
years, (1841-1880) 12,360,647
By colporteurs of American Bible Society in fourteen
years, (1866-1880) 6,826, 894
By colporteurs of Presbyterian Board of Publication in
twenty-five years, (1855-1880) 2,469,573
Total visits 23,989, 507
PRAYER-MEETINGS HELD.
By missionaries of Baptist Home Missionary Society in
forty years, (1840-1880) 385.141
By colporteurs of the Baptist Board of Publication in
twenty-six years, (1854-1880) 53, 086
By colporteurs of the American Tract Society in thirty-
nine years, (1841-1880) 412,109
Total by agents of three Boards 850,336
ADDITIONS TO CHURCHES BY PROFESSION OF FAITH.
By missionaries of American Home Missionary Society
in fifty-four years, (1826-1880) 291,770
By missionaries of Presbyterian Home Missionary Board
in eleven years, (1870-1880) 82,719
By missionaries of American Baptist Home Missionary
Society in forty-eight years, (1832-1880) 84,081
Total additions by agents of three Boards 458, 570
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 353
RELIGIOUS VOLUMES GIVEN AWAY.
By colporteurs of Presbyterian Board of Publication in
twenty-six years, (1854-1880) 940,483
By agents and colporteurs of American Baptist Publica-
tion Board in fifty-six years, (1824-1880) 9 2 I 39
By colporteurs of American Tract Society in thirty-nine
years, (1841-1880) 2,942,485
By colporteurs of American Bible Society in fourteen
years, (1866-1880,) (Bibles and Testaments) 941,685
Total by agents of four Boards (volumes) 4,916,792
PAGES OF RELIGIOUS TRACTS GIVEN AWAY.
By agents and colporteurs of Baptist Publication Board
in fifty-six years 6,937,445
By colporteurs of Presbyterian Board of Publication in
twentf-six years 63,687, 107
Xotal pages of tracts by two Boards 70,624,552
Other Boards have gratuitously distributed large
quantities of tracts, but we are unable to tabulate
them. The American Tract Society has published,
from the beginning, 2,852,129,263 pages of tracts,
besides 5,860,260,893 pages of religious books
leaves of the tree of life, " for the healing of the
YEARS OF LABOR PERFORMED.
By missionaries of American Home Missionary Society in
fifty-four years 34,423
13y missionaries of Baptist Home Missionary Society in forty-
eight years, (incomplete) 5, 2 97
By missionaries of Presbyterian Board of Home Missions in
eleven years 9,453
By colporteurs of Presbyterian Board of Publication in thirty
years 1, 153
23
354 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
By agents and colporteurs of Baptist Board of Publication
in forty years, (incomplete) 719
By colporteurs of American Tract Society in thirty-nine
years 5,313
Total by agents of six Boards (years) 56,358
These are only partial exhibits of the spiritual
activities of the American Churches during the last
half century. If the full statistics could be gathered
they would thrill and amaze us. What we have
here gathered are highly significant, and indicate
religious activities of incalculable proportions, al-
most wholly unknown until within the last eighty
years. They are unmistakable evidences of the
deep spiritual vitality of the modern Churches, and
their ardent aggressive force.
Young Men's Christian Associations, also, have
become active factors in the evangelization of the
masses. Wholly the products of the last third of a
century, they have come to number 2,113 Associa-
tions in the whole world. Australia has 13; Aus-
tria, I ; Belgium, 15 ; France, 65 ; Germany, 293 ;
Great Britain and Ireland, 295 ; Holland, 406 ; In-
dia, 2 ; Italy, 6 ; Japan, 2 ; Madagascar, I ; North
America, 792 ; Sandwich Islands, I ; South Amer-
ica. 3; Spain, 8; Switzerland, 204; and Syria, 4. In
our own country, in 1880, 506 out of the 792 As-
sociations report 62,514 members; 96 Associations
exist in colleges, with a membership of 4,268; 58 own
buildings and property amounting to $2,400,350;
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 355
at 72 points thej perform work among railroad
men ; 97 daily and 137 weekly prayer-meetings are
held ; 105 open-air meetings are held ; 46 hold
Sunday-schools; 125 hold cottage prayer-meet-
ings ; 400 hold meetings in jails, hospitals, etc. ; 73
provide situations for 8,473 persons ; 61 sustain
educational classes; 120 hold Bible classes for
young men ; 146 own libraries valued at $145,555,
etc*
In some of the large cities the members of these
Associations number from 2,000 to 4,000. In five
years one Association distributed eleven tons of re-
ligious tracts. The non-professional character of
these lay-workers gives them access to some who
would reject the professional visitations of the
clergy. They prosecute evangelistic labors, lit-
erally fulfilling the command, " Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come
in." In the larger cities they go into saloons, bil-
liard parlors, concert halls, " to the very borders of
hell," to rescue their fellow-men from ruin. They
visit hotels, boarding-houses, and workshops to
find out strangers coming into the city, to invite
them to the Association rooms, and shield them
from the snares which surround unsophisticated
youth.
Young Women's Christian Associations are also
* See "Year Book of Young Men's Christian Associations" for
1880, by International Committee, New York city.
356 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
performing a similar work ; and the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union, starting in 1873, an d now
numbering 1,5/2 auxiliaries and 31,630 members, is
a distinctively religious movement, reporting last
year 15,085 prayer-meetings held in seven States,*
besides other phases of practical effort.
In addition to these recently developed forms of
Christian activity, so numerous and potential in the
home field, and wholly unlike any religious effort in
former times, numerous Foreign Missionary So-
cieties have been organized in Europe and Amer-
ica, all but seven within the present century, and
forty within the last fifty years, sustaining in the
foreign field 6,696 ordained missionaries and 33,856
assistants, ministering to at least one million
communicants in mission Churches, and thiee
millions of adherents who have renounced pagan-
ism.f Such are the inroads made into the empire
of pagan darkness within the last century, and
mostly within the last eighty years. Never, since
the apostles' age, has the Christian Church so deeply
felt her obligation to convert the world as during
the last thirty years.
And yet, with all these new and manifold activi-
ties every-where bearing ample fruits of Christian
beneficence, we are told that the spiritual vitality
of American Protestantism has sadly declined.
* Report for 1 880.
f See Table XXXVIII (Appendix) for fuller statistics.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 357
Such is the blindness of those who, having eyes,
see not.
The progress of pecuniary benevolence in the
Churches is another evidence of advancing spiritu-
ality. It shows the overmastering power of Chris-
tian love in the human heart, breaking down its
selfishness, and drawing it out in practical offerings
for the good of others. It is a crucial test of real
religious progress.
It is not possible for us now to appreciate the
stern contest with covetousness which the founders
of the Foreign and Home Missionary organizations
fought in the first twenty-five years of this century.
The standard of giving was very low, while the
number of the givers was much smaller relatively.
The fathers tell tales of penuriousness in those days
which now seem scarcely probable. Dr. Harris'
magnificent prize essay on " Mammon," published
in 1836, since followed by numerous other valuable
books and tracts on systematic giving, and floods
of sermons and homilies on the same subject, have
exerted a powerful influence for pecuniary liber-
ality. A change for good is very perceptible, but
the battle is not fully fought.
We have collected and tabulated summaries of
the receipts of the Foreign and Home Missionary
Boards of the evangelical Churches of the United
States. Arranged in a table, they constitute an
instructive object lesson.
358 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
AMOUNTS RAISED FOR FOREIGN AND HOME MISSIONS, (l8lO-l88o.)
Inclusive. Foreign Missions.* Home Missions.!
1810-1819 $206,210
1820-1829 745,718 $233,826
1830-1839 2,885,839 2,342,712
1840-1849 5,078,922 3,062,354
1850-1859 8,427,284 8,080,109
1860-1869 13,074,129 21,015,719^
1870-1880 24,861,482 31, 272,154
Additional 2,349,362! 6, 269,927 J
Total $57,628,946 $72,276,801
We look with great satisfaction upon these grand
aggregates for Foreign Missions, $57,628,946 ; for
Home Missions, $72,276,801, raised for these two
leading benevolences. For Foreign Missions almost
nothing was raised in America until since 1810,
and only two or three Home Missionary Boards
were organized until after 1800, and even those
were very small, and the scope of their operations
was narrow. There was some unorganized home-
missionary work prior to 1 800, but there has been
vastly more of this kind of work since 1800, which
is wholly unrepresented in the above table. All
* Including $3,580,775, by the Woman's Missionary Boards.
j- Including the Seamen's Friend Society, the American Sunday-
School Union, Young Men's Christian Associations, and Freedmen's
Aid Societies, all of which do home-missionary work ; but not in-
cluding City Missions, because only a few of the statistics of the
latter can be obtained with full satisfaction.
J Including money expended by the Christian Commission as the
agent largely of the Young Men's Christian Associations.
Eleven years.
| Sums reported in the aggregate, but not by periods.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 359
the Sunday-school Boards and the Religious Pub-
lication Boards do much home-mission-work which
is not included in our figures. The American
Tract Society and the denominational Tract So-
cieties are all engaged in it almost wholly, but the
foregoing table does not comprise them. The fig-
ures given, therefore, show $129,905,747 raised in
the United States in seven decades for two charities
almost unknown on this continent until this
century.
The table shows that of the whole amount (omit-
ting the " additional," which cannot be divided
into periods) collected during the seven decades for
these two charities, $106,730,877, or eighty-eight
per cent., was raised during the last thirty years
the period over which many people croak so dole-
fully. In these thirty years American Protestant-
ism has raised more money for purely missionary
purposes than the Protestants of all Christendom
raised in the previous three centuries, for the same
objects.
It is an encouraging fact that during the last
decade, in which we have suffered so much and so
long from financial embarrassments, these two grand
charities of American Protestantism have not de-
clined, but have averaged $5,103,057 yearly, which
is more than three times as much as the yearly av-
erage from 1850 to 1859. These facts show the
abiding devotion of Christian people to these two
360 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
great causes, in times of financial stringency and
reverse.
Taking these two benevolences as a fair index of
the benevolent spirit of the Churches, and we find
that the pecuniary liberality has increased at a rate
a little more than from 16 to 51, or little more
than threefold. But the aggregate wealth of the
United States increased, from 1850 to 1870, from
$7>i35,78o,228 to $30,068,518,507, or four-and-one-
fifth fold. The increase in giving, if this is a fair
test, has not quite kept pace with the increase of
the national wealth. And yet it is undoubtedly
true that the increase in pecuniary benevolence has
more nearly corresponded with the advance in na-
tional wealth than at any former period. During
the same period the value of the Church property of
the denominations represented in the above tables,
(the Evangelical Protestant Churches,) as given by
the United States Census, increased from $71,275,909
in 1850 to $271,477,391 in 1870, nearly fivefold;
and we do not doubt that the money invested in
collegiate and academic institutions during the
same time has increased still more. These things
show that the Christian people are advancing well
in the right direction ; and we should be stimulated
to greater progress.
In this almost infinite number of wayside labor-
ers, is it strange that some are not profound think-
ers, mature Christians, or discreet actors? Are
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 361
they not deepening, maturing, and learning wisdom,
as others have done, by the old process of experi-
ence ? Some may have erred in carrying the prin-
ciple of the priesthood of believers to an extreme,
discarding the Christian ministry as a divinely insti-
tuted order of the Church ; some local communities
have suffered from religious decline ; some Churches
have died out, from change of population, unwis-
dom, possibly from more culpable causes ; some are
in a transitional condition, occasioning anxiety in
regard to the results ; some sad cases of collapse
and ruin have occurred in men occupying high
religious positions ; some futile attempts at reform
have gone upon record ; some abuses still survive
all denunciations ; some outbursts of religious en-
thusiasm have left individuals and communities
almost barren of spiritual fruitage ; and the spirit of
worldliness is often dominant in the Churches a
fatal impediment to progress.
All these things, and many more still, exist with
mischievous tendencies. They are imperfections
incidental to human agents. Some wonder there
are not more of them ; while others wonder that
Christianity can endure so much imperfection and
still stand and work so powerfully. It is because
of its inherent conserving power, and its immense
vitality. The healthy body can throw off great
quantities of devitalized matter, resist malaria,
heal wounds, and grow strong under heavy strains.
362 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Winters, tornadoes, storms, and devastating cur-
rents do not stop the course of nature.
Is it said, "There is much rootless piety," an
" incessant cultivation of sentiment," a " reckless
popularization " of sacred things, and " floods of
namby-pamby talk?" Be it so. But how slight
are these blemishes on the great mass of true piety ;
and how much less offensive than the whine, the
nasal twang, the cant, the rant, the abnormal ecstasy,
the jerking, the selfish exclusiveness, the supersti-
tion, and the torpid inactivity, which characterized
much of the piety of other days. Religion is less
sanctimonious, has less of "holy tone," but is not
less genuine and worthy of respect, but more so, on
that account. There is relatively more " well-
rooted " piety, more intelligent religious affection,
more faithful testimony for Christ.
Is it still insisted that much of the work done is
routine work ; that *' sentiment substitutes pleasant
songs and pensive looks for self-denial and arduous
service ;" and that an antinomian spirit often seeks
" to rectify a dishonest ledger by a prayer, or gild
a malignant temper by a holy tone, so that to too
many modern religionists the words of Hood may
be applied, without caricature
' Rogue that I am, I cheat, I lie, I steal ;
But who can say I am not pious ? *'
There is a measure of truth in all these allega-
tion. But why are these things so ?
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 363
" It is because there is so much genuine relig-
ious activity, and so many new and taking meth-
ods of work and worship. The penumbra is child
of the light. The evil is real ; its growth is alarm-
ing; not, however, as threatening the existence
or perpetuity of the Church of Christ, but as por-
tending grievous falls for many true believers, and
the stumbling of many sinners, who, when they fall,
will not rise again." *
Nor should it be overlooked that the common
soil of humanity was never before so widely plowed
by the Church. In large circles, among large
masses, it is being plowed and sowed for the first
time on purely voluntary conditions. No hierarchy
nor civil power interposes to exert a steadying or
sustaining influence in times of fluctuation or de-
cline ; nor does an overshadowing formalism throw
its concealing mantle over irregularities and defects.
But we have a type of piety incalculably higher in
true elements of personal godliness than has been
furnished by any other age, or under hierarchical or
State conditions.
Is it said that the influence of religion is less
marked than formerly? When religion has con-
quered its position, and become an established
working force, it cannot be expected to produce
such a sensation as when it first enters the field ; yet
* See book entitled, " The Light : Is it Waning ? " Boston, 1879,
pp. 81, 82, etc.
364 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
it does not follow that there is any real declension
or loss of power. There have been times of much
physical demonstration, and brief periods of excep-
tional spasmodic fervor, but such phenomena do not
measure Christianity. Paroxysms may attract at-
tention, but do not indicate normal progress. Gen-
uine religious progress is indicated by moral reno-
vations. In numberless instances, even within the
last twenty years, or the last ten years, under many
American preachers, gospel truth has exhibited a
potency not excelled in any other days, reaching
and transforming large numbers of the most aban-
doned persons, and proving as all-controlling in the
life, as when Peter preached, and the disciples had
" all things in common."
It is often declared that the contrast between the
Church and the world is less perceptible than for-
merly, and therefore the Church has degenerated.
Christianity has largely transformed Christendom
morally, intellectually, and socially and, therefore,
it cannot look as bright on the new background as
on the old. Her very success has dimmed the
relief. Christianity has " softened and shaded the
world to her own likeness." How different is
American society now from eighty years ago, and
from the Roman world when Christianity entered it ;
and yet the distinguishing characteristics of Church
members are the same as in the days of the apos-
tles. They bear the same marks of attachment to
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 365
Christ, and the same evidences of genuine experi-
enre are exhibited.
Rev. Orville Dewey, D.D., says: "When irrelig-
ious skeptics, learned or worldly wise, tell us that re-
ligion is to die out, we can't think much of it. There
is a foolish talk, I sometimes hear, about faith's
having been greater in the dark Middle Ages than
it is now; credulity it should be called. Faith,
true faith, deepens as thought, reasoning, feeling,
the heart's great searching, goes deeper. It is so
to-day. As knowledge grows, as culture advances,
there are more and more men whose souls are
fraught full with a swelling and undying sense
of religion ; who seek after God, after the living
God, and feel that all the interest of life is gone if
that great all-hallowing Presence is gone from the
world. No ; religions may die out of the world,
but not religion. Forms, usages, false ideas of
religion, have changed and will change, but not the
central reality." *
Rev. Dr. Henry W. Bellows has said of the wide-
ly diffused and operative influence of Christianity
in our times, " Christianity is happily quite as much
in the world as in the visible Church. Its leaven is
working, never so powerfully as now, in politics,
literature, life. ... A great part of the piety once
expended in emotion, and profession, and dogmatic
belief has gone into practical action. It has passed
* " Unitarian Review," January, 1877, pp. 66.
366 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS
out of the sanctuary into the workshop ; is no longer
exclusively in the religious organ, but in the gen-
eral organism ; is not to be seen in the shape of pure
leaven, but in the lightness and wholesomeness of
the leaf. Religious faith, which takes form in gor-
geous cathedrals, gay festivals, and splendid ritual^
may indicate the exclusive predominance for an age
of certain powerful religious ideas, but by no means
indicate the prevalence of equality, justice, truth,
self-respect, or private worth. Protestantism buries
its Christian ideas in secret places, in private hearts
and consciences, and they come up in domestic,
social, and political rights and graces. Roman Ca-
tholicism places hers in golden chalices, and under
embroidered cloths upon the altar, to be worshiped;
and they remain, not without influence, but essen-
tially barren and powerless for the advancement of
society.
" We cannot admit, therefore, that the Christian
religion, or Protestant Christianity, so far as it is the
Christian religion, is declining, or waning in influ-
ence, or demands any new forces, or has failed to
accomplish the expectations of its Founder, or the
reasonable hopes of his faithful disciples. We can-
not concede that the doubt or question of certain
theological ideas long associated with Christianity.,
which now prevails, is any discredit to the truth or
reality of the Gospel. We seem to see the faith of
Jesus of Nazareth every day emerging from the
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 367
cerements in which it has been buried, like Lazarus
in his tomb."' 55 '
The multiplication of schools, books, newspapers,
and, especially, religious literature, and the loud
demand for universal illumination, prove that the
mind of Christendom is rising, and going forth, on
a scale and with an impulse never before witnessed.
How mighty and cumulative the moral and spiritual
forces exhibited in our day ! Never before was the
moral consciousness of the Churches so quickened,
or their exertions, at home and abroad, so amazing,
or so fruitful. Islands have been born as in a day.
New nations have come suddenly to the light, em-
braced the faith, maintained their own preachers,
builded their own churches, and furnished martyrs
for Christ. In a single year, one missionary society
received eighteen thousand seekers after the truth ;
another baptized nine thousand converts, six thou-
sand in one day; and another received six thousand
to membership. A hundred thousand pariahs are
numbered among the followers of Christ. Forty
thousand savages are Christianized in Fiji. Five
hundred thousand spiritual converts praise God in
mission churches. Four hundred thousand pupils
study the divine word in mission schools. Polyg-
amy, the suttee, and widow celibacy, are doomed all
over Hindustan, Schools and colleges are rising;
and scores of presses are printing millions of pages
* " Unitarian Review," May, 1876, pp. 466-7.
368 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
a year in the heathen world. Christian civilization
has permeated heathen society, and called forth
apostles of truth out of the bosom of paganism ;
and the Church of Christ has seized the strongholds
of the enemy, and established a base line of opera-
tions throughout the heathen world. Forward, is
the motto, all along the vast lines of Christ's mili-
tant host. It is an era of sublime progress, answer-
ing the long-repeated prayer, <4 Thy kingdom come/'
A century and a half ago the outlook for Chris-
tianity was dreary enough. The science, the phi-
losophy, the culture of the age, were all against it ;
little spirituality, only as a feeble dying flame, was
left ; and its aggressive power was reduced to a
minimum. Since then, it has reached its greatest
known maximum. We have seen, that from the
days of the Apostles down to near the middle of
the last century, if we except some remarkable ex-
amples among the Moravians, the world has known
nothing of such spirit&al activities as have been
since developed, chiefly within the last eighty years,
and many of them within thirty years. Piety has
come out from the cloisters and gone forth among
the masses, in imitation of " Him who went about
doing good." Never was the life of Jesus more
fully illustrated, in the average lives of Christians,
than in the United States, during the last quarter
of a century. Never was there a more intelligent
spirituality.
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 369
The habit of some minds of investing every thing
in the past with a halo of glory, is inconsiderate and
superficial. No judicial mind will do this. Previous
ages do not furnish parallels of what this age has
witnessed. What then is the significance of such
extraordinary and augmenting religious activity, if
it be not a deep and deepening religious vitality?
Such tangible evidences of extraordinary spiritual
\itality, and the wonderful increase of more than
r..ine and a half millions of communicants, in eighty
years, in the evangelical Churches in the United
Sitates, far outrunning relatively the growth of the
population, are two cognate facts, mutually supple-
menting each other, as irrefragable crucial tests.
Such remarkable religious phenomena must have
for their cause a powerful underlying religious force.
No other inference is philosophical.
Christ reigning over a territory hitherto unrivaled
in its extent ; great benevolences awakened and sus-
tained by a deeper religious devotion ; rapidly mul-
tiplying home, city, and foreign mission stations,
the outcome of an intelligent consecration; magnifi-
cent departments of Christian labor, many of them
heretofore unknown, and none of them ever before so
numerous, so vast, or so restlessly active ; the great
heart of the Church, pulsating with an unequaled
velocity; the fires of evangelism burning with un-
wonted brightness on multiplied altars ; and a re-
ligious literature such as has characterized no other
24
370 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
age, replete with life and power, eminently prac-
tical, intensely fervid, and richly evangelical, ema-
nating from her presses : all conspire to show, more
than ever before, that God has a living Church
within the Churches, towering amid them all in its
mightiness, the strength, the support, and central
life of all ; and that an increasing number of true
believers are " walking with him in white" a grand
constellation of light and purity a bright Milky
Way from earth to heaven.
IV. STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
CHAPTER I.
STATISTICAL SCIENCE.
Preliminary Observations.
IY.-STATISTIOAL EXHIBITS.
CHAPTER I.
STATISTICAL SCIENCE.
[" T is the habit of some persons to discard religious
* statistics, and to complain that an undue im-
portance is attached to them. " Of what conse-
quence," they ask, " is it that three new churches
are built every day, so long as the ideas they are
supposed to represent are fast dying out ? "
" Some denominations are so infatuated with their
numerical growth and preponderance, that they are
in danger of losing sight of those higher, and deeper,
and more potent elements and forces which Chris-
tianity represents." " Give us the Gospel with its
moral and spiritual forces, and we care not who
holds the book of numbers."
No mathematics, certainly, are cunning enough
to fully calculate the work of Christianity, and sum
up its effects as it goes through the world, moder-
ating its coldness, calling forth countless forms of
life, activity, and beauty, purifying its fountains,
and filling it with verdure and fragrance and music.
And yet it is also true that there are no phenomena
374 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
which may not be approximately enumerated, and
the more distinct and positive they are, the more
definitely may they be numbered and aggregated.
" For those who do not believe in the permanency
and the importance of the Church," says one of the
most cultured religious editors, u -as an external
institution, it is well enough to talk contentedly
about the indirect influence of literature and the
leavening effected by opinions as they percolate
through society in secret ways. But if the Church
is a lasting and indispensable agency we must be
seeing to it, not merely that the community is lib-
eralized, but that Church institutions are organized
and ideas crystallized in organic forms. . . . Chris-
tianity, from the days of the apostles, has been a
propagandism of Christ's truth by means of Church
organizations. The spirit of Christianity alone is
not a Church ; and without a Church it degenerates
and loses itself in vague aspirations." He, there-
fore, calls upon his brethren to strive to disseminate
their principles, and " show at the end of each year
a plain and positive gain in numbers, faith, and
influence."' 35 '
| In previous pages, we have carefully examined
the question of religious progress in its intellectual,
moral, social, and spiritual aspects. It is, therefore,
fitting that attention now be directed to the more
concrete numerical forms in which the progress and
* "Liberal Christian," 1871.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 375
results of Christianity may be traced in the world.
Positive ideas assume a clear, distinct, differenti-
ated form ; and the positive elements in a religion
determine its character, durability, influence, power,
and destiny. It is the positive elements which a
man receives, and not what he rejects, that assimi-
late and organize themselves into his fibers and
faculties, arid reveal themselves in concrete forms
in his life. This is the law of growth in spiritual,
social, and ecclesiastical life. Ecclesiastical success
is the development of religious principles in organic
forms, according to laws of religious growth.
" Influential Churches and sects are never built
up. Men cannot put their heads and hands together
and manufacture a religion. They cannot create
permanent and potential organizations ; for the
creative, organizing force is behind and above the
human will, in ideas and sentiments which at best
they can but perceive and lay hold of, and flows
down into the spirit of man through faith, taking
possession of intellect and imagination, making men
the keys through which its ideal harmonies are
poured into history. Denominations are not de-
signed and constructed by human carpentry ; a great
truth takes possession of a multitude of men thiough
their faith in it, binds them into a body, becomes
the informing spirit of their organization, and puts
forth its power through all available channels of
influence. A religion is the crystallization of a
376 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
great idea, a spiritual force, in the history of the
race." *
Viewed in such a light, ecclesiastical statistics,
like moral, social, commercial, and political statistics,
have a distinct significance. Their importance has
been enhanced by the recent studies of exact
science. Comt and Buckle gave an impulse to
statistical inquiries, and they are now becoming " a
specialty " in Europe and in America. " Statistic-
ians rank as a class of savants, with important
organizations or ' societies,' in the principal cities of
Europe, and the results of their researches are
highly appreciated by the governments.
" Difficult as statistics must be liable to the
greatest errors, in results, by the smallest errors of
fact or number they have nevertheless attained
the truest proof of scientific character, namely, that
the statisticians can predict. Science is the ascer-
tainment of laws ; the knowledge of laws enables us
to foretell results. This is the test of a scientific
theory the distinction of truth from speculation.
And this the statisticians can now claim in a remark-
able manner. They can tell the averages of births
and deaths for a given year in a given population,
how many suicides, how many misdirected letters,
etc. And they can thus predict without denying
the moral freedom of man, for freedom itself,
rightly defined, is compatible with law."
* Editor of the "Liberal Christian."
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 377
European journals have lately published the re-
sults of the extensive researches of M. Bertillon, of
Brussels, so distinguished in this department of
inquiry. Elaborately investigating questions of
social, domestic, and physical ethics, by the statis-
tical classification and analysis of concrete facts, he
has demonstrated that marriage is favorable to
longevity and morality, and that married people
are less liable to suicide, assassination, theft, and
insanity ; thus showing, by the aid of figures, a
scientific basis of morals, and attesting the truth of
Christian morality.
Modern science measures material forces, sub-
jecting even the more subtle elements steam,
gas, heat, light, the winds, and the atmosphere to
accurate registration. We have noticed the great
progress made in collecting and classifying statistics
representing moral and social phenomena, in mak-
ing generalizations and deductions from such bases,
and determining questions of moral and social
progress. Nor is the realm of spiritual religion so
hidden and intangible that it is impossible to
measure the ' forces which move and dominate it ;
for it has its exact phenomena, its numerical repre-
sentations, its distinctly cut channels, its streams of
varying depth and velocity, registering water-marks
all along their pathways. The United States Cen-
sus, the Annual Year Books and Minutes of the
American Churches, and the Annual Reports of
378 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the various organizations connected with them,
combine with increasing care and exactness, from
year to year, carefully collected data, reliably rep-
resenting the changing phases of our religious life,
and enabling us to determine questions of religious
progress. No department of statistical inquiry re-
quires more care and discrimination, closer attention
to incidental and collateral facts, or the application
of severer crucial tests. But, with due attention,
impartial, broad analysis and rigid synthesis, reli-
able conclusions may be reached, definitely deter-
mining the religious status.
The most noticeable objective feature of apostolic
Christianity was its aggressive impulse, indicating a
powerful latent force. The facts are so familiar as
to need little repetition. The Pentecost registered
three thousand converts ; the close of the first
century, five hundred thousand ; the close of the
third century, five million. The conversion of Con-
stantine soon followed, and Christianity ceased to
work from a purely moral and spiritual impulse, its
spread being henceforth dependent upon the civil
power.
The reformation under Luther, at first partly
ecclesiastical and partly spiritual, soon became of a
more mixed character in the great political revolu-
tions it inaugurated ; and one hundred and fifty
years ago Protestantism had lost its aggressive
spiritual force. The Wesleyan movement, starting
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 379
in 1739, and closing the century with four hundred
and fifty preachers and one hundred and twenty
thousand communicants, in England, inspired new
life into British and American Protestantism ; but
its influence was not much felt in the United States
until near the close of the century. Some persons,
not properly informed in regard to this matter, con-
sider the progress of Protestantism since that time
as small and feeble, both in Europe and America,
dragging slowly behind the growth of the popu-
lation.
The statistics of this progress presented to the
public have been for the most part fragmentary,
lacking completeness, only partially covering given
periods, or failing in some way to cover such points
as are necessary to justify clear and legitimate de-
ductions. It is to be regretted that for some of the
earlier periods in the history of Protestantism no
exact statistics are now obtainable ; and it must be
confessed that, for even the more recent periods, we
have only partial statistics of Protestantism in Great
Britain and the continent of Europe, and must
content ourselves with incomplete or approximate
statistics and, in some cases, mere estimates. But
the estimates are such as have been made by those
who have intelligently studied the question, and are
worthy of high consideration.
For the United States, however, within this cent-
ury, our statistics are as nearly exact as can reason-
380 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ably be expected, and have been derived almost
entirely from official sources the Year Books and
Annual Minutes of the various denominations, and
the United States Census. They are the results of
some years of extensive, painstaking study, involv-
ing much correspondence and numerous consulta-
tions with representative men of the Churches.
Careful discrimination, also, has been exercised ;
collateral facts and modifying circumstances have
been duly considered ; and periods selected, for
comparison, as free as possible from abnormal in-
fluences.
As to the relative progress of Christianity, com-
pared with the total population of the world in for-
mer centuries, it is impossible to calculate. No trust-
worthy estimates of the total population of the earth,
until within the present century, can be found.
Malte Brun (d. 1826) estimated the whole number
to be six hundred and forty-two million, and M.
Adrien Balbi, (d. 1848) at seven hundred and thirty-
seven millions. About 1850 it was commonly reck-
oned at one billion. But it is probable that all these
estimates were defective, little better than guesses.
Sufficient data did not then exist, had not been, and
could not be, collected, for a satisfactory basis of
calculation.
" Owing to the progress of the science of statis-
tics," says Professor Schem, " the population of the
globe can now be estimated with a degree of proba-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 381
bility with which, as we see in the light of modern
science, estimates made in former times have no claim
whatever. All of the countries of Europe, with
the exception of Turkey, most of the countries of
America, and the European colonies, with a num-
ber of independent States in other large divisions of
the globe, from time to time, take an official census,
which establishes the actual population with a cer-
tainty, which, it seems, leaves hardly any room for
considerable improvement. ... In the countries in
which no official census has as yet been taken, the
researches in regard to the number of the inhabit-
ants made by learned travelers give us at least fig-
ures vastly superior, in point of trustworthiness, to
those found in geographical works of an earlier
date. The famous geographical establishment of
Perthes, in Gotha, Germany, has for several years
been publishing a periodical specially devoted to
the most recent information relating to the area of
all the divisions and States of the globe, where the
results of the entire literature of the world relating
to this subject are carefully garnered, and where
every figure can be traced to the source, official or
inofficial, from which it has been derived."
" The greater accuracy obtained for the statistics
of populations has, of course, enabled us to estimate
more correctly the population professing the vari-
ous creeds. Most of the states include in the cen-
sus questions one in regard to the religious profes-
382 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
sion. Where this is not done, as in the United
States, in England, and Scotland, most of the
religious denominations publish annual accounts of
adult membership, of number of Churches and min-
isters, and other facts from which inferences as to
the total population, which more or less is influ-
enced and controlled by the doctrinal tenets of a
particular religious denomination, may be made.
It is interesting to observe, in the religious statistics
of those States which include the religious profes-
sion of the inhabitants in the official census, the
small number of persons who avow themselves as
atheists. Thus, in Prussia, which, by friends as well
as by foes, is sometimes looked upon as the El Do-
rado of atheists and opponents to the belief in a
personal God, avowed atheists can only be looked
for in the column of " persons of unknown relig-
ions," who number 4,495, and free religions, of
whom there were 2,531. Thus no more than about
seven thousand in a total population of 24,600,000
made a statement that might cause them to be
looked upon as atheists. In France 81,951 persons
were returned as " without religion " or " religion
unknown," in a total population of 36,000,000. In
the Dominion of Canada, according to the official
census of 1871, of a total population of 3,486,000
only twenty persons claimed to be atheists, 409
deists, and 5,144 to have no religion. Facts like
these indicate that, however large the number of
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 383
persons may be who are indifferent in religious
matters, or have discarded a belief in a personal
God and in Christianity, the population of the
Christian countries continues to be almost a unit in
its outward connection with Christianity. This
includes the Christian character, more or less ex-
plicit, of laws, of customs, of literature, and of edu-
cation. Thus the countries of Europe, of America,
and Australia may be looked upon as representa-
tives of the Christian religion and of Christian civil-
ization to as high a degree as at any former period
of their history." *
With these preliminary observations, we proceed
to notice the progress of Christianity since the dawn
of the Reformation of the sixteenth century.
In doing this we have rigidly discarded transient
newspaper statistics, because liable to many inac-
curacies from misprint and otherwise, and have
closely adhered to official documents and standard
authorities. Even these have been scrutinized and
compared, and personal conferences and letters have
drawn from authors and compilers necessary attesta-
tions and explanations. Many items of statistics
which have passed current have been thrown aside,
as unworthy of confidence.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding entire accuracy has
been laboriously sought for, we dare not affirm that
we have always succeeded in attaining it ; but the
" Methodist Quarterly Review," Jan., 1876, pp. 154, 155-
PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
figures given are believed to be close approxima-
tions, sufficiently correct to enable us to make intel-
ligent comparisons of religious progress. They are
the best available exhibits. The variety of forms
in which different religious bodies prepare their sta-
tistics has occasioned much trouble, and prevents*
entire uniformity in tabulating. But every year
brings some improvement, and before another dec-
ade shall pass away the ecclesiastical statistics will
furnish materials for more exact study. When those
who have the care of ecclesiastical year-books and
registries come more distinctly to realize that every
unit figure represents an immortal soul, they will
be more careful in their work, and the distrust of
Church statistics will give way to confidence.
CHAPTER II.
RELIGIOUS PROGKRESS ANT)
STATUS.
PROTESTANTISM AND ROMANISM.
In Europe.
In South America.
In Mexico.
In the British Dominion.
In Portions of the U. S. formerly Papal.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 387
CHAPTER II.
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS AND STATUS.
PROTESTANTISM AND ROMANISM.
QTATISTICIANS are nearly agreed that in the
S? year 1500 Europe had a population of about
100,000,000,* all Roman Catholic, except the major
portions of Russia, Turkey, Greece, and the Ionian
Isles, in which the Mohammedan and Greek relig-
ions prevailed. In Central and Western Europe
there were few who did not hold at least nominal
relations to the Church of Rome. The Waldenses,
the Hussites, a remnant of the Lollards, and a small
number of Jews all combined, scarcely enough to
count at all against the overwhelming odds of the
Papacy were the only exceptions. Eighty millions
may be accepted as an approximate estimate of
the Papal population in Europe and in the whole
world, at the opening of the century which intro-
duced the Lutheran Reformation.
Passing over the intervening periods, for which
no definite basis for comparison exists, and coming
to our own times, we find the population of Europe
divided in respect to religions, as follows :
* Seaman's " Progress of Nations," p. 551.
388 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS
Roman Catholic population * 149,000,000
Protestant population 74,000,000
Greek Church population 75,000,000
Jews . 4,500,000
Mohammedans 6,600,000
Romanism, starting an a basis of about eighty
millions in the year 1500, has gained in Europe
sixty-nine millions, while Protestantism, starting
soon after, from unity, has gained seventy-four mill-
ions of adherents in the same territory.
During three hundred and eighty years the pop-
ulation of Europe increased threefold ; f but Ro-
manism did not double her population, and Prot-
estantism had all of hers to gain, and in the face of
powerful opposition.
Hereafter we shall notice another aspect of Prot-
estant progress, in this period, of much greater sig-
nificance.
Within the last twenty-five years Protestantism
has made large inroads into the Roman Catholic
countries of Europe, laying the foundations for nu-
merous Churches and communicants before another
generation shall pass away. How different is the
condition of Romanism in France, Italy, Austria,
and Spain, from thirty years ago, not to go further
* These figures, by Professor Schem, nearly correspond with those
in Hubner's Statistical Tables, and also with those given in the
"Catholic Family Almanac," for 1876. See also "Encyclopaedia
Britannica," article " Europe," p. 713.
f According to Bern and Wagner, in 1874, the population of Europe
was 309,178,300.
RELIGIOUS POPULATION OF EUROPE.
(See pp. 3S7, 388.)
1500.
TOTAL
POPULATION,
100,000,000.
TOTAL
POPULATION,
309,000,000.
Roman Catholics
Protestants.
Jews.
Mohammedans.
Greek Church.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 391
back ! How great is the change in the position and
influence of the Pope in Italy, shorn of his temporal
power, and with Protestant churches under the very
shadow of St. Peter's !
Protestantism has numerous missions among the
papal population of Roman Catholic countries.
In Ireland eight Protestant missionary societies
are operating; in France, eight societies; in Italy,
Sicily, and Malta, seventeen societies ; in Spain,
Gibraltar, Portugal, and Madeira, nineteen socie-
ties; in Canada, nine societies; in Mexico, Central
America, and South America, twenty-three societies,
making, in all, eighty-four distinct Protestant mis-
sionary movements among Papal populations, oper-
ating on more than 1,546 stations and sub-stations,
and sustaining 1,499 ministers and 2,146 lay agents.
Thirty of the eighty-four societies, several years ago,
reported 95,920 mission communicants. All these
missions are continually enlarging, and many others
being established. Roman Catholic countries are
invaded on every side, and the foundations are laid
for vast future movements.
It is a frequent remark that Romanism is smitten
with decay all over Europe. The populations of
Roman Catholic countries have had meager growths.
Spain and Italy, leading populations of the conti-
nent in the year 1500, are now among the smaller,
the increase of both, with their large territories, in
three hundred and eighty years, being only about
392 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
two thirds of the increase of England and Wales,
with their small areas, in the same period. Com-
paring three Papal with three non-Papal countries,
we have Austria, in fifty-nine years, (1792-1851,)
increased 13,014,397; France, in eighty-nine years,
(1762-1851,) increased 14,014,170; Spain, in one
hundred and eleven years, (1723-1834,) increased
5,607,194; total, 32,635,761, in an aggregate of two
hundred and fifty-nine years : but Great Britain, in
fifty years, (1801-1851,) increased 11,675,271; Prus-
sia, in sixty-three years, (1786-1849,) increased
10,331,187; and Russia, in sixty-seven years, (1783-
1850,) increased 34,688,000; total, 56,694,458, in an
aggregate of one hundred and eighty years, or twen-
ty-four millions more, in seventy-nine less years,
than the increase of the three Papal nations. The
increase, per annum* was :
In the Papal Countries.
Austria, .94 of one per cent.
France, .72 " " "
Spain, .66 " " "
In the non-Papal Countries.
Great Britain, 1.48 per cent.
Prussia, 2.73 "
Russia, 1.89 "
The tendency of Rome is to dwarf the mind, to
beggar the nations, and repress progress the oppo-
sites of the tendencies of Protestantism. " Through-
out Christendom, whatever advance has been made
in knowledge, in freedom, in wealth, and in the arts
of life, has been made in spite of her, (Rome,) and has
every-where been in inverse proportion to her power.
* See " Compendium of United States' Census," 1850, p. 131.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 393
The loveliest and most fertile provinces of Europe
have, under her rule, been sunk in poverty, in polit-
ical servitude, and in intellectual torpor, while Prot-
estant countries, once proverbial for sterility and
barbarism, have been turned by skill and industry
into flourishing gardens, and can boast of a long list
of heroes and statesmen, philosophers and poets." *
When the " Invincible Armada " threatened to
overthrow Protestant England, Spain could boast
of forty-three millions of subjects. Now she has
only sixteen millions. England, Wales, and Scot-
land then numbered only about four millions ; but
they now have more than twenty-seven millions,
besides colonial subjects all over the world, swelling
the number to three hundred millions, and their
xvealth has centupled, while Spain has become
impoverished.
The old Concordat, in Spain, is repudiated, and
toleration is allowed. In Italy, under the very eyes
of the Pontiff, the old foundations are sliding away ;
and, as Garibaldi said in a letter not long ago,
" There is no place on earth where the Pope is less
regarded than in Rome." For sixty years Italy has
been reviving, for the first thirty years slowly, and
the last thirty very rapidly. " The * States of the
Church/ after one thousand years of dark pre-emi-
nence, no longer appear on the map of the world.
In 1870 the various States and Provinces were
* Lord Macaulay.
394 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
united under one crown, and Rome became, once
more, the capital of united Italy. The present
government affords as much freedom for Protestant
worship as any other in Europe. A new enlight-
enment is becoming apparent. Priestly influences,
long hostile to education, have given way to new
forces. The Italian government energetically in-
troduced the work of public instruction, made a
parliamentary grant of one million sterling for
school purposes, and added to it the greater portion
of the vast revenues of 2,400 monastic establish-
ments it had confiscated. Education, self-govern-
ment, telegraphs, and railroads are working an
elevation. From the windows in the Vatican the
Pope beholds the flag of the reprobate king who
rules in his stead, and a depository of Bibles with
its eager seekers after the word of life."
The religious results in Italy are beginning to
assume tangible numerical forms. In 1877 Father
Gavazzi said : " Fifteen years ago there were only 5
Protestant congregations and 400 communicants in
all Italy, while there are now 8,000 communicants
and about 41,000 hearers." These figures do not
include the Waldensians in Northern Italy. In
1879, at tne Evangelical Alliance, in Basel, Professor
Comba furnished definite data of these Christian
heroes who bear " the scars of thirty persecutions."
The Waldensians number, in all Italy, 56 churches,
32 mission stations, about 15,000 communicants, a
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 395
theological school, 55 pastors, 50 teachers, and 4,400
Sunday-school scholars. The Free Church, founded
in 1848, has 8 congregations and 30 stations. The
Free Italian Church, beginning in 1865, has* 36
churches, 35 missionary stations, 15 pastors, 15
lay-preachers, 1,800 communicants, 800 Sunday-
school scholars, 2,085 children in day-schools, under
21 teachers, and 17 students in a theological sem-
inary. The Wesleyan Church, formed in 1861, has
22 pastors, 6 helpers, 6 evangelists, 1,350 communi-
cants, and 704 Sunday-school scholars. The Bap-
tist Church, established in 1855, has 9 pastors, 155
members, and 5 Sunday-schools. The Methodist
Episcopal Church, begun in 1873, now numbers 6
pastors, 9 evangelists, I colporteur, 5 Bible readers,
and 709 communicants. Seven Protestant denomi-
nations, with 53 Protestant schools, are represented
in the City of Seven Hills. The " Alphabetical
Guide of the Protestant Churches of Italy," recently
published in Naples, says there are 138 organized
Protestant Italian Churches, besides churches where
divine service is conducted in English, French, and
German.
Crossing the Alps into Switzerland we find Ro-
manism declining. It has decreased to two fifths
of the population. But, while 1,500,000 of the
2,500,000 inhabitants are Protestants, within the last
twenty-five years important changes for the worse
* Statistics given by Father Gavazzi, November 28, 1880.
396 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
have taken place in Swiss theology. It has become
decidedly rationalistic, the Churches are sparsely
attended, the communion service is sadly neg-
lected, and divorces are painfully numerous. The
Methodists and Baptists are penetrating the coun-
try and gaining a respectable footing among the
State Churches. The new leaven is a good omen.
In France, the hope of the Papacy after the loss
of the temporal power in Italy, it has declined, lost
the countenance of the government, and each suc-
cessive election reduces its influence in the Cabinet
and in the Assembly. France is becoming one of
the fairest, ripest, and richest fields for Protestant
missions in the world. In the Republic there are
650,000 Protestants. They have had to contend
with great embarrassments, but have made consid-
erable progress during this century. In 1806 there
were only 171 Protestant pastors, and the Protest-
ant Church had no schools. To-day it has 850
pastors, Alsace and Lorraine not included, 1,250
Protestant schools, and 30 religious journals. The
Reformed Church has a membership of 560,000 ; the
Church of the Augsburg Confession, 80,000 ; the
English Free Church, 43 church edifices and 5,000
members ; the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 28 pas-
tors, 1 8 evangelists, a theological seminary, and 175
preaching places; the Baptist Church, 12 native
preachers, 8 Churches, and 706 members. Rev. Mr.
Reveiland has become an apostle of religious prog-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 397
ress. A new 'work has been inaugurated in Paris,
under Mr. and Mrs. M'All, extending into some out-
side localities, which is one of the brightest omens
of the times. During the year 1878 not less than
85,000 people attended the services of these evan-
gelists, and their Sunday-schools number 42,000
scholars. The movement is under the protection
of the government, as a means of promoting mo-
rality among the laboring classes.
In Bavaria, until recently the strongest German
center of Popery, it has been snubbed by the civil
authorities, and Protestantism has come to number
nearly one third of the population. In Austria the
influence of Rome is less absolute, and Protestant
worship is more generally allowed; but within three
years Bohemia has been stained with the blood of
martyrs. In Belgium alone does Romanism show
much vigor.
The following table* will show the religious
statistics of Austria, Hungary, Bavaria, and Bel-
gium :
PonntriM Popula- Roman Protest- Greek T Other
turn. Catholics. ants. Church. Jews ' Churche*.
Austria 21,565,435 15,766,000 351,000 2,303,000 683,000 500,000
Hungary J 5, 564,533 7,502,000 3,133,000 1,588,000 552,000 2,641,000
Bavaria. 5,022,390 3,573,742 1,392,120 5^335 5i793
Belgium.. 5,336,185 5,321,685 13,000 1,500
Iri Germany the Papacy has suffered a kind of
self-defeat, in consequence of its Jesuitical attempts
to interfere with the imperial policy, and the grow-
* Collected from the " Statesman's Year-Book." 1881. London.
398 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ing Protestant population is leaving behind the
Roman Catholic.
Protestant Population. Papal Population.
1867 24,921,000 14,564,000
1875 26,718,823 15,371,227
These figures show a Protestant increase of
1,797,823 to a Roman Catholic increase of 807,227
in eight years.
PROPORTION TO 1,000 INHABITANTS.
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
1867. 621 363
1875 625 360
But there are dark shadows resting on the relig-
ious prospects of Germany. Skepticism reigns su-
preme in some classes; the thinking of large masses
is unchristian, Socialism is working harm to evan-
gelical religion, and the skeptics welcome the Ro-
man Catholics as a means of helping on a general
disintegration. But there are also hopeful indi-
cations. The unity of Protestantism is greater than
ever before, the evangelical sentiment is gaining in
the universities, and the Baptists and Methodists
are multiplying their Churches there, promoting
spirituality and new life. They have been looked
upon with distrust by the older communions, as
threatening evil to the State Churches ; but they
are coming to be favorably recognized on account
of the good work they are doing. In the chair of
the Basle session of the Evangelical Alliance, in
1879, Count Bismarck-Bohlem said, that " if men
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 399
from abroad come into Germany and preach a pure
Gospel, and the people are attracted toward it, they
are worthy of all confidence," and that, " if the State
Churches lose their power, God will put it into other
hands."
Roman Catholicism was predominant, a hundred
years ago, in all the frontier provinces acquired by
Prussia in the days of Frederick the Great; but
since the German immigrants have widely propa-
gated the Protestant faith in these districts, the
condition is changed.
The facts of religious progress in Prussia since
1849 show that Protestantism has steadily gained
upon Romanism. The statistical bureau of Berlin
has recently published comparative statistics of
Romanism and Protestantism in Prussia, conclu-
sively showing, from the official censuses, that
in every province in Prussia Protestantism is in-
creasing more rapidly than Roman Catholicism.
The same is reported from the Grand Duchy of
Baden.
The "Statesman's Year-Book"* (London, 1881)
says of Prussia : " Nearly two thirds of the popula-
tion are Protestants, and one third Roman Cath-
olics. At the last census, taken December I, 1875,
the Protestants numbered 16,636,990, being 64-65
per cent, of the total population of the kingdom,
and the Roman Catholics 8,625,840, or 33.51 per
* Pp. 117, 118.
400 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
cent. The number of Jews was 339,790, or 1*82
per cent, of the population, at the date of the census.
In the provinces of Prussia, Pomerania, Branden-
burg, and Saxony, the great majority are Prot-
estants ; while in Posen, Silesia, Westphalia, and
Rhenish Prussia, the Roman Catholics predominate.
In the new provinces annexed to the kingdom in
1866, the Protestants form the mass of the popula-
tion. There are a few members of the Greek Church,
mostly emigrants from Russia. Jews are to be
found in all the provinces, but especially at Posen.
At the census of December 3, 1864, there were in
the kingdom as then constituted, 11,736,734 Prot-
estants, being 60.23 per cent, of the total popula-
tion, and 7,201,911 Roman Catholics, equal to 36-81
per cent., besides 262,001 Jews, and about 52,000
adherents of other creeds. The annexation of
the new provinces, after the war of 1866, altered
the proportion in favor of the Protestant ascend-
ency. . . . Protestantism is otherwise gradually
spreading among the population, and Roman Ca-
tholicism decreasing."
Passing to Ireland, we discover a great change in
its population, from 8,175,124 in 1841 to 5,411,416
in 1871, occasioned chiefly by emigration. Eight
ninths of the emigration has been shown to be Ro-
man Catholic. Instead of four and one third Ro-
man Catholics to every Protestant, as in 1841, there
are now only three and one fourth for every Protest-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 401
ant. The proportion -of Papists and Protestants to
the whole population has stood as follows :
1834. 1861. 1871.
Roman Catholics 80.9 77.9 76.7
Church of England 10.7 n.8 12.7
Other Protestant Churches 8.4 10.3 10.7
Total 100. 100. 100.
Relatively Romanism has lost and Protestantism
has gained 4.2 per cent., though it still holds an im-
mense preponderance.*
But Roman Catholics console themselves for their
loss on the Continent and in Ireland by strong as-
sertions of the prosperity of their cause in England ;f
and the Pope, in his Allocution, while acknowledg-
ing decline in other lands, has referred to Protestant
England as a field of victory.
What, then, are the relative prospects of Roman-
ism and Protestantism in England ?
In England the Roman Catholic Church has made
some progress; but not so great as would some-
times seem from the reports in the newspapers.
Her gain has been chiefly from the transference of
her population thither from Ireland. The two coun-
tries, then, must be considered together, in order
to determine whether or not Romanism has gained.
* For fuller statistics of Romanism in Ireland, see Tables XIX to
XXIII in the Appendix.
f The "Catholic World," January, 1870, said: "We have cer-
tainly gained ground in Protestant nations, but probably not much
more than we have lost in old Catholic nations."
4O2 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
We omit Scotland from the calculation, because
we have no definite statement of the Roman Cath-
olic population of that country.
1851. 1871.
Population of England and Wales 17,905,831 22,712,266
Population of Ireland 6,574,278 5,411,416
Total of England, Wales, and Ireland 24,480,109 28,123,682
Roman Catholics in Ireland 5,378,949 4,141,933
Roman Catholics in England and Wales 758,800 1,000,000
Total R. C. in Engl'd, Wales, and Irel'd 6,137,749 5,141,933
Deduct, leaving non-Catholics 18,342,360 22,981,749
In the above table * the statistics of the Roman
Catholics in England and Wales may appear to
some too small, as they did at first to ourselves;
but we can only say that they have been taken
from the highest English authorities, namely, the
"Statesman's Year-Book," and " Whitaker's Al-
manac," both for 1880, and the edition of the " En-
cyclopaedia Britannica," now in course of publica-
tion, all of which agree. The latter work says the
Catholics in England and Wales in 1877 are "bare-
ly one million ;" but we have allowed that number
in 1871. According to the above figures, in 1851
the Roman Catholics were twenty-five per cent,
of the whole population of England, Wales, and
Ireland; in 1871 they were nineteen percent. In
the three countries the actual increase of the non-
papal population was nearly five millions, and the
* See also Table XXIII in Appendix.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 403
actual decrease of the papal population was one
million.
The statistics for England, Scotland, and Wales,
show that the Roman Catholic churches and chapels
increased from 647 in 1850 to* 1,543 in 1880, with
a corresponding increase of priests, and even larger
increase of convents and monasteries. But Protest-
ant churches have increased more relatively ; and it
has been clearly demonstrated that there is now a
less per centage of Papists in the British population
tLaii there was at the beginning of the century.
The question has been sifted by English statisti-
cians^ and Robenstein's " Denominational Statis-
tics" (1875) gives the following:
" There are now nearly a million Roman Cath-
olics in England and Wales, and these are divided
according to their nationality thus : English Ro-
man Catholics, 179,000; foreigners, 52,000; Irish,
742,560. This is one side of the subject; now look
at the other. In 1801 the population of Great
Britain and Ireland was about fifteen millions and
three quarters, of whom four millions and a quarter
were Roman Catholics, or twenty-seven per cent,
of the whole population. Now the population is
nearly thirty-one millions and a half, of whom little
more than five and a half are Roman Catholics, or
*
only eighteen per cent, of the whole population.
In other words, while the Roman Catholics have
* See Table XX in Appendix. f See Table XXIII in Appendix.
26
404 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
increased at the rate of twenty-eight per cent.,
the Protestants have increased at the rate of one
hundred and twenty per cent. Protestantism has
therefore been advancing nearly five times faster
than Romanism since the beginning of the present
century."
The new "Encyclopaedia Britannica " * gives a
more extended and thorough statement of Roman
Catholic progress in England, with similar results.
" It is stated by Hallam, that in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth the Roman Catholics numbered one third
of the entire population; but the effect of the many
repressive laws enacted against them was, that at
the end of the seventeenth century, when the already
referred to religious census of 1699 was taken, the
total number was only 27,696, being barely one half
per cent, of the population. It was estimated that
the number of Roman Catholics in England had in-
creased to 68,000 in 1767, being about one per cent.
of the population, and that it stood at 69,400 in
1780, being less than one per cent. On the basis
of the marriage returns of the Registrar General,
the estimated number of Roman Catholics in En-
gland and Wales was 284,300 in 1845, or I -7 P er
cent, of the population ; but within the next six
years, when there was a large immigration of Irish,
the numbers rapidly rose, and at the end of 1851
the total number of Roman Catholics was calculated
* Article, Englai d.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 40$
at 758,800, being 4.22 per cent, of the population.
The numbers kept rising till 1854, when there were
estimated to be 916,600 Roman Catholics in En-
gland and Wales, being 4.94 per cent, of the popu-
lation ; but there was a fall after this year, if not in
numbers yet in percentage. The calculated number
was 927,500, or 4.61 per cent., in 1861, and 982,000,
or 4.62 per cent., in 1866.* It is estimated that in
the middle of 1877 the number of Roman Catholics
in England and Wales had barely reached one mill-
ion, being a less percentage than in 1866, and about
one half the number comprised natives of Ireland
with their families. It would thus seem that Ro-
man Catholicism has not been progressive in En-
gland for about a quarter of a century. However,
the wealth of the body increased very greatly, owing
mainly to the secession of many rich persons of
both sexes to the Church, which led to a vast in-
crease of Roman Catholic places of worship. They
numbered 616 in 1853, an d had risen to 1,095 in
1877, with a clergy of 1,892."
The progress of Romanism in England has been
from Irish immigrants and a few of the higher
classes of English society. The Tractarian move-
ment, from which Rome has reaped a small har-
vest, confined to a class of scholarly mystical men,
represented no reaction toward Popery among the
English people, though it unquestionably made a
* See Table XXII, Appendix.
4o6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
great impression upon the leading ecclesiastics in
Italy, who thought they saw in it the vanguard of
a vast national movement. The most chimerical
notions prevailed in the Vatican, in whose eyes the
whole English nation was only waiting for some
timely word to call them once more to the spirit-
ual jurisdiction of Rome. Unfortunate at home, a
fugitive from his own city, and restored only by
the force of French arms, not seeing far into the
various phases of human thought and character,
the Pope flattered himself that Heaven was about
to make up for the domestic disasters of his reign
by making him the instrument of the reclamation
of England to the Papal faith.
Little significance did the Pope see, if he saw the
fact at all, in the fact that at least five sixths of all
the Catholics in England were Irish by birth or ex-
traction. The gains among the higher classes, and
in political influence, by no means constituted any
loss to genuine Protestantism. The religious de-
nominations, earnestly Protestant the Independ-
ents, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. no
more suffered from secessions to Rome than the
same denominations in the United States. Only
the Church of England felt alarm from the inroads
of Rome, and even that Church was only relieved
of a few nobles and clergymen, whose Romeward
tendencies compromised and embarrassed her.
Upon the Protestant character of England the
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 407
movement exerted a beneficial influence. While
the privileged classes of England were drawing
nearer to the most conservative and backward-
looking power in Europe, the masses in England,
as in Italy, Spain, Austria, and, indeed, in almost
every civilized country in the world, were moving
forward in a contrary direction, and causing to the
Church of Rome losses a hundred fold greater than
her gains in England.
The alarm which some have expressed, in conse-
quence of the concession of some of the English
nobility and a few Ritualistic clergymen to Popery,
is without just foundation. " In many instances
the family histories would show some ancestral
mental tendency or aberration, adequately explain-
ing the phenomena." Such eccentricities are ab-
nojmal and sporadic, not affecting the great middle
classes, upon whom the character and destiny of
the nation depend, nor the laws of population, of
opinion, and of progress, before which Romanism
is doomed the world over. " No thinkers are more
humbugged than those who suppose that because
of an occasional local movement of Popery, like
that in England, the civilization of the age is about
to give way, and the world roll backward. The
aberrations of the very planets are compensated
and rectified at last by the general laws of the
me'canique celeste"
408 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
In Papal America.
But Roman Catholics have confidently asserted
that in America they are retrieving their waning
fortunes. The most clamorous and preposterous
statements of Protestant declension and Papal
growth have been made by Papists and various
classes of skeptics. The recent utterances of Mr.
Froude, in the " North American Review," have
been not the least remarkable, but are characteris-
tically inaccurate, borrowed largely from his imag-
ination rather than from facts.
Looking, first, at the whole American field,
North and South, we notice the familiar fact that
one hundred years ago, and even until within about
fifty years, all South America was Roman Catholic.
Not a single Protestant Church existed on that
vast continent, unless, perhaps, in Guiana. But in
1872 sixteen Protestant missionary societies occu-
pied 37 stations, and sustained 84 clerical and lay
laborers there. Since that time the number has
been increased, and within three years that re-
doubtable apostolic missionary, Rev. William Tay-
lor, has projected a line of missions all along the
western coast, and in Brazil, with favorable indica*
tions.
Less than a generation ago the Roman Catholic
Church in Mexico was the richest ecclesiastical es-
tablishment in the world, with landed property
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 409
mortgages, and rents, worth $150,000,000, besides
untold millions invested in cathedrals, Church edi-
fices of the costliest construction, gold and silver
vessels, etc. 108 church edifices in the city of
Mexico alone were worth $50,000,000. The rev-
enues of the clergy were large, the annual income
of the archbishop being at one time $130,000, and
of eight bishops $400,000. The Roman Catholics
of Mexico repeatedly contributed * of their ample
means to aid the struggling Catholics of the United
States in establishing their Churches among us.
But this vast and powerful establishment has re-
ceived a stunning blow, from which it can never
recover. The Inquisition, with its horrors, existed
until within a quarter of a century. The orders of
friars, nuns, sisters of charity, and the Jesuits have
all been disbanded and abolished in Mexico, and
the magnificent churches and convent buildings for-
merly occupied by those orders have been offered
for sale by the general government. Since 1861
six distinct Protestant missions have been estab-
lished, numbering now 23 principal stations, 88
sub-stations, 53 ordained missionaries, 98 lay-
helpers, about 8,700 communicants, and 16 Bible
and Tract depositories, all protected by the gov-
ernment, f
* " History of Catholic Church in the United States," pp. 355, 356.
By De Courcy.
t At the Conference of Foreign Missions in London, in 1878,
410 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Passing to the North, we find the vast region of
the two Canadas, as late as the time of the English
Conquest, wholly Roman Catholic, and about a
fifth part of the population of the more easterly
maritime provinces of the present British dominion
was also of the same faith :
In 1765 The Canadas
Popula-
tion.
. 60 810
Roman
Catholic.
69 810
Protest-
ant.
I 7l8
9061*
" New Brunswick and P.
" Cape Breton
Ed. Isle 1,196
152
276
1,024 f
2J.-I
Total 83,304 71,956 11,228
Here are six and a half Roman Catholics to one
Protestant.
In 1820, according to Mackenzie's "Messenger,"
the proportion of the Roman Catholics to the
Protestants was as 19 to 7. In 1851 the religious
census of New Brunswick was not taken ; but for
the remaining provinces of the present British do-
minion the figures were, Roman Catholics, 983,680 ;
Protestants, 1,065,728; not given, 69,652; Jews,
354; Mormons, 259, or ten Protestants to nine
Roman Catholics. In 1861 the statistics for all
the provinces were, 1,680,790; Roman Catholics,
I >37 2 >9 2 3 j Jews, 1,195 ; Mormons, in; not given,
Senora Liva said there were 6l Protestant congregations and 7,000
converts to Protestantism in Mexico. Report of said Conference,
p. 89.
* Not given, 100. f Not given, 20.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 411
35,542; or 16 Protestants to 13 Catholics. In 1871
there were 1,967,532 Protestants, 1,492,033 Roman
Catholics, 1,015 Jews, 534 Mormons, and 22,630
not given, or 19 Protestants to 14 Roman Cath-
olics.
The relative progress may be stated as follows:
In 1765-67 there was I Protestant for 6 Roman Catholics.
In 1820 " i " " 2? "
In 1851 " 1^3 " " i Roman Catholic.
In 1861 " I T 3 * " " I "
In 1871 " ij " " I
PROPORTION OF THE WHOLE POPULATION.*
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
In 1765-67 14 per cent. 86 per cent.
In 1820 27 " 73 "
In 1851 50.29 " 46.41 "
In 1861 54.38 " 44.42
In 1871 56.45 " 42.80 "
Here are decided indications of the relative prog-
ress of Protestantism and the relative decline of
Romanism, in the whole territory of the British
Dominion. Instead of only 10 Protestants for 65
Romanists, as in 1765-67, there are 86f Protestants
for 65 Romanists. Protestantism has gained 42.45
per cent, on the whole population, and Romanism
has lost 43.20 per cent, on the whole population.
Examining the leading provinces singly, we find
Romanism greatly preponderant, and even rela-
tively gaining a little upon Protestantism, in Lower
Canada.
* See Table XXIV, in Appendix.
412 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
PROPORTION OF THE WHOLE POPULATION.
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
In 1851 15.4 per cent. 83.8 per cent.
In 1871 14.2 " 85.6 "
Here is a relative loss of 1.2 per cent, by Prot-
estantism, and a relative gain of 1.8 per cent, by
Romanism. The actual gain by Romanism was
272,796 inhabitants, and by Protestantism 31,308
inhabitants.
In Upper Canada the situation and prospect are
very different. Protestantism is vastly in the as-
cendency, and is growing more rapidly than Ro-
manism.
PROPORTION OF THE WHOLE POPULATION.
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
1851. . . . 741,422, or 77.8 per cent. 167,695, or 17.6 per cent.
1871.... 1,325,053, or 81.7 " 274,166, or 16.9 "
In twenty years Protestantism actually gained
583,631, or 3.9 per cent, on the whole population ;
and Romanism actually gained 106,471, but lost
relatively seven tenths of i per cent, on the whole
population.
In Nova Scotia the numerical strength of Prot-
estantism is nearly three times as great as Roman-
ism ; and its relative gain on the whole population,
from 1851 to 1871, was a little greater than that of
Romanism.
PROPORTION TO THE WHOLE POPULATION.
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
1851. . . . 186,383, or 67.3 per cent. 69,131, or 24.8 per cent,
1871.... 284,299, or 73.3 " 102,001, or 20.8 "
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
Protestantism gained, actually, 97,916, and, rel-
atively, 6 per cent, on the whole population. Ro-
manism gaired, actually, 32,870, and, relatively, 1.5
per cent, on the whole population.
The religious census of New Brunswick was not
taken in 1851. The comparison, therefore, for that
province, will be made between the years 1861 and
1871, when it was as follows :
PROPORTION TO THE WHOLE POPULATION.
Protestants. Roman Catholics.
166,264, or 65.9 per cent. 85,238, or 33.8 per cent.
188,948, or 66.1 " 96,016, or 33.6
1861...
1871...
The actual gain of Protestantism was 22,684,
its relative gain on the population was only two
tenths of i per cent. The actual gain of Romanism
was 10,778, and it lost, relatively, two tenths of I per
cent, on the population.
The numerical exhibit of the religious denomina-
tions in the British Dominion in 1871 was as follows:*
Denomination. Canada
Roman Catholics... 274,166
Baptists 86,630
Congregationalists . . 12,856
Church of England. 331,484
Jews 518
Lutherans 32,399
Methodists 462,264
Mormons 460
Presbyterians 356,449
Quakers. 7,io6
Other denominations 33,863
Without creed 4,908
Not given 13,849
Lower
Canada.
New
Brunswick.
Nova
Scotia.
1,019,850
96,016 102,001
1,492,033
8,6^6
70,597 73,430
239,343
5,252
1,193 2,538
21,841
62,636
45,48l 55,143
494,744
549
4 8
**S
496
82 4,958
37,935
34,100
39,856 40,871
567,091
59 15
S34
46,165
38,852 103,539
545,oo5
116
26 96
7,345
11,780
2,861 3,724
54,228
420
131 116
5,575
1,461
392 ,353
17,055
e XXIV,
in Appendix.
414 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Within the present territorial area of the United
States there are large sections once wholly under
the control of the Roman Catholic Church. The
only religious occupancy was exclusively Roman
Catholic. Rome had the opportunity of shaping
the religious life, and possessing it wholly. It is a
fair inquiry, What is the relative strength of Ro-
manism and Protestantism in these regions ? Sta-
tistics show that Protestantism has invaded this
territory, once exclusively occupied by the papacy,
and has far outrun it in the race of progress.
Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and California were
occupied by papal missions before Protestantism
gained its first permanent foothold within the
original United States, (and they long continued
under the religious sway of the papacy.) In Florida
and Texas no Protestant Churches were planted
until within the present century, and not many until
within fifty or sixty years ; in California, not until
within a generation ; and in New Mexico not until
fifteen years ago. In the gulf region, ancient
Louisiana, (comprising the whole region west and
north-west of the Mississippi,) Illinois, Wisconsin,
and Michigan, the Roman Catholic Church was the
only religious force. The Indian missions were nu-
merous, and the French-Indian trading-posts and
forts were extensive. Cahokia, Kaskaskia, the
Wabash region, and Detroit, had considerable pop-
ulations, some of the settlements dating back as
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 415
far as the founding of Philadelphia. Rome pre-
empted this large field. No Protestant Churches
were founded in Illinois until about 1800; in Loui-
siana, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, and Michigan,
until some years later ; in Wisconsin and Arkansas,
until more than thirty years later ; in Detroit, until
1815 ; and in St. Louis, until 1818. The first Prot-
estant Churches, in many localities, encountered
strong papal prejudices and even persecution.
Maryland, as an original papal colony, belongs in
this list. Such was the beginning.
What progress have Protestantism and Roman-
ism made in these large regions ? The impartial
statistics of the United States census shall tell the
story :
CHURCH EDIFICES IN 1870.
States. Methodist.* Baptist.t
Other Evang'l Total
Protestant. Protestant.
Roman
Catholic.
Maryland . .
757
78
397
1,232
103
Michigan. . .
469
232
481
1,182
148
Illinois
1,124
571
1,166
2,861
249
Missouri. . .
626
518
508
1,652
166
Wisconsin. .
3Q6
141
590
1,127
304
Arkansas . .
485
397
144
1,026
n
Louisiana. .
202
208
80
490
102
Mississippi.
77 6
652
302
1,730
27
Alabama. . .
892
772
240
1,904
19
Florida ....
215
123
48
386
9
California . .
155
44
136
335
144
New Mexico
I
I
3
5
149
Texas
24.4.
211
TO7
CQ2
36
Total . .
*f*T
*- J 1
oy*
3
6,342
3,948
4,232
14,522
1,187
* All branches of Methodism. f All kinds of Baptists.
4i6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
In these originally papal regions Protestantism
had, in 1870, 14,522 church edifices, and Romanism
1,187, or less than one twelfth as many. The
Methodists had 6,342 Churches, or 5^- times as many
as Romanism ; and the Baptists 3,948, or 3^ times
as many as the Roman Catholics.
CHAPTER III.
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS AND STATUS IN
THE UNITED STATES.
DIFFICULTIES OF THE SITUATION.
I. THE ACTUAL PROGRESS.
The Evangelical Churches.
The Liberal Churches.
The Roman Catholic Church.
II. THE RELATIVE PROGRESS.
The Churches Compared with the Population.
The Evangelical, Liberal, and. Catholic Churches Com-
pared with each other.
The Churches and Higher Education.
Modern and Early Christian Progress.
Encouraging Conclusion.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 419
CHAPTER III.
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS AND STATUS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
boast of Romanists of their great growth
-*- in this country; the frequently expressed fears
that the Papacy will gain the ascendency here ; the
oft-repeated assertions of skeptics that Christianity
is being outgrown by the population, and is des-
tined to be left behind in the march of progress;
the impressions of some that the " Liberal "
Churches are relatively advancing more than the
"Evangelical" Churches; the misapprehensions
and despondency of some good people in regard
to the condition of the Churches of the United
States ; the fact that here Christianity exists under
conditions unknown (purely voluntary) for long
centuries, awakening much interest and inquiry
among European divines and statesmen, now
pressed with the question of Disestablishment ; and
the great intrinsic importance of the question of
religious progress in this country, in the estimation
of those who believe that our nation and its Church-
es sustain an intimate relation to the best progress
and welfare of the world, these are reasons which
27
PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
prompt to a closer analysis and a more extended
examination of the growth and status of religion in
the United States. Nearer access to the necessary
data favors our task, and enables us to do what we
could not do in our sketches of religious progress
in Europe.
But we shall fail to appreciate the growth and
present position of American Christianity, unless we
first briefly consider some of the local difficulties
and competing forces with which it has had to con-
tend during this century.
Consider the vast extent of the field which Chris-
tianity in the United States has been called to fill
and provide for, religiously, during the last eighty
years.
The immense region from the Alleghanies to the
Pacific has been opened and largely occupied al-
most entirely since the year 1800. At that time
there were probably less than 200 Church organiza-
tions in this vast area, of about 2,500,000 square
miles, exclusive of Alaska, equal to about twelve
times the area of France. Five eighths of the
States and Territories of our nation have been or-
ganized in this region, and Christianity has been
called upon to furnish to these numerous com-
munities religious institutions and watchcare, and
all the appointments of a Christian civilization. In
the year 1870 there were in this trans-Alleghany
territory 37,855 Protestant Church organizations,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 421
with 30,687 church edifices, valued at $97,183,492,
besides 47,637 Evangelical Protestant Sunday-
schools, and several hundred colleges, universities,
theological seminaries, and academies, founded and
sustained by the Churches, and numerous other in-
stitutions and societies incidentally connected with
them and dependent upon them. To prepare this
great work has severely tested the pecuniary re-
sources, the benevolence, and the zeal of the Amer-
ican Churches.
Consider the unparalleled increase of the population
of the United States.
In 1800 our population numbered five and a
third millions, in 1880 a little more than fifty mill-
ions, a nine and a third fold increase in eighty years,
probably greater than in any other country in an-
cient or modern times. The " Compendium of the
United States Census for 1850," p. 131, contains a
table which shows the growth of leading European
nations in population through long terms of years.
Those increasing the least rapidly gained at the
rate of about three fourths of one per cent, annu-
ally, and the nation gaining most rapidly increased
at the rate of little more than two and a half per
cent. (2.73) annually ; but the United States, from
1800 to 1850, gained eight and seventeen one hun-
dredths (8.17) per cent, annually in her population.
An increase of 45,000,000 of people in eighty years
has devolved great responsibilities upon the Ameri-
422 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
can Churches. To religiously care for these rapidly
multiplying millions has seriously taxed the activity
and zeal of the religious bodies.
Consider the character of the new populations added
to our original stock.
If these new additions were homogeneous the
case would be much more favorable, for then they
could be more easily molded and saved by the
American Churches.
To go no farther back than 1850, in the last thirty
years about eight millions of foreigners have been
added to our population. Their immediate offspring
are at least four millions more. Twelve millions of
persons, foreign in character, ideas, and sympathies,
have thus been incorporated into our national life
in these years. During this period the total popu-
lation of the United States increased about twenty-
seven millions, of which twelve millions, or four
ninths, almost one half, was essentially foreign.
Of these twelve millions not less than three fifths
were originally Roman Catholic. Going back to
the beginning of our history, the editor of the
" Irish World" (July 25, 1874) calculated that the
original Catholic stock entering this country, and
their descendants, if all had remained true to Ro-
manism, would make (in 1874) a Roman Catholic^
population of about twenty-four millions. - At the
present time they would number twenty-six millions.
Besides these there have been other adverse ele-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 423
ments communists, nihilists, rationalists, and skep-
tics of various grades, convicts, and paupers.
A goodly number of exceptions to these classes
have been received, from the British Provinces in
North America, from Great Britain and Ireland, and
from the European Continent, who have come shoul-
der to shoulder with our best moral, religious, and
philanthropic forces, in all good labors. All honor
to such. But the major portion have been very dif-
ferent. Large numbers have come from the prisons
and pauper houses of Europe to fill up the ranks
of our social outcasts. From a late report of the
Howard Society, of London, it appears that " seven-
ty-four per cent, of the Irish discharged convicts
have found their way to the United States." This
large influx of foreign criminals, added to our own
dangerous classes, has militated severely against
the public weal.
The major part of these new-comers have been
not merely heterogeneous, but positively antago-
nizing forces largely anti-Protestant, anti-Sabbath,
anti-Bible, and anti-temperance and have assailed
this young Republic in the experimental period of
its existence. The infusion of such large adverse
elements into our national life has occasioned a
severe strain upon public virtue, and enhanced
the labors and responsibilities of the Protestant
Churches.
Such have been some of the disadvantages under
424 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
which the Protestant Churches of the United States
have prosecuted their work. What has been the
progress ?
The question of progress will be considered in a
twofold form : actual 'and relative. The Evangelical
Protestant Churches will be selected first, because
they historically and numerically constitute the
leading religious force of the country ; * next, the
Churches commonly designated as Liberal; and then
the Roman Catholic. The actual progress of each
will be first considered ; then their relative prog-
ress, as. compared with the population, with each
other, and with the progress of higher education.
I. THE ACTUAL PROGRESS.
Since the year 1800 the most remarkable progress
has been made by the Protestant Churches of the
United States, far exceeding any thing ever seen
elsewhere, even in the apostolic era. The exhibit
of this progress is truly wonderful. In preparing
and stating it, great care and research have been
exercised, that it may be worthy of the fullest con-
fidence. In making the comparisons, periods have
been selected furnishing the most full and reliable
data, and abnormal periods have been excluded.
* This classification is made for this additional reason, that the
Evangelical, the Liberal, and the Roman Catholic Churches stand
before the public as competing forces ; and the public mind has long
been accustomed to make comparisons between them.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 4 2 S
" EVANGELICAL " DENOMINATIONS.*
Church Organizations.
In the year 1775, according to Rev. Robert
Baird, D.D.,f there were 1,918 Church organizations
of this class. The United States census for 1870
gives 64,914 \ of this kind an increase of 62,996
since 1775. In Tables II to V (Appendix of this
volume) we have the following statistics of Church-
es, organizations, and congregations. In some in-
stances congregations are given, as the Lutherans ;
in others, parishes, as the Episcopalians ; but in
most instances the Church organizations, which
perhaps themselves are somewhat variable bodies.
They comprise what may generally be called so-
cieties.
In 1800 3,030
In 1850 43,072
In 1870 70,148
In 1880 97,090
These figures, being made up on the same basis
for each period, answer very well in representing the
remarkable progress of the Churches a thirty-two
fold increase in eighty years, and an increase of
26,942 in the last ten years, largely in the new com-
munities of the great trans-Mississippi territories,
and as yet small and feeble, but like all similar be-
ginnings.
* For a list of these denominations, see Tables I-V, in Appendix,
f " Religion in America," p. 210. Harper & Brothers.
\ See Table XIII, in Appendix.
426 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Church Edifices.
No statistics of this item, in the United States
census, antedate 1850. Nor are the data for 1880
yet available to the public. The Church edifices*
of the Evangelical Protestant bodies were as follows :
In 1850, 34,537; in 1860, 48,037; in 1870, 56,154.
Inasmuch as the statistics of the number of sit-
tings and the valuation are largely estimates, and
have been topics of frequent comment, we will not
introduce them here.
Ministers.
By referring to Tables I-V the following statis-
tics of the number of ordained ministers of the
evangelical Churches will be found :
In 1775 1.435
In 1800 2,651
In 1850 25,555
In 1870 47,609
In 1880 69,870
In addition to these there are between 30,000 and
' 40,000 local preachers, licentiates, etc. An increase
of 44,315 ordained ministers in thirty years, and
22,261 in the last ten years, is a vast augmentation
of the evangelical forces of the country.
Su nday- Schools.
This great religious agency, one of the most act- t
ive, conspicuous, and important in our times, is
wholly the product of a century. Founded in En-
* See Table XIII, in Appendix.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 427
gland in its distinctive character, 1780-84, a few
organizations only were effected in the United
States prior to 1800; so that, in this country, it
may be said to be the work of the past eighty years.
The statistics for the United States, in 1880, as
prepared by Mr. E. Payson Porter, Statistical Sec-
retary of the International Sunday-School Conven-
tion for the United States and the British Amer-
ican Provinces, are as follows : Sunday-schools,*
82,261; teachers. 886,328; scholars, 6,623,124; to-
tal, 7,509,452.
In 1830 the number of Sunday-school scholars in
the United States f was 570,000. The increase in
fifty years has been over 6,000,000. In 1830 there
was I Sunday-school scholar for 22 inhabitants. In
1880 there was I Sunday-school scholar for 7J- in-
habitants a threefold increase, relatively.
Communicants.
The United States census has never included the
ecclesiastical communicants. The only recourse,
therefore, is to the " Year-Books " and published
" Minutes" of the Churches. From these sources
we have collated and prepared, with great research
and care, tables (Appendix, II-V) which furnish the
following summaries :
* These are statistics of the Sunday-schools of the " Evangelical "
Churches. No others are thoroughly tabulated. See Table VII, in
Appendix.
f See "American Quarterly Register," 1830.
428 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Communicants. Increase.
In 1800 364,872
In 1850 3,529,988 3,165,116
In 1870 6,673,396 3,143,408
In 1880 10,065,963 3,392,567
Gain from 1800 to 1880 9,701,091
These are remarkable gains. It will be noticed
that the increase from 1870 to 1880 was a little
more than in the next previous twenty years,
(1850-1870,) and more than in the first fifty years,
(1800-1850.) And the gain of 9,701,091 enrolled
communicants, in the last eighty years, is a stu-
pendous record of religious progress, without a par-
allel in any former times.
The receipts * of three leading benevolent
agencies of the Evangelical Churches the For-
eign and Home Mission Boards and the Relig-
ious Publication Houses afford impressive ex-
hibits :
From 1800 to 1860 $76,876,338
From 1860 to 1880. 162,512,844
Total from 1800 to 1880 $239,389,182
THE " LIBERAL " CHURCHES.
Church Organizations.
The United States census gives the following inl
1870: New Jerusalem, 90 ; Spiritualist, 95 ; Unita-
* See Tables XV, XVI, XVII, in Appendix, for a full view of
these offerings.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 4 2 9
rian, 331; Universalist, 719; making a total* of
1,135.
The " Year-Books " of these denominations fur-
nish the following statistics of parishes : f
1840. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880.
Unitarian 230 246 254 328 335
Universalist 853 1,069 1,264 917 956
New Jerusalem 20 .... 38 .... 93
Christians^: 1,500 .... 1,500 .... 1,200
2,603 .... 3,056 .... 2,584
Many persons connected with these four bodies
are, doubtless, Evangelical Christians, but it is im-
possible for us to discriminate in these statistics.
As denominations they are distinct from the evan-
gelical Churches. Great pains have been taken
to obtain the above data, and every thing has
been collated from official sources. The footings
show an increase of 453 parishes from 1840 to
1860, but a decrease of 472 parishes since 1860,
leaving now 19 less than in 1840. The Unita-
rians and the New Church have gained 136 par-
ishes since 1860; but the Universalists and the
Christians have lost, the former 308, and the
latter 300,
* The census reports comprise the Christians with the Disciples,
so that they cannot be tabulated. They are quite different bodies.
* f In the United States.
Official estimates. Those for 1840 are from Rev. David Mil-
lard ; for 1880, from the Christian Publishing Agent, Da.yton, Ohio
All agree in acknowledging a decline since 1840.
See Tables VIII and X, in Appendix.
43Q PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
"Liberal" Church Edifices.
The United States census gives the following
summaries:
1850. 1860. 1870.
Unitarian 245 264 310
Universalist 530 664 602
New Jerusalem 21 58 6r
Spiritualist 17 22
Total* 796 1,003 995
Here is a decrease of 8 church edifices from 1860
to 1870. While the others have had small gains,
the Universalists have lost 62.
Communicants.
The figures for this item in 1880, given by a leading
official of the Christian denomination, are 100,000,
which he says is " an estimate, but carefully made."
In 1844 Rev. David Millard estimated their members
at 325,000. They suffered very much from the Ad-
vent excitement, and have since declined. In 1870
they were estimated in their Minutes at " a little
short of 150,000."
The Swedenborgians report 3,994 communi-
cants, fifteen of their Churches not reporting. The
Universalists report 37,646 communicants in the
United States. They have given this last itenf
only since 1872.
* The Christians, being combined with the Disciples in the
United States census, cannot therefore be tabulated here.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 431
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The question of Roman Catholic growth in the
United States is one of interest the world over.
Conceding heavy losses in the old countries, it has
been the habit of Romanists to boast of their large
gains in this country, sufficient to compensate for
their losses elsewhere.
Has the Roman Catholic Church realized a large
actual increase in the United States? And has it
relatively increased ? Yes : no.
It has made large accessions to its numbers, mul-
tiplied its adherents manifold, increased its churches,
priests, schools, convents, etc., and appointed high
ecclesiastics in the main centers of the population.
It has organized about eighty brotherhoods and
sisterhoods here, whose monasteries and convents
are nearly a thousand, and who number their work-
ing members by tens of thousands. Its parochial
schools are more than two thousand, and the pupils
nearly half a million. It exerts a very large, and,
in some localities, a controlling, influence in politics.
Its magnificent cathedrals, its artistic music, its
subtle logic, and its political patronage, have capti-
vated and led away some of our Protestant popula-
tion. It was never plotting more deeply and des-
perately than now, and some fear it will yet severely
test the safety of our free institutions. There will
be need of vigilance and hard work ; but it will not
triumph.
432 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Roman Catholic Church Edifices.
According to the Census the church edifices
were: in 1850, 1,222; in 1860, 2,550; 1870, 3,806.
An increase of 2,584, or twofold. The value of this
church property in 1870 was $60,985,506 a very
considerable increase over fifty millions of dollars
in thirty years.
The statistics of Roman Catholic churches, chap-
els,* and stations, as given in their Year-Books, are
as follows :
1111850 1,830 In 1870 5,392
In 1860 3,797 In 1880 8,540
These figures also indicate a large increase, as do
also those in their Year-Books, which give the num-
ber of the
Priests, f
In 1850 1,302 In 1870 3,966
In 1860 2,316 In 1880 6,402
Other Roman Catholic Statistics
show great growth in the past thirty years :
1850. 1880.
Dioceses 29 69
Ecclesiastical Students 322 1,170
Male Religious Houses 35 176
Female Religious Houses 65 673
Educational Institutions for Young
Men and Young Ladies 123 618
Parochial Schools No report. 2,389
Pupils in Parochial Schools " " 1 23,383
Hospitals, Asylums, etc 108 386
* See Table XII in Appendix. f Ibid.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
433
Roman Catholic Population.
Without any definite statistics of their popula-
tion, and dependent upon conjectural estimates,
it is not strange that the most diverse and even
amusing statements of their numerical strength
should be made. Taking only those of the Roman
Catholics themselves, and going no farther back
than the famous letter of Bishop England, in 1837,
we present the following contradictory, but instruct-
ive, estimates, and the authority for each :
ROMAN CATHOLIC POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
Year, j Estimates. | Catholic Authorities.
1800,
1837.
1840.
H
1845.
1850.
1852.
1853.
i860.
100,000.
1,000,000.
to
1,200,000.
1,300,000.
1,500,000.
1,071,800.
1,614,000.
2,000,000.
3,000,000.
3,500,000.
1,930,000.
3,500,000.
4,000,000.
4,500,000.
REV. I. T. HECKER, "Catholic World," 1879,
generally accepted.
Bishop England, of South Carolina, in letter
to the Propaganda, at Lyons, said : " It is doubt-
ful whether the number of Catholics rises above
a million, but it may amount to 1,200,000."
"Metropolitan Catholic Almanac," 1841.
Rev. I. T. Hecker, "Catholic World," 1879.
"Metropolitan Catholic Almanac," for 1846.
Fourteen dioceses, estimated by the Bishops,
gave 811,800. Eight dioceses, estimated by the
editor, 260,000 more. The editor says, this num-
ber " cannot fall short of the truth," though " less
than for several years past."
"METROPOLITAN CATH. ALMANAC," 1851.
" Annals " of the Lyons Propaganda.
Archbishop Hughes.
Rev. I. T. Hecker, in " Catholic World," 1879.
"Metropolitan Catholic Almanac." Also in-
dorsed by Rev. Dr. Mullens, of Ireland.
Archbishop Hughes.
Bishop O'Connor, of Pittsburgh.
Rev. I. T. Hecker, in "Catholic World," 1879.
434 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ROMAN CATHOLIC POPULATION OF THE U. S. (Continued.)
Year.
Estimates.
Catholic Authorities.
1865.
4,4OO,OOO.
"The Catholic World."
1866.
5,000,000.
" Civita Catholica" Papal organ, Rome.
1868.
5,000,000.
"The Catholic World."
9,000,000
Hon. J. F. Maguire, member of Parliament,
to
from Cork, in his book, " The Irish in America,"
10,000,000.
p. 539, says : " I am inclined to agree with those
who regard from nine to ten millions of Cath-
olics as a fair and moderate estimate."
I86 9 .
3,354,000.
" German Catholic Year-Book," by Rev. E. A.
Reitter, a Jesuit priest, Buffalo, N. Y. In the
preface, pp. 6, 7, the editor says : " After the
nearest possible account of the German Cath-
olics in the United States, that is, of such as have
their children baptized, their number is 1,044,000.
The number of Catholics of all other nations is
2,310,000, making the whole number 3,354,000,
which is less than is commonly thought. ... If
to these are added the incredibly large number
of those who, after their arrival in this country,
have only too soon thrown over their Catholic
faith, we may with good reason, as the judgment
of those who know, and my experience of fifteen
years has taught me, add one half to the number
above, which would bring it to 5,031,000. Yet
such cannot now or ever be taken into account ;
as in this country nothing is more seldom than
a backslidden Catholic ever to be reclaimed, even
on their death-beds"
f <
6,000,000
to
" Catholic World."
7,000,000.
1870,
4,600,000,
"SADLIER'S CATHOLIC DIRECTORY" gives
thirty-four dioceses reporting estimates amount-
ing to 2,649,800. The remaining twenty-four
dioceses comprise eight of the very largest, five
quite large, and others much smaller. Suppos-
ing the twenty-four not reporting to average with
those reporting, we have 4,600,000 for the total.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
435
ROMAN CATHOLIC POPULATION OF THE U. S. (Continued.)
Year.
Estimates.
Catholic Authorities.
1870.
10,000,000.
" The St. Peter's," in reply to the " New York
Times," said, "The Roman Catholics in the
United States are ten millions strong."
<
5,000,000.
"The Catholic Telegraph," Cincinnati, said
the estimate of " The St. Peter's " would be cor-
rect had Romanism kept all its children received
by immigration, but it had lost half of them.
1872.
8,000,000.
"Catholic World," June, 1872, " We number
8,000,000 souls."
1875.
6,000,000.
Kehoe, manager of the Catholic Publication
Society, New York.
1876.
9,000,000.
Father Sack ; estimated on the basis of three
masses to each priest, and each priest represent-
ing a congregation of 2,000 devout, indifferent,
children, etc.
U
6,500,000.
" History of the Catholic Church in the United
States," by J. O'Kane Murray, p. 577.
M
6,240,000.
" Sadlier's Catholic Directory;" five dioceses
not reporting that year, supplied from estimates
given in other years.
M
Over
6,000,000.
"Catholic Family Almanac," 1876.
877-
6,304,950.
" Sadlier's Catholic Directory;" eight dioceses
not reporting that year, supplied from estimates
given in other years.
1878.
Over
Mr. Kehoe's Report to Bureau of Statistics,
7,000,000.
Washington, D. C.
44
7,000,000.
Rev. I. T. Hecker, in "Catholic World,"
1879.
II
9,000,000.
A priest in Indiana, estimating like Father
Sack.
<(
6,375,630.
"Sadlier's Catholic Directory," 1879, all dio-
ceses reported.
1879.
6,143,222.
"Sadlier's Catholic Directory," 1880, all dio-
ceses reported.
1880.
6,367,330.
"SADLIER'S CATHOLIC DIRECTORY," 1881.
All but three very small dioceses reported.
28
436 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The striking variations of the foregoing estimates,
even those of high Roman Catholic officials, show
the necessity of careful discrimination in order to
arrive at satisfactory numbers of the Roman Cath-
olic population. We notice five estimates, between
1868 and 1876, which exceed almost all made since
1876. And the estimates given by the Catholic
Directories and Almanacs, all the way through,
contrast with the random figures of others. These
official estimates are all made up on the basis of
reports from the Bishops of the different dioceses,
each one estimating the Catholic population of his
diocese. Some years the Bishops neglect to esti-
mate their populations, and the editor supplies the
vacancy by some information at his command, or
from the estimates of other years.
Our statistics of the communicants of the Prot-
estant Churches are made up for the years 1800,
1850, 1870, and 1880. In order to future compar-
isons it is necessary, therefore, to select the most
reliable estimates of the Catholic population for
these years. For 1800, Protestants and Romanists
are agreed upon the number 100,000. For the
three remaining periods we take the estimates
given from the Catholic Year-Books, and thus have
bases for comparison made by uniform processes :
ROMAN CATHOLIC POPULATION.
I800 I00,000|l870 4,600,OOO
1850 1,614,000 I i860 6,367,330
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 437
These figures show a large Roman Catholic in-
crease. From 1800 to 1850 it averaged 302,800
each decade ; from 1850-1880, . 1,584,443 each
decade.
We have before noticed that the number of im-
migrants landed on our shores, from 1850 to Janu-
ary I, 1880, was about eight millions. Of these, at
least three fifths, or 4,800,000, were Roman Catho-
lics, which is 46,670 more than the total increase
of the Roman Catholic population in the same
period, as given in their Year-Books. Full seven
eighths of all the immigrants from Ireland have
been Papists. The Roman Catholic immigrants,
from all countries, and their offspring, during the
past thirty years, must have amounted to seven
millions, making no account of those here prior
to 1850, and their descendants. But their Year-
Book for 1 88 1 gives the total Catholic population
6,367,330, which is 632,670 less than the Catholic
immigration during the last thirty years, and their
natural increase, not to mention the natural increase
of those already here in 1850.
That Romanism has grown here, and very large-
ly, too, is unquestionable. And it is likely to grow
still more. Every thing grows in the United
States. But its gains have been almost wholly by
immigration, and its losses have been heavy, im-
mensely more than its gains. By its own acknowl-
edgment, it has lost millions. " This country is the
438 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
biggest grave for Popery ever dug on earth." Un *
der strongly predominant Protestant influences, her
children have been extensively alienated and lost
to the Church. Papists know this well, and hence
their hostility to our common-school system.
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES IN THE UNITED
STATES, AS ACKNOWLEDGED BY ROMANISTS.
Year.
1837.
1852.
Estimated
Losses.
2,800,OOO
to
3,OOO,OOO.
2,000,000.
One third
of all the
Irish immi-
grants.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
Thousands
lost in cities;
more in the
country.
Typical
cases of loss
of descend-
ants.
Bishop England, of South Carolina, in a let-
ter to Lyons Propaganda, said : " If there had
been no losses, the number of Catholics would
have amounted to 4,000,000." Deducting his
estimate (1,000,000 to 1,200,000) of Catholics
then living in the United States, we have the
annexed figures.
Rev. Robert Mullen, D.D., based upon an
elaborate statistical calculation, (" Christian
Union," August, 1852, p. 251.) He said:
" Of the number of Irish Catholics emigrating
to the United States one third at least are lost
to the Roman Catholic Church." He also
said that Rev. Bishop Reynolds, of Charleston,
S. C., told him, "You will save religion by
proceeding, on your return to Ireland, from
parish to parish, telling the people not to lose
their immortal souls by coming to America ;"
and that Archbishop Hughes said to him :
" The people at home (Ireland) do not fully
understand the position of the emigrants
thousands being lost in the large cities, while
in the country the faith has died out of multi-
tudes."
In the "Freeman's Journal," June 5, 1852, a
correspondent said': "We know of a Catholic
couple, who settled in an adjoining county
some seventy or eighty years ago ; their de-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
439
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued. )
Year.
Estimated
Losses.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
scendants are very numerous, but there is not
a Catholic now among them ! In another
county an old Irish couple are still living, and
still preferring the Catholic faith, whose chil-
dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren
number something over one hundred souls,
yet there are but two or three Catholics at
present among them."
1855.
Sixty per
The editor of the " Celt," lecturing in Ire-
cent, of the
land, advised his countrymen to " stay at home,
children.
because the Roman Catholic Church loses sixty
per cent, of the children of Roman Catholic
parents in the United States."
1862.
3,000,000
to 4,000,000.
Bishop of Toronto.
1864.
Five hun-
" The Tablet," New York city, said : " Few
dred lost to
insurance companies, we venture to assert,
Popery to one
would take a risk on the national life of a
convert from
creed which puts five hundred daily into the
Protestant-
grave for one it wins over to its communion ;
ism.
and yet this is what the Catholic Church is
doing, in these States, while we write."
1869.
"1,700,000
German Catholic " Year-Book."
in 15 years."
I8/-5-
Thousands
An archbishop in Ireland, after visiting the
upon thou-
United States, told his people in Ireland, " It
sands.
is far better for you to live here in poverty,
and die in the faith, and be sure of saving your
immortal souls, and going to heaven, than to
go to a country where thousands upon thou-
sands of our race, our .Irish race, deny the
faith."
1876.
Loss great-
" Life of Archbishop Spaulding." Speak-
er than the
ing of the period " in which the hierarchy has
gain.
been in existence, (1790-1876,)" the biogra-
pher says : " We have lost in numbers by far
440 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued.)
Year.
1876.
Estimated
Losses.
More fall-
en away than
now living.
18,000,000.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
more than we have gained, if I may express an
opinion, beyond all doubt."
Mr. J. O'Kane Murray, "History of Catho-
lic Church in United States," p. 583, says: "It
may be safely said that more Catholics have
fallen away from the faith in this country dur-
ing the last two centuries and a half than are
to-day living in it."
J. O'Kane Murray, " History of Roman
Catholic Church in the United States," pp.
610, 6n. The following is Mr. Murray's full
statement, and the basis on which it is pred-
icated :
" Two points frequently discussed are,
1. What are the relative proportions of the
Celtic and the Anglo-Saxon or English ele-
ment in the population of the United States ?
2. How many members has the Catholic
Church probably lost in this country? In re-
gard to the first question, there can be no
doubt that the Celtic element far exceeds that
of the Anglo-Saxon. This is a settled fact.
A careful analysis of our statistics proves it.
Just a quarter of a century ago the Hon. Will-
iam E. Robinson, in a remarkable speech at
Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y., said: 'I
think it would be quite good-natured in me to
allow that about one eighth of this country is
English, or what is called Anglo-Saxon.' By
means of statistics he then clearly demon-
strated the correctness of this opinion. (See
^New York Tribune,' July 30, 1851.) Rev.
Stephen Byrne, O.S.D., in his 'Irish Emigra-
tion to the United States,' 1873, puts the Celtic
element at one half of our present population,
the Anglo-Saxon at one fourth. The New
York 'Irish World,' whose editor, Mr. Ford,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
441
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued.)
Estimated
Losses.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
is well known as a diligent student of statis-
tics, holds that two thirds of our people are
Celts by birth or descent, and only about one
ninth are Anglo-Saxon.
"As to the Church's loss in the United
States, it is no easy problem to solve. Nei-
ther higher algebra nor calculus can help us to
grapple with it. The geologists say that past
time is long. As to its exact length, they hesi-
tate to put it into figures, or when they do,
scarcely two are alike. It is the same with
the American loss to the Faith. The earnest
student of our history is obliged to confess that
it was large ; but how large it may have been
is an unsettled question. The ' Irish World '
of July 25, 1874, maintained that 18,000,000
have been lost to Catholicity in this Republic.
It backed up this assertion with the following
table, which, I believe, is, in the main, reli-
able :
' ' Table Showing the Relative Proportions of
the Constituent Elements of the Population
of the United States in 1870, in which is
Indicated the Number of Catholics thai
should be in the Country now, (1874.)
I. Total white popu-
lation of the
thirteen colo-
nies at the close
of the Revolu-
tionary War . . 3,172,000
II. Relative propor-
tions of the
constituent ele-
ments in colo-
nial population
442 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued.)
Year.
1876.
Estimated
Losses.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
Celtic (Irish,
Scotch, Welsh,
French, etc.). . I, -903, 200
(Irish separately) 1,141,920
Anglo-Saxon . . . 841.800
Dutch and Scan-
dinavians .... 427,000
III. Product, in 1870,
of the popula-
tion of 1790 9,496,000
IV. Product, in 1870,
of the separate
elements of the
population of
1790:
Celtic 5,697,000"
(Irish separately) 3,418,200
Anglo-Saxon . . . 2,504,000
Dutch and Scan-
dinavians .... 1,295,000
V. Product, in 1870,
of population
gained by ac-
quisition of
new territory
since 1790 1,500,000
VI. Product, in 1870,
of Irish and
French immi-
gration from
Canada 2,000,000
VII. Total strength of
Colored ele-
ment in 1870 4,504,000
VIII. Total immigra-
tion to U. S.,
1790 to 1870 , 8,199,000
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
443
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued.)
Year.
1876^
Estimated
Losses.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
Irish immigra-
tion from 1790
101870 3,248,000
Anglo-Saxon im-
migration, from
1790101870.. 796,000
Immigration of
all other ele-
ments 4,155,000
IX. Product of total
immigration to
U. S., from
1790 to 1870 23,000,000
Product of Irish
immigration
(from 1790)... 9,750,000
Product of An-
glo-Saxon im-
migration(from
1790) 2,000,000
Product of all
other immigra-
tion(from 1790) 11,250,000
X. Total population
of U. S. in
1870 38,500,000
XI. Joint product, in
1870, of Irish
Colonial ele-
ment and sub-
sequent Irish
immigration
(including that
from Canada). 14,325,000
Joint product, in
1870, of Anglo-
Saxon Colonial
444 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
A TABULATED VIEW OF ROMAN CATHOLIC LOSSES, (Continued.)
Year.
I8 7 6.
Estimated
Losses.
Catholic Authorities, Remarks, etc.
element and
subsequent An-
glo-Saxon im-
migration .... 4,522,000
Joint product, in
1870, of all
other Colonial
elements and
all subsequent
immigiation
(including Col-
ored popula-
tion) 19,653,000
Total joint product 38,500,000
XII. Total Celtic element (Irish,
Scotch, French, Spanish,
Italian) in United States
in 1870 24,000,000
Total Irish element in U. S.
in 1870 14,325,000
Total Anglo-Saxon element
in U. S. in 1870 4,522,000
Total of all other elements
(not Celtic nor Anglo-
Saxon) in U. S. in 1870. . 9,978,000
"Almost the entire Celtic element (24,000,000)
might be safely regarded as the descendants
of men who were Catholics on settling in
America."
Is it asked, Has not Romanism, in spite of these
losses, relatively gained ? We answer, Yes : no.
In our plan of investigation we shall soon be ready
to enter upon this question. We next consider,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 445
II. THE RELATIVE PROGRESS.
I . What has been the progress of the three religions
forces under consideration the "Evangelical" Prot-
estant^ the "Liberal" and the Roman Catholic rela-
tively to the whole population of the United States.
THE EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS.
In 1775 there was one Church organization of this
class for 1,376 inhabitants; in 1870, one for 612 in-
habitants. Taking the societies, (before explained
as including in some instances parishes and congre-
gations,) there were, in 1800, one for 1,740 inhab-
itants ; in 1850, one for 895; in 1880, one for 520
inhabitants.
The ministers were, in 1775, one for 1,811 inhab-
itants; in 1800, one for 2,000 inhabitants; in 1850,
one for 907 inhabitants; in 1880, one for 717 in-
habitants.
How is it with the evangelical communicants ?
An impression prevails in some quarters that,
while the number of Church members in this coun-
try is constantly on the increase, the growth does
not keep pace with the increase of the population.
Some have contended that they are irrecoverably
falling behind. This question is one of general in-
terest ; and it can be determined only upon a well-
prepared basis of facts, covering a considerable term
of years.
446 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Twenty years ago a writer in the " Southern Ob-
server" showed that, in 1750, '.he proportion of
members of evangelical Churches to the entire pop-
ulation was one to thirteen ; in 1775, one to sixteen ;
in 1792, one to eighteen; in 1825, one to fourteen;
in 1855, one to six and three eighths ; in 1860, one to
five and a half. We have not at hand the statistics
upon which these conclusions are based ; and we
very much doubt whether definite data for the first
three periods ever were or ever can be obtained.
But we have no doubt of the substantial accuracy
of the conclusions, from what is well known of the
religious tendencies of those times, as already
sketched in previous chapters of this volume. For
the periods within the present century we have sta-
tistics which we believe to be as accurate as such
masses of statistics can well be, a great amount of
care, research, and correspondence having been de-
voted to the work, for the last ten years.
In a previous paragraph, we have given the
summaries showing the actual increase of the com-
municants. Compared with the population at the
different periods, we find the following results: In
1800 there was one evangelical communicant in
14.50 inhabitants in the whole country. In 1850
there was one in 6.57 inhabitants. In 1870 there
was one in 5.78 inhabitants. In 1 880 there was
one in 5 inhabitants.
These figures indicate a very large relative gain
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 447
upon the population three communicants in the
same number of inhabitants where there was one in
1800. While the population from 1800 to 1880
increased without a parallel in ancient or modern
times, devolving upon the Protestant Churches the
responsibility of meeting the religious needs of these
rapidly multiplying millions, it is creditable to them,
and an occasion of gratitude to God, that they have
so far met these extraordinary demands, and
achieved the brightest triumphs known in their
whole history.* While the population since 1800
* Some have thought that it cannot be true that one in every five
persons in the whole population is a communicant in the Evangelical
Churches. To this we reply, that many rural communities can be
found where the average is one in two or three inhabitants, as we
know from persnoal examination. A single city in Massachusetts,
of sixteen thousard inhabitants, has one Evangelical communicant in
five inhabitants. Within a radius of ten miles, which includes Boston,
Mass., there are about one in nine inhabitants, notwithstanding from
twenty-seven to thirty-eight per cent, are foreign born. The colored
communicants are relatively more numerous in proportion to their
whole population, than the white communicants to the white popu-
lation. The following are the totals of colored communicants :
African Methodist Episcopal Church 387,566
" Zion Church 300,000
Colored Methodist Episcopal Church 112,938
Methodist Episcopal Church 189,395
Baptist Church 661,358
American Missionary Association 4,961
Presbyterian Freedmen's Unions 11,108
Methodist Episcopal Church, South 1,245
Several other denominations 20,000
Ttal ... 1,688,571
The colored population of the United States in 1880 was 6,577,151.
The communicants of the colored Churches, therefore, were one for
three and nine tenths of the whole colored population.
448 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
has increased 9.46 fold, the communicants of these
Churches increased 27.58 fold, or almost three times
as fast relatively.
The period since 1850 has been one of severe
strain upon American Protestantism, on account of
the great activity of modern rationalism, material-
ism, and spiritualism, and the large immigration.
Because of these things, it has been claimed that,
whatever increase the Evangelical Churches have
had, they have, nevertheless, fallen behind the
growth of the population during the last thirty
years. But the statistics already noticed prove the
contrary. Even during this trying period, while
the population increased 116 per cent., the commu-
nicants of these Churches increased 185 per cent.,
or a half faster relatively than the population. And
during the severe strain of the depression in the
last decade, while the population increased 30 per
cent., the communicants increased 50 per cent.
The total increase of the communicants from 1850
to 1880 was 6,535,985, or more than twice as large
as the increase in the fifty years from 1800 to 1850.
The last thirty years, then, has been the period of
the grandest progress, both actually and relatively
THE LIBERAL CHURCHES AND THE POPULATION.
Combining the Unitarian, Universalist, New Jeru-
salem, and the Christian denominations, as in the
table on a previous page of this chapter, we have,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 449
SOCIETIES."
In 1840, 2,603, or one society for 6,557 inhabitants.
In i860, 3,056, " " 10,256
In 1880, 2,584, " " 19,427 "
In 1880 these societies were only one third as
many, in proportion to the whole population, as in
1840. They have steadily decreased relatively.
Making separate comparisons of two of these
denominations, we have
UNITARIAN SOCIETIES.
In 1840, 230, or one society for 74,215 inhabitants.
In 1860, 254, " " 123,792 "
In 1880, 335, " " 149,851
In 1880 the Unitarian societies were only one
half as many in the same population as in 1840. A
steady relative decrease.
UNIVERSALIST SOCIETIES.
In 1840, 853, or one society for 20,011 inhabitants.
In 1860, 1,264, " " 24,875
In 1880, 956, " " 52,510
In 1880 the Universalist societies were two and a
half times less relatively to the whole population
than in 1840.
Each of the above calculations clearly shows that
Liberal Christianity, as it has been pleased to style
itself, is signally failing to maintain itself in organ-
ized forms. The organizing element characteristic
of all life has been wanting, their attitude from the
450 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
beginning having been one of criticism toward the
generally accepted theology, and consequently neg-
ative rather than positive.
PROGRESS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
COMPARED WITH THE POPULATION.
This denomination has made a large advance,
relatively, upon the population. Three forms of
comparison will show this fact clearly.
According to the United States census the church
edifices of this body were :
In 1850, 1,222, or one church for 18,977 inhabitants.
In 1870, 3,806, " " " 10,130 "
According to the Roman Catholic "Year-Books'
their priests were:
In 1850, 1,302, or one priest for 17,812 inhabitants.
In 1870, 3,966, " " " 9,725
In 1880, 6,402, " " " 7,844
The Roman Catholic population, as estimated in
their " Year-Books," was :
In 1850, 1,614,000, or one Roman Catholic for 14.37 inhabitants.
In 1870, 4,600,000, " " " 8.38 "
In 1880, 6,367,330, " " " 7.88
At every point we discover evidences of a large
gain, relatively, upon the whole population of the
country. But the greatest gain was from 1850 to
1870. Since 1870 their relative gain has been very
small.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 451
2. What has been the progress of the Evangelical,
Liberal, and Roman Catholic denominations, as com-
pared with each other ?
The immense disparity of the Evangelical and the
Liberal Churches makes a comparison almost un-
necessary; but we will take a single point furnished
by an impartial source the United States census
the church edifices :
Evangelical.* Liberal.t
1850 34,537 796
1860 48,037 1,003
1870 56,154 995
From 1850 to 1870 the Evangelical church edi-
fices increased 21,617, and the Liberal 199; from
1860 to 1870 the Evangelical increased 8,117, and
the Liberal decreased 8. We have already shown \
that the "Year-Books" of the Liberal Churches
indicate the same fact.
The Evangelical Protestant and the Roman Catho-
lic churches require a more extended comparison.
Taking the church edifices we have :
Evangelical. Roman Catholic.
1850 34,537 1,222
I87Q 56,154 3,806
Increase 21,617 2,584
An increase of 2,584 Roman Catholic churches
in twenty years is small to the increase of 21,617
Evangelical churches.
* See Table XII, in Appendix.
f In a previous paragraph in this chapter. \ Ibid.
29
452 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Comparing the Evangelical ministers and the
Roman Catholic priests, we have the following :
Evangelical Roman Catholic
Ministers. Priests.
1850 25,555 1,302
i860 69,870 6,402
Increase 44,315 5,ioo
The percentage of the increase of the Roman
Catholic priests is much greater than that of the
Evangelical ministers, but the actual increase of
5,100 priests is a small offset to an increase of 44,315
Evangelical ministers.
We next compare the communicants of the Evan-
gelical Churches with the Roman Catholic popu-
lation :
Communicants. R. C. Population.
1850 3,529,988 1,614,000
1870 6,673,396 4,600,000
1880 10,065,963 6,367,330
Increase, 1850-1870. . 3,143,408 2,986,000
1870-1880.. 3,392,567 1,767,330
1850-1880.. 6,535,985 4,753,330
It appears that in the period of the largest Ro-
man Catholic immigration, from 1850 to 1870, the
increase of the enrolled communicants of the Evan-
gelical Churches was 157,408 larger than the increase
of the whole Roman Catholic population. In the
last ten years it was 1,625,237 greater; and in the
whole thirty years (1850-1880) it was 1,782,655
greater.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 453
While the Roman Catholic Church, largely aided
by immigration, has relatively gained upon the
population, it has, nevertheless, not gained upon
Protestantism. The Evangelical Protestant Church-
es, with only small accessions from abroad, have far
outstripped her. The increase of single classes of
Protestant Churches has far exceeded the whole in-
crease of Romanism. While the church edifices of
the Roman Catholic Church, from 1850 -to 1870,
increased 2,584, those of the several bodies bearing
the name Baptist increased 4,399 5 anc ^ of the various
bodies bearing the name Methodist, 9,035.. The
" Year-Books " of the Churches show that while the
Roman Catholic priests, from 1850 to 1880, increased
5,100, the ordained ministers of the various Presby-
terian bodies increased 4,276 ; of the Baptist bodies,
11,428; of the Methodist bodies, 15,430 the Bap-
tist alone more than twice as much, and the Meth-
odist alone three times as much. The ordained
ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North)
alone, and also of the Baptist Church (North and
South) alone, not to include other bodies bearing
the names Methodist and Baptist, are twice as nu-
merous as the Roman Catholic priests. Taking the
communicants of four classes of Churches, those
bearing the name Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran,
and United Brethren, leaving out of the account all
the Presbyterian, Congregational, Episcopal, and
about a dozen other Evangelical denominations,
454 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
increased more, from 1850 to 1880, than the whole
Roman Catholic population, as estimated in their
" Year-Books."
There is another view of this matter which must
not be overlooked. In all our comparisons, hitherto,
we have given Romanism every possible advantage.
We have compared the registered communicants of
the Evangelical Churches with the Roman Catholic
estimates, based upon conjectures or only meager
data ; and we have also compared these duly en-
rolled and yearly revised lists of communicants,
seven eighths of w r hom are above eighteen years of
age, with the whole Roman Catholic population.
Their estimates (we have it on the authority of
those who have assisted the Bishops in making
them) include whole households, all baptized chil-
dren as well as adults. The bases for comparison,
therefore, are very unlike, and unfair to evangelical
Protestantism.
In order to make the comparison equitable, the
whole population of the Evangelical Churches
should be compared with the Roman Catholic
population. This may be done by multiplying the
communicants of these Churches by 3^, (the usual
number is 4, but we prefer to not seem to overrate
any thing.) There must be at least two and a half
additional persons for every communicant who is an
adherent of the Evangelical Churches. Calculating
thus, we have the following results :
1800.
Population of United States, 5,308,483.
xx.
Illustrating the Relative Progress of the Evangelical
and Roman Catholic populations, and the whole
population of the United States.
[ ) Evangelical population.
) Roman Catholic "
Unclassified "
1850.
187O.
1H8O.
Population, 50,152,866,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 457
Population of the Roman Catholic
Evangelical Churches. Population.
In 1800 1,277,052 100,000
In 1850 12,354,958 1,614,000
In 1870 23,356,886 4,600,000
In 1880 35,230,870 6,367,330
These figures show the relative position and
growth of these two religious classes during the
century. The increase has been :
Evangelical Pop. R. C. Population.
I800-I880 33,953,8l8 6,267,330
1850-1880 22,875,912 4,753,330
1870-1880... 11,873,984 1,767,330
From 1800 to 1880 the Evangelical population
increased 5.42 times more than the whole Roman
Catholic population ; from 1850 to 1880, 4.80 times
more; and from 1870 to 1880, 6.72 times more.
The last ten years has been, relatively, the best for
Evangelical progress.
What percentage of the whole population has
been Evangelical Protestant, and what percentage
Roman Catholic, in these different periods, is an
interesting inquiry. The following is the state-
ment, and the diagram on the opposite page, with
measurements carefully calculated, will illustrate the
relative progress.
The Evangelical population was :
In 1800, 24.06 per cent, of the whole population.
In 1850, 53.22 " * " "
In 1870, 60.57 " ' " "
In 1880, 70.003 " " u
458 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
The Roman Catholics were,
In 1800, .02 per cent, of the whole population.
In 1850, .07 " " "
In 1870, 11.93 " " "
In 1880, 12.68 " " "
From the foregoing it will appear that the pro-
portion of the population of the United States, not
included as adherents of the Evangelical Churches,
in the different periods, was as follows :
In 1800, 75.94 per cent. In 1870, 39.43 per cent.
In 1850, 46.78 " In 1880, 30 "
These last per centages include the Roman Cath-
olics, the adherents of the Liberal Churches, and
the masses who wholly stand aloof from all the
Churches. In the past eighty years this part of the
population has been reduced from 75.94 to 30 per
cent, of the whole inhabitants.
It is unnecessary to pursue these comparisons
further. Romanism has made large gains, even
upon the population, but chiefly from immigration,
and evangelical Protestantism has gained relatively
much more than Romanism. During the last ten
years the gain of Romanism has been less than in
the two preceding decades, while the Evangelical
Churches have gained more than ever before.
Present indications justify the prediction that Ro-
manism has passed the period of her most rapid in-
crease in the United States^ and must henceforth
relatively decline.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 459
An intelligent Roman Catholic layman in Boston,
not many years ago, said : " We shall hold our
ground for awhile; but we understand that in the
fight of a hundred years we shall be whipped'''
There is another aspect of the question of relig-
ious progress, which, in an age when educational
culture is one of the chief factors of the world's
progress, must not be overlooked the relation of
the Christian Churches to the higher forms of edu-
cation. We ask attention, therefore, to
3. The Churches in their Relation to the Higher
Educational Institutions.
The influence of the Churches upon scholarship,
and the share of the Churches in institutions for
advanced culture are signs of true progress.
It has been freely asserted, of late, that the
Churches are losing their hold upon the intellect
of the age ; that few young men in the colleges are
Christians, in the usual acceptation of the term ;
that denominational colleges are relatively declin-
ing, and are destined to be superseded.
What are the facts ?
Availing ourselves of General Eaton's very able
reports, as Commissioner of Education, the Year-
Books of the Churches, and consultations with men
occupying high positions in connection with colle-
giate education, we have prepared an exhibit (Ta-
ble XIV, in Appendix) of the denominational and
460 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
non-denominational colleges in the United States.
In so doing we have discarded the terms " sec-
tarian " and " non-sectarian," sometimes used, be-
cause not truly expressing the character and rela-
tions of these institutions. They use no ecclesias-
tical tests in admitting students, or in any subse-
quent requirements in regard to attendance upon
religious worship, or otherwise, unless some of the
Roman Catholic colleges do it. Harvard C< 'liege,
reported as " non-sectarian," is no more so than
over two hundred others reported as sustaining de-
nominational relations ; for Harvard, during more
than half a century, has been under the direction
of a " Board of Fellows," all of whom have been
Unitarians, except one elected within two or three
years ; and, besides, the Theological School of Har-
vard College is uniformly mentioned in the Uni-
tarian " Year-Book," as a Unitarian institution, of
which Charles W. Eliot, LL.D., is president.
Furthermore, Harvard College had a purely relig-
ious origin, and was supported for generations by
the religious life of New England. Yale, Princeton,
and Columbia Colleges, also reported in General
Eaton's late reports as " non-sectarian," only two
or three years ago were reported as Congrega-
tional, Presbyterian, and Episcopal colleges. But
they have neither changed nor annulled their ec-
clesiastical relations, and are now as truly the col-
leges of those denominations as ever, and yet it is
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 461
also true that they are, in the legitimate sense of
the offensive phrase, non-sectarian, for they employ
no ecclesiastical tests.
Changing the phraseology, therefore, and using
the terms denominational and non- denominational,
and we have, on the one hand, the colleges of the
Clurches, comprising those closely related to the
Churches in origin, sympathy, and support, some
of which are organically held by ecclesiastical bod-
ies ; and, on the other hand, those which sustain
no particular denominational relations. This clas-
sification fairly covers the question at issue, What
are the Churches doing for collegiate education, of
how far are they identified with advanced intel-
lectual culture? In carrying out this classification,
the advantage of any doubt, in regard to institu*
tions not clearly designated, has been given to the
non-denominational list.
Of the sixty-four colleges classified * as non-
denominational, twenty-three are State institutions,
some of them founded before the disruption of the
union between the Churches and the States ; four
city institutions, three military, two agricultural,
one a deaf-mute institution, and the remaining
thirty-one are not very clearly designated as to
their character. Nearly half of the latter, however,
are under the presidency of evangelical divines.
Eight of the State and city institutions have clergy-
* See Table XIV, in Appendix.
462 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
men for presidents, and many of the professors and
students are active evangelical communicants.
The number of the colleges in 1878* was as
follows :
Date of Founding. D< - "- Toal.
Prior to 1800 ......... 12 8 20
1800-1850 ............ 87 15 102
1850-1878 ............ 213 41 254
Total .............. 312 64 376
The organization of 56 non-denominational and
300 denominational colleges, or five and a half
times as many of the latter as of the former since
1800, and 41 non-denominational and 213 denom-
inational colleges, or more than five times as many
of the latter as of the former since 1850, does not
indicate that the Churches have been negligent in
the work of providing for the collegiate education
of their people, nor that they are losing their hold
upon advanced culture.
The property of the above institutions was as
follows :
r ,, Buildings, Grounds,
Collees ' Productive Funds.
Denominational .......................... $68,824,853
Non-denominational .............. , ....... 21,301,934
Total .............................. $90,126,787
The property of the denominational colleges is
more than three times as large as that of the
others, notwithstanding that one half of the latter
* See Table XIV, in Appendix.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 463
are either city, state, military, or agricultural institu-
tions, favored with donations from public treasuries.
It will not be regarded as a fact of slight signifi-
cance that the Churches of the United States have
accumulated and set into operation more than
$68,000,000 for the promotion of the highest form of
education, and that more than two thirds of this sum
has been accumulated within the last thirty years.
But the question of students is the most impor-
tant. The whole number of students in the higher
collegiate course for the degree of A.B. was 30,359 ;*
of which number 5,883, or less than one fourth,
were in non-denominational colleges, and 24,476, or
about four fifths, were in denominational colleges.
Of the whole number of college students 65 per
cent, are in the colleges of the Evangelical Churches
Of the whole number in the denominational col-
leges 8 1 per cent, are in the colleges of the Evangel-
ical Churches :
Baptists (all kinds) 4,on students.
Congregationalists 2,428 '*
Congregational and Presbyterian 311 "
Christians and Disciples 2,026 "
Evangelical Association 39 "
* On page Ixxxviii of the Report for 1878 Gen. Eaton gives 57,987
students in universities and colleges ; but these numbers include stu-
dents in preparatory departments. The true figures are from Table
IX, pp. 526, etc., column 17, amounting to 30,368. Slightly revising
the statistics by the aid of some ecclesiastical ** Year-Books," we
have the above-mentioned number, 30,359.
See Table XIV, in Appendix, for fuller details.
464 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Episcopalians 827 students.
Friends 261 "
Lutherans (all kinds) 1,152 "
Methodists (all kinds) 4,496 "
Presbyterians (all kinds) 3,459 "
Roman Catholics 3,564 "
Reformed Churches (Dutch and German) 521 "
Swedenborgians 17 "
Seventh-day Advent 39 "
United Brethren 286 "
Universalists 226 "
Unitarians 813 "
A comparison, covering a period of forty-eight
years, upon good and satisfactory bases, at each
extreme, will help to a fuller solution of the ques-
tion under consideration. The " American Quar-
terly Register" for May, 1831, gives the statistics
of the American colleges for 1830, prepared by
Revs. Elias Cornelius and B. B. Edwards, D.D. The
48 colleges in that list had 4,021 undergraduates.
Eighteen of these institutions were non-denomina-
tional, with 1,360 students, and 30 were denomi-
national colleges, with 2,661 students. Comparing
these with the statistics for 1 878, we see very marked
progress in the colleges of the Churches :
Number of Colleges.
1830.
1878.
Increase
in 48 yrs.
282
Non-denominational
18
6J.
A6
Total colleges
48
376
228
Number of Students.
In denominational colleges
In non-denominational colleges.
2,66 1
1,360
24,476
5,883
4,523
Total students 4,021 3<>,359 26,338
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 465
Here is evidence of very great educational prog-
ress. While the population of the country increased
a little more than three and a half fold the col-
leges increased nearly eight fold, and the students
seven and a half fold, or more than twice as much,
relatively, as the population. The table shows
that for this extraordinary educational progress
the country is indebted chiefly to the Churches,
the denominational colleges increasing more than
tenfold and their students ninefold, while the non-
denominational colleges increased only three and a
half fold, and their students fourfold. In 1830 the
non-denominational colleges had 30 per cent, of
the whole number of the students, and the denom-
inational colleges 70 per cent. In 1878 the stu-
dents in the non-denominational colleges had fallen
to 17 per cent., and in the denominational colleges
they had risen to 83 per cent, of the whole number.
We are unable to make any comparisons testing,
in an exact form, the educational progress of the
Roman Catholic Church, but the progress has been
very great. Four of its colleges were founded prior
to 1830, but the number of students was not then
reported. In 1878, according to Gen. Eaton's re
port, there were 52 colleges of this denomination ;
but the Catholic " Year-Book " for 1880 reported
78 colleges, and for 1 88 1 there were 79. Probably
the number given by Gen. Eaton comprises the
better class of their colleges, many of which are
466 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
very young, and have not yet emerged from the
rank of preparatory institutions. These 52 institiu
tions had 3,564 students. Probably no denomina-
tion in the country has made greater progress in
education, although the quality of education given
in all their institutions of learning is inferior to
that furnished in other American institutions. But
single Protestant denominations still far outrank
the Roman Catholics in the number of college stu-
dents. The Baptists (all kinds) have 4,01 1 ; the
Methodists, (all kinds,) 4,496 ; and all the colleges
of the Baptists and Methodists, except Brown Uni-
versity, have been founded within the same recent
period in which the Catholics have founded theirs.
The theological seminaries also indicate great
educational progress in the Churches, as will appear
from the following table :
1830.* i8 7 8.t
No. of
Schools.
No. of
Students.
No. of
Schools.
No. of
Students.
Schools of Evangelical Churches. . . 17
6 3 I
103
3,297
" Unitarian Churches .... I
78
2
39
" Universalist Churches .. ..
....
2
I
49
3
Total Protestant 18
7OQ
1 08
3,388
17
Q'}2
Aggregate 18 709 125 4,320
The students of the Protestant schools of theology
are 3.6 times as many as those of the Roman Cath-
* See "American Quarterly Register," May, 1831.
f Report of Gen. Eaton, Commissioner of Education, 1878.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 467
olic, but we have no data for the comparison of the
latter with any former period. In 1830 the Prot-
estant theological students were one for 18,146
inhabitants ; in 1878 they were one for 13,127 inhab-
itants. In 1874 the Protestant students were above
4,500, or one for 9,500 inhabitants. The financial
embarrassments from 1873 to 1878 diminished the
number somewhat.
The female colleges for the superior instruction
of women have also greatly multiplied, and they are
very largely under the supervision of the Churches.
Of 225 institutions of this class in 1878, reported
by Gen. Eaton, only 9 existed prior to 1830. The
relations of 7 not specified ; 71 are non-denomina-
tional ; 1 8, Roman Catholic ; and 129 belong to
Protestant denominations. But the list is yet im-
perfect.
Religious Students.
The statistics gathered by societies of Religious
Inquiry show that the proportion of college stu-
dents professedly religious and connected with
Evangelical Churches, has relatively increased since
1830. In that year, out of 2,633 students in 28
colleges, 693, or 26 per cent., were " professedly
pious." Returns were obtained in 1850 from 30
colleges, with 4,533 students, of which 1,727, or 38
per cent., were religious ; in 1865, from 38 colleges,
with 7,351 students, of which 3,380, or 46 per cent.,
were religious ; in 1872, in a smaller list of 12 col-
468 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
leges, with 1,891 students, 50 per cent, were pro-
fessors of religion. In 1880,* out of 12,063 students
in 65 colleges, 6,08 1, or 50 per cent., were professors
of religion. From these incomplete returns it ap-
pears that the number of religious young men in the
colleges is relatively twice as great as in 1830.
Fuller returns might not be quite as favorable, but
would, doubtless, show great progress. The princi-
ples of Evangelical Christianity are evidently ex-
tending their influence over the educated young
men of the land.
In the " Sunday Afternoon," for September, 1878,
Mr. C. F. Thwing furnished a careful article upon
the question of Religion and the American Colleges,
upon which the following editorial appeared, soon
after, in the " Boston Journal : "
As we very often hear opinions to the effect that the colleges
are degenerating, both as regards morality and religion, and
that skepticism and worldliness are taking the place of the old-
time piety, it is particularly satisfactory to find that the facts
and statistics, so far from sustaining such opinions, directly
disprove them. While it is true that there has been an abate-
ment in sectarianism and in the rigidity of discipline, as com-
pared with the earlier days ; and while it is doubtless also true,
though upon this point Mr. Thwing's statistics do not guide
us, that the proportion of students who are fitting themselves
for the ministry is smaller now than formerly, these facts do not
make against the conclusions which Mr. Thwing reaches. An
abatement in sectarianism is not, of necessity, accompanied with
* " Year-Book" of the Young Men's Christian Association, New
York, 1880, pp. 92-95.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 469
a diminution of piety; and the snaller proportion of theological
students simply indicates that tl ie necessity of introducing the
Christian leaven into other profe jsions and occupations is more
keenly felt than formerly.
It is a well-known fact that religion was both the motive and
the basis of the establishment ol the older colleges in the East,
as well as of the newer institutions in the West and South.
Harvard was founded because of the dread of "leaving an illit-
erate ministry to the Churches," and Yale was established for
the nurture of a more rigid orthodoxy than that prevailing at
Harvard, and for the education of a ministry for the New Haven
Colony. So of Princeton, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Amherst, and
others, the religious idea was dominant and fundamental in
their establishment. The Western colleges are, in a large num-
ber of cases, the direct outgrowth of missionary movements,
and had for their first purpose the propagation of religious
truth. Iowa College was founded by the famous " Andover
Band." and has always been an active agent in evangelization.
At Oberlin, in its early years, a banner waved from the flag-
staff, bearing the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord," and a
spirit of aggressive piety has marked the institution in all stages
of its growth down to the present day. At Harvard, in the
early days, the rules compelled the regular reading of the
Scriptures twice daily by each student; the repeating of ser-
mons in public when required ; the rendering of the Old and
New Testaments from the originals into the Latin ; and many
other religious studies and observances, now obsolete.
But while the colleges have ceased to be distinctively relig-
ious institutions, the religious element has still, in a vast ma-
jority of cases, Mr. Thwing asserts, a very important influence
in the daily life and on the character of the students. A large
majority of the members of our college faculties are members
of the Church, and what President Seelye writes of Amherst is
largely true of other institutions, that, although no religious test
is made the condition of holding an office of instruction, " we
should no more think of appointing to a post of instruction
here an irreligious than we should an immoral man, or one ig-
30
4/o PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
norant of the topics he would have to teach." Of the twenty
thousand students who are now pursuing regular college courses
in this country, almost one half are Christians. The lowest
extreme is at Harvard, where the proportion of Christians to
those not Christians is one to five. At Amherst, Williams.
Wesleyan, Middlebury, Iowa, and Berea, on the other hand,
four out of every five of the students are Christians. There
has been a very marked increase in the proportion of Christian
collegians during the last twenty-five years. In 1853, at Har-
vard, only one man in ten was a professor of religion; at
Brown, only one in five; at Yale, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin,
one in four ; at Williams, one in two ; at Amherst, five in eight.
At Harvard, as already stated, the proportion is now one to
five ; at Brown, three in five ; at Yale, two in five ; at Dart-
mouth and Bowdoin, one in three ; and at Williams and Am-
herst, four in five. If the comparison is made with a still earlier
date the progress is even more marked. At Harvard and Yale,
at the beginning of this century, the number of Christian stu-
dents was smaller than at any other period in their history,
owing to the influence of English and French infidelity. In
the first eight classes at Bowdoin there was only one Christian,
and at Williams, at about the same time, there was but a single
Church member among the students..
Another interesting fact is stated by Mr. Thwing, namely,
that revivals are of more frequent occurrence, of longer con-
tinuance, of greater pervasiveness, and of a calmer, more intel-
lectual character among college men than in any other class
of the community. Although at Yale, Harvard, Brown, and a
few other colleges, revivals have been infrequent of late years,
in most colleges a class rarely completes its course without
passing through a revival. At Princeton each of the last
twenty-five classes, with one or two exceptions, has experi-
enced a season of revival, and three years ago over a hundred
students were converted in a single term. So at Amherst,
Williams, Dartmouth, and other Eastern colleges, and at Ober-
lin and other Western colleges, revivals are frequent and power-
ful. In some of these colleges nearly one half of the students
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 471
became Christians during their course. The thoughtfulness
engendered by study, the influence of Christian professors, and
the close intimacy of non-Christian with Christian students,
combine to bring about a condition very favorable to religious
awakenings. Yale has had no less than thirty-six revivals, re-
sulting in at least twelve hundred conversions; Dartmouth
nine, resulting in two hundred and fifty conversions ; and Mid-
dlebury and Amherst at least twelve each, resulting, in the
case of the latter, in three hundred and fifty conversions.
These and similar facts which Mr. Thwing presents should
check the pessimism of those who maintain that, religiously
and morally, the colleges are going to the bad. Much of the
religious history of these institutions remains, of necessity,
unwritten, and the matter is one with regard to which it is not
easy to procure statistics, but the facts which Mr. Thwing has
ascertained justify a very hopeful feeling concerning the relig-
ious future of our colleges.
The foregoing statistics demonstrate the strong
and enduring progress of Protestantism ; that it is
fully identified with the highest educational culture
of the age; and that the denominational institutions
are not likely to be superseded, as some have confi-
dently predicted. These facts augur well for its
future.
One more aspect of the question of relative prog-
ress remains to be briefly considered.
4. THE PROGRESS OF EVANGELICAL CHRIS-
TIANITY IN THE UNITED STATES, IN THE PRES-
ENT CENTURY, COMPARED WITH ITS PROGRESS IN
THE FIRST CENTURIES OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
It is very common to look back to the first Chris-
tian centuries as a period of the greatest growth of
472 .PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Christianity ; but those who do so do not act intelli-
gently. The last one hundred and fifty years has
been a period of greater Christian progress in the
whole world than any previous period. This will
appear in the last chapter of this volume. But in
the United States alone, in the last eighty years,
the progress of the first Christian centuries has been
greatly exceeded.
The progress of Christianity in the first centuries
of the Christian era has been usually estimated as
follows :
Christians.
Close of the 1st Century 500,000
" 2d " 2,000,000
" " 3d " 5,000,000
" " 4th " 10,000,000
" " 5th " 15,000,000
" 6th " 20,000,000
" " 7th " 25,000,000
" 8th " 30,000,000
In the United States the enrolled communicants
increased in eighty years (1800-1880) 9,701,091.
which is nearly equal to the total increase of Chris-
tianity in the first four centuries of the Christian
era. But much of the latter increase was only
nominal, under the military conquests of Constan-
tine, etc. Taking, therefore, the entire evangelical
population of the United States, as we have al-
ready figured it, numbering, in 1880, 35,230,870, and
we see that this growth here in eighty years ex-
ceeded the growth of Christianity in the first eight
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 473
centuries after Christ, by an excess of more than
five millions.
It would seem that no mind could fail to be im-
pressed with these wonderful facts of American
Protestantism, so transcending in magnitude and
significance any thing ever before seen in the his-
tory of Christianity. But those who have written
the heavy indictments quoted in the opening chap-
ter of this volume must be either wholly ignorant
of these statistical facts, or have not duly studied
them, or are accustomed to flippantly ignore them,
as only mathematics, which can have no relation to
religious matters. But such persons overlook the
almost universal application of figures to all depart-
ments of science, of political, -moral, and social life.
We summarize moral tendencies and crime in sta-
tistical tables, analyze them, and deduce conclu-
sions. Figures' represent the speed and momentum
of material bodies, the weight and power of steam,
the measure of gas and heat, the forces of electricity,
etc. As, therefore, the mathematical formula of
chemistry represent the combinations and opera-
tions of material elements, and those of astronomy
the position and movements of the heavenly bodies,
so the numerical exhibits of ecclesiastical bodies,
carefully analyzed and combined, represent the ex-
istence and operation of spiritual forces ; but each
in the light of its own peculiar sphere. The statis-
tics which we have given are those of religious phe-
474 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
nomena. On the principles of exact science they
are as legitimate and indubitable, in their sphere,
and as worthy of classification, as any other phe-
nomena.
Is it said that there are certain questions of relig-
ious vitality and spirituality, of Christian character
and life, which are not indicated by figures ; that the
type of piety is manifestly declining ; that the aver-
age morality of the communicants of these Churches
and of the public has seriously deteriorated ; and
that radical changes and modifications have taken
place in the theology of these denominations, so
that the statistics of to-day do not stand as expo-
nents of the same ideas, even in the same religious
bodies, that they did fifty, or seventy-five, or a
hundred years ago ?
This plausible objection has been anticipated and
considered in the preceding chapters on Faith,
Morals, and Spiritual Vitality, in which it has been
demonstrated that, whatever imperfection exists in
these respects, an intelligent analysis of modern
progress shows a great advance in the better ele-
ments of piety and morals. The existence of an
unabated force, operating even more powerfully and
aggressively during the last two or three decades
than at any previous period, so strikingly exhibited
by the statistics since 1850, is a fact of too great
significance to be lightly discarded or ignored by
any candid, discriminating mind.
CHAPTER IV.
MISSIONS.
Inception.
Papal and Protestant Mission Fields.
Foreign Missions of the United States
Foreign Missions of Christendom.
Papal and Protestant Missions.
Missions Vindicated by Testimony.
Results.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 477
CHAPTER IV.
FOREIGN MISSIONS.
THE pessimistic complaint includes foreign mis-
sions in its indictment, and talks loudly of their
failure. "Why such tardy results from such vast
expenditures of men and means ?" The inquiry con-
tains the fallacious assumption that the results are
meager begs the question ; and too many mission-
ary discourses make admissions, seriously compro-
mising the cause and embarrassing the support of
the laborers.
Tested by ordinary criteria* Christian missions do
not suffer by comparison with moral and secular en-
terprises. Like the progress of mechanical science,
political knowledge, and aesthetic culture, the mis-
sions of Protestantism have advanced with rapid
strides, and are so securely planted in many heathen
countries, that, if all support were withdrawn, they
would be sustained by the native ministry and
membership alone. A considerable number are
already self-sustaining.
Protestant foreign missions are yet in their in-
fancy almost wholly the work of the present cent-
ury. The few feeble efforts antedating the year
4/8 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
1800 may be briefly outlined in a single para-
graph : the Swedish movements among the Lap-
landers, under the patronage of Gustavus Vasa I., in
the early days of Protestantism ; the arbitrary efforts
of the Dutch, at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, to convert the natives of Ceylon to Chris-
tianity ; the more spiritual, but only temporarily
successful, labors of Robert Junius, beginning in
1634, on the island of Formosa ; the Indian missions
in New England and other American colonies, com-
mencing in 1646 under Rev. John Eliot, followed
by the Mayhews, Edwards, Brainerd, Wheelock,
the Moravians, the agents of the " Scottish Society
for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge," etc. ;
the movements of the London " Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," or-
ganized in 1701, chiefly for English colonists; the
missions of the Danes,* in 1705, in Southern India,f
subsequently extending to Ceylon, and comprising,
in 1775, 13 missionaries, 50 native assistants, 633
scholars, and 1,000 communicants; the wonder-
ful missions of the Moravians, beginning in 1732,
in the West Indies, and soon after in Greenland ;
and the Wesleyan foreign missions, from 1760
onward, chiefly under the management of Rev.
* These missionaries completed a translation of the New Testa-
ment into the Tamil language in 1715, and of the Old Testament
In 1726.
f Schwartz's more than forty years of heroic missionary labors
were performed in these missions.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 479
Thomas Coke, LL.D., but more formally organized
in 1813. So meager was the exhibit of the foreign
missions of Protestantism in the first two and three
fourths centuries of its existence.
It is no exaggeration to say that the period pre-
ceding the full inauguration of modern missions
was one of the darkest in the history of the Chris-
tian Church, and the darkest in the history of
Protestantism. The Protestantism of the Refor-
mation had spent its force. Turned back, at first,
by the great Papal reaction, in which the famous
Roman Catholic missions, in the sixteenth and sev-
enteenth centuries, under the Franciscans, the Do-
minicans, and the new missionary brotherhood of
the Jesuits, were begun, it wasted itself in internal
conflicts, lost its independence by alliance with the
State, and even entered into truce with its invet-
erate foes. In Great Britain the Wesleyan move-
ment was yet in its infancy, and in America the
feeble Christian life was sorely taxed in a struggle
for self-preservation. About one hundred years
ago the aggressive power of Protestantism was re-
duced to its minimum.
The science, the philosophy, and the culture of
that age were almost wholly against evangelical
Christianity. Never before nor since has infidelity
combined relatively so much wealth, culture, and
power. Hume's acute logic, Gibbon's historic
learning and skill, Paine's nameless blasphemies,
480 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Voltaire's brilliant wit and amazing industry, and
the French Revolution, with its mighty sweep of
radical revolt, combined to subvert the popular
belief in Christianity, and brand the Church as a
creature of superstition and falsehood. This revolt
did not wholly spend its force in the eighteenth
century, but struggled hard in the first quarter of
the nineteenth century, against the new incoming
tides of spiritual life and the reviving faith in the
Churches. After 1817, in the course of a few
years, 5,768,900 volumes of the works of Voltaire,
Rousseau, and other infidel writers, besides count-
less tracts, were circulated on the continent of
Europe.
The new mechanical inventions and mighty
forces, since subsidized by the Churches in the in-
terests of Christ's kingdom, were then unknown.
No steamship plowed any ocean or river ; magnetic
telegraphs, cylinder presses, and railroads were un-
born; and the commerce of nations was carried
over mountains and deserts on the backs of mules
and dromedaries, or over oceans in vessels depe id-
ent upon the wind and tide. But exploration, in-
vention, ambition, avarice, commerce, and the
sword strangely providential factors of progress
have wrought out changes preparing the way, and
furnishing new means and opportunities for the
spread of the Gospel.
In 1790 only three foreign missionary societies
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 481
existed in Europe, and none in America ; but new
life was pulsating. In 1792 the English Baptist
Missionary Society was formed ; in 1795 the Lon-
don Missionary Society, in 1796 the Scottish and
the Glasgow Societies, in 1797 the Netherlands'
Society, and in 1799 the Church Missionary So-
ciety. These societies at first encountered great
unbelief and opposition from many in the Churches
and ridicule from the world. Ecclesiastical bodies
in Scotland denounced the scheme of foreign mis-
sions as "illusive," "visionary," and "dangerous,"
and decreed that it was absurd to think of propa-
gating the Gospel abroad, " so long as there re-
mained a single individual at home without the
means of religious knowledge."
After the year 1800 foreign missions received a
new impulse, both in Europe and America, though
they still encountered opposition and ridicule. Be-
tween 1800 and 1830 sixteen foreign missionary
societies were organized, between 1830 and 1850
thirty-three more, and, at the present time, Prot-
estantism numbers over seventy* foreign boards,
besides numerous subsidiary organizations. Six-
teen woman's foreign missionary boards have
been organized in the United States since 1861,
and all but one since 1868.
*Some have united.
482 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
PAPAL AND PROTESTANT MISSION FUNDS.
The Roman Catholic Church, also, since its mis-
sionary revival, after the discoveries of Columbus
and the birth of Protestantism, has developed or-
ganizations for the spread of the Papal faith : First,
in connection with the rise of the Jesuits and their
early and more distinctively missionary labors,
through organized movements in France, large
sums of money were raised to aid the Jesuit mis-
sions in New France, as Canada was then called.
The motives were partly religious, but chiefly
prompted by wild conceptions of the illimitable
extension of French dominion in the vast terri-
tories of the New World, for which the Jesuits
were continually scheming.
The Propaganda at Rome, founded in 1662 for
the training of men for the missionary priesthood ;
the famous Propaganda at Lyons, organized in
1822 ; the Leopold Propaganda at Venice, formed
in 1829; and the " Society of the Holy Childhood,"
with special reference to heathen orphans, formed
soon after the next preceding, comprise the mis-
sionary organizations of the Roman Catholic
Church. In recent years the annual receipts of
the latter have been about $200,000, and of the
Leopold Society $50,000. The Lyons Society re-
ceived, in 1852, $891,025; in 1872, $1,129,529; in
1879, $1,206,325. Total receipts of the latter since
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 483
its foundation, (1822-1879,) $36,943,935, collected
from all parts of the world, from a nominal Catho-
lic population twice as great as that of Protestant-
ism. The Roman Catholics of the British Isles
contributed for foreign missions, in 1879, $4>5^>*
and those of the United States about $15,000.
What sums have been raised by the Protestant
foreign missionary societies? Professor Christlieb f
has estimated that, in 1800, the total sum annually
contributed in all Christendom for Protestant mis-
sions hardly amounted to $250,000. In 1850 the
income of these boards in Europe and America was
$2,959,541 1 6. \ In 1872 the amount had increased
to $7, 874, 1 5 5, or seven times as much as the re-
ceipts of the Lyons Propaganda for that year.
From 1852 to 1872 the receipts of the Lyons
Propaganda advanced 25 per cent., and of the
Protestant boards 162 per cent. The actual in-
crease of the Protestant boards during that time
was nearly $5,000,000, while that of the Lyons
Propaganda was about $230,000. The aggregate
receipts of the Protestant foreign missionary socie-
ties of Europe and America, from their origin to
* See " Kalendar of the English Church," for 1881, p. 265.
f Recent volume on " Protestant Foreign Missions," Randolph &
Co., New York, 1880, p. 18.
\ " Christian Retrospect and Register," App., Rev. R. Baird, D.D.
"Statistics of Protestant Missions," by Rev. W. B. Boyce.
London, 1874. See also article on Missions in M'Clintock &
Strong's Cyclopedia.
484 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
the present time, calculated on a basis of numerous
data at hand, cannot be less than $270,000,000, of
which nearly or quite $200,000,000 have probably
been raised within the last thirty years.
For the British Isles and the United States we
have more exact data.
The " Kalendar of the English Church," for 1881,
pp. 258-265, gives the following summary of British
contributions for Protestant foreign missions for
1879, compiled by Rev. W. A. Scott-Robertson :
Twenty Church of England societies ^"449,886
Eleven undenominational " 156,985
Fifteen English Nonconformist " 297,382
Seventeen Scottish " " 162,643
Five Irish Presbyterian " 11,670
Total for 1879 ^1,078^566
Contributions of above societies for nine years
(1871-79,) 9,064,298, or $45,321,490. Combining
these figures with those of our own land, we have,
The British Isles in one year (1879) $5,392,830
The United States in one year (1879-80) .... 2,623,618*
Total $8,oi6,448f
The British Isles in nine years $45,321,490
The United States in nine years 22,209,354
Total $67,530,844
* Professor Christlieb, in his address to the Evangelical Alliance at
Basel, 1879, estimated these receipts less than $2,000,000, and the
total receipts, in a single year, of the Foreign Missionary Societies
of all Christendom at $5,762,000, which is evidently far too small.
f The receipts of the societies on the Continent of Europe would
swell this amount considerably more.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 485
THE FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PROTESTANT
CHURCHES OF THE UNITED STATES.
In this country about twenty foreign missionary
boards, besides sixteen woman's missionary soci-
eties, are engaged in the work of raising funds and
sending out missionaries into various foreign fields.
The statistics of the pecuniary receipts are most
inspiring. The following table * will impressively
exhibit the aggregate amount received from six-
teen denominational societies and fourteen woman's
boards from the origin of each :
Years. Amount. Average yearly.
iSlO-lSlQ $206,210 $2O,62I
1820-1829 745,718 74,571
1830-1839 2,885,839 288,583
1840-1849 5,078,922 507,892
1850-1859 8,427,284 842,728
1860-1869 13,074,129 1,307,412
1870-1880 (i I years). ... 24,861,482 2,260,143
Not reported by decades. 2,349,362
Total 1810-1880 $57,628,946
From 1870-1880, $24,861,482 were received,
which is two and a half times more than was
received in the forty years from 1810 to 1850,
Eighty-three per cent, of the aggregate for seventy
years (1810-1880) has been received in the last
thirty years. This money was raised exclusively
for foreign missions.
* See Table XV, in Appendix.
31
486 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
What results can the foreign mission societies of
the United States show for this remarkable expend*
iture ?
By the aid of Tables XXXIV and XXXV, (Ap-
pendix,) the exhibit is easily made :
1850.
1880.
Increase.
77
I2O
C2
106
x^y
4
758
562
34
< ?,Q2<;
Ordained ministers, foreign and native.
Lay assistants, foreign and native ....
Total laborers ... ...
438
30
829
3*
I 267
1,792
it
4,167
21
5QCO
1,354
3,338
4602
10
d.7 266
>yoy
13
2<X 1^2
,uy^
157 866
10
88^
62
I ^Q2
CQQ
Dav-school niiDils . .
n
20. 210
55
6*.82;
16.615
The small figures above the others indicate the number of missions not report-
ing the given item.
The above tabular exhibit is sufficiently clear
and convincing without extended comments. The
Churches of the United States are sustaining,
directly or indirectly, 5,959 laborers in more than
4,683 principal and sub-stations in foreign lands,
and have in their missions more than 205,132 en-
rolled communicants an increase in the latter of
more than 300 per cent, in 30 years.
Turning from this narrower view, we ask atten
tion to a broader survey of this field :
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS.
487
TOTAL PROTESTANT FOREIGN MISSIONS OF
EUROPE AND AMERICA.
By the aid of Tables XXXVI, XXXVII, and
XXXVIII, (Appendix,) a clear exhibit can be made,
covering fifty years :
1830.
1850.
1880.
Increase.
1830-80.
1850-80.
Missions
122
502
I 7 8
700
504
52
5,765
273
12,209
6,6g 5 6
136
33,856
187
40,552
310
1,813,596
148
857,332
271
9,3i6
247
447,602
382
5,263
326
5,065
Principal stations .......
Ordained ministers . .
656
1,236
1,892
1,672
4,056
5,728
6,040
32,620
38,660
787,043
^66.046
5,024
29,800
34,82|
646,375
6,577
299,663
Total laborers
7O,28g
210,957
2,739
I47,Q3Q
Day-schools
Scholars
80,656
The small figures above the others in column 1880 indicate missions not report-
ing the given item.
Probably more than 20,000 stations are occupied.
More than 40,000 mission laborers, lay and clerical,
are in the foreign fields, 136 missions not reporting
the former, and 51 not reporting the latter item
probably 45,000 at least of these laborers. From
356 of the 504 missions we have 857,332 commu-
nicants reported. Returns from the remaining
148 would doubtless swell the aggregate to over
488 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
1,000,000. These figures do not include nominal
converts from heathenism, but enrolled Church
members. The increase from 70,289 mission com-
municants, in 1830, to 210,957 in 1850, and 857,332
in 1880, is a marvelous reduplication. The schol-
ars in the day-schools of the missions increased from
80,656 in 1830, to 447,602 in 1880, almost one half
of the missions not reporting this item. Probably
at least three quarters of a million of youth are
being instructed in the mission schools. The nom-
inal adherents or hearers reported in about two
fifths of the missions are 1,813,596 probably from
three to three and a half millions in all.
The reader can make further comparisons of the
progress in different sections of the world by refer-
ring to the tables in the Appendix.
How vast the extent of Protestant missions !
On the continent of North America, in Mexico,
Central America, Greenland, Labrador, the Hudson
Bay region, among the aborigines in British Amer-
ica and the United States, and the Chinese in Cali-
fornia ; on the continent of South America, in New
Granada, Brazil, Peru, Chili, Uruguay, the Argentine
Republic, Guiana, the contiguous Falkland Islands,
and Terra del Fuego ; on the continent of Europe,
among the rationalistic, Papal, Jewish, and Moham-
medan populations in Scandinavia, Germany, Aus-
tria, Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Sclavonia, Holland
Belgium, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Portu-
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 489
gal, Turkey, Greece, Roumania, and Bulgaria ; on
the continent of Africa, in Egypt, Tunis, Algiers,
Abyssinia, Zanzibar; in 368 stations and 1, 1 12
sub-stations all over South Africa; in 135 stations
and 454 sub-stations in Central and Western Af-
rica ; on the continent of Asia, in Turkey, Syria,
Palestine, Persia, in 46 principal and more than 383
sub-stations ; in India, in 418 principal and 1,032
sub-stations ; in China, in Thibet, Japan, Burmah,
Siam, " the Straits' Settlements," and the Indian
Archipelago ; on the islands of the Atlantic, the
Bahamas, the Bermudas, and the West Indies ; in
Madagascar and Mauritius ; on 300 islands in Poly-
nesia ; and all over the mighty world of Australasia,
45,000 Christian workers are toiling, and great mul-
titudes are rising up as witnesses for Christ.
ROMAN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT MISSIONS.
In the mission fields long occupied by Romanism,
Protestant missions, starting much later, are gaining
rapidly upon the Roman Catholic ; while in the
newer, simultaneously opened to both, the Papal
missions are making slow progress. A few facts in
regard to two of the older and two of the later fields,
will show the relative progress and work of Papal
and Protestant missions.
China, one of the oldest Roman Catholic, and one
of the latest Protestant mission grounds, has been
sometimes referred to, by the English press and by
490 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
travelers, in terms of disparagement to Protestant-
ism. They point to the 400,000 Roman Catholic,*
and the small number of Protestant converts, over-
looking the fact that Roman Catholic missions be-
gan in China in 1589, when Protestantism was in its
infancy, eighteen years before the first permanent
settlement in the United States, and two hundred
and fifty years before the first Protestant mission
in China. In this long period of nearly three hun-
dred years the Roman Catholic missions, though
sometimes persecuted, were generally favored by
the imperial government, from which they have
received grants of land, buildings, etc. By a quasi
recognition of Chinese idolatry and customs they
have conciliated the civil power, but have weakened
their religious influence, and failed to truly Chris-
tianize and elevate the people.
Protestantism gained its first, but only tentative,
footholds in China only a half century ago, and was
restricted to five specific ports until the treaty of
1858-60. Prior to that time we could only think of
Protestant missions " as dotted here and there
* Rev. Dr. Legge said : " Possibly the adherents of the Roman
Catholic missions in China amount to nearly half a million, though,
according to the ' Bulletin des Missions Catholiques ' for 1876, they
were then only 404,550, and a priest in Chinan, capital of Shan-
tung told me, in 1873, that their annual increase all over China was
only about 2,000." " Give us three hundred years to work in, and
the adherents of Protestant missions will far transcend the present
number of Romish Christians."
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 491
along the coast," hardly anywhere penetrating fifty
or a hundred miles into the interior. In 1872 there
were 26 Protestant missions, with 337 principal
and sub-stations and about 9,000 communicants in
China. During the past few years these missions
have greatly increased, and the statistics for 1880
(not. quite complete) show 32 missions, 173 princi-
pal stations, 487 sub-stations, 326 ordained minis-
ters, foreign and native, 1,145 l av assistants, native
and foreign, 19,767 communicants, and 4,962 pupils
in 164 schools. There are 21 theological schools,
in which more than 200 students are preparing for
the ministry. In 1876 there were also reported 16
mission hospitals, with 3,730 in-patients and 87,505
out-patients. There were 24 mission dispensaries,
which ministered to 41,281 cases in the same year.
Said Dr. Legge,* in 1878: " The converts have
multiplied in thirty-five years two thousand fold,
the rate of increase being greater year after year.
Suppose it to continue the same for other thirty-
five years, and in A. D. 1913 there will be in China
26,000,000 of communicants, and a professedly
Christian population of 100,000,000."
As to the Chinese converts, Rev. Dr. Legge, who
will be accepted as the very best authority, said : f
" It has been asked, in deprecation or depreciation
" Proceedings of General Conference of Foreign Missions,*
1879, p. 177. London : John F. Shaw & Co., publishers.
\ Ibid., p. 173.
492 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
of my statements, 'But what is the character of
these thirteen thousand communicants? Can they
be accepted as real Christians as true converts?'
It would take long to explain how it has come
about that a bad report of the constituency of mis-
sion Churches has gone widely abroad ; but I do
not hesitate to declare that it is wantonly untrue
and unjust. When administering the communion
to a Church of English-speaking members that
were under my charge in Hong-Kong, I often spoke
to them to this effect, ' In the afternoon your places
before me will be occupied by the members of the
Chinese Church. I have confidence in you as
Christian men and women, but I shall not have less
confidence in our Chinese brethren and sisters.' . . .
There are fallings away among the Chinese Chris-
tians. They have, also, some peculiar weaknesses
and inconsistencies. But these things cannot be
said of them more than of the members of the
Churches among ourselves. . . . Yes, the converts
are real. Your missionaries, in receiving them, and
watching over them, are careful and strict. If they
err, it is in being overscrupulous, rather than in
being lax."
Insisting upon a considerable acquaintance with
the doctrines of Christianity, a renunciation of every
form of idolatry, and good evidence of a moral
change, as conditions of baptism, Protestant prog-
ress means moral reformation and elevation, as well
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 493
as intellectual enlightenment. Many social changes
and modifications of life also follow.
A recent traveler* in China, in his observations
upon the Papal missions in that country, said :
" They manifest no intelligent zeal for the enlight-
enment and elevation of the people. Few, if any,
of the priests possess that noble ambition which
characterized their predecessors, Ricci, Schaal, Ver-
biest, and others. I have never observed any indi-
cations among them of men grappling with the lan-
guage, and girding themselves with ardor to over-
throw the mighty evils which are stalking abroad
among the natives. As a rule, they content them-
selves with superintending native priests and cate-
chists, and other purely official duties. They never
preach, nor publish any books. . . . We are thus
left in a great measure dependent upon Protestant
missions for the advancement of knowledge, civil-
ization, and true progress among the people. This
department has not failed us."
Protestant missionaries " have given their days
and nights to the study of the Chinese language,
day by day have preached to the people, thus
spreading light in all directions, arousing generous
impulses, and training up converts to be well-
informed, truth-seeking men and women. * To
such men,' says the * Supreme Court and Consular
Gazette/ (Nov. 14, 1868,) 'are we indebted for
* Alexander Williamson's "Journeys in North China."
494 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
more than nine tenths of our knowledge of China
and the Chinese.'" They have thus opened the
inner life of the nation to the world.
Not to speak of the long, patient studies and
elaborate productions of Morrison, Milne, Med-
hurst, and Legge, of the translations of the Script-
ures and other religious books into Chinese, of the
dictionaries and grammars now in common use, of
the " lesson books/' the schools, and weekly period-
icals, all the work of Protestant missionaries, numer-
ous works of science also have been translated into
Chinese by these devoted laborers. Dr. Hobson
has given them works on physiology, surgery, med-
icine, chemistry, and natural philosophy ; Mr. Wylie,
Euclid, algebra, arithmetic, geometry, calculus,
Herschel's large Astronomy and Newton's Principia ;
Mr. Edkins, Whewell's Mechanics and works on
Western literature ; Mr. Muirhead, English history
and universal geography; Dr. Bridgeman, an illus-
trated history of the United States ; Dr. Martin,
Wheaton's International Law, and illustrated vol-
umes on chemistry, natural philosophy, etc. More
even may be said. Many of these works have been
reprinted verbatim, by native gentlemen, attesting
their literary accuracy ; and some of them have been
reproduced in Japan by the Japanese. This has been
done mainly since 1850. Romanism shows no such
results, after a three hundred years' occupancy of
China. It is plain that, with this preparatory work,
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 495
so directly affecting the best thought of the nation,
the future of China must belong to Protestantism.
Roman Catholic missions in India date back
almost to the discovery of America, to the conquest
of Goa,.by the Portuguese, in 1510, and were at first
conducted by the Franciscans and the Dominicans.
The arrival of St. Francis Xavier, in 1542, gave
them a new impulse. " Vicarate Apostolics," or in-
choate dioceses, were established in Verapoli, in
1659; in Bombay and Poona, in 1660; in Further
India, in 1624; in Southern Burmah, in 1722, etc.
After 370 years of mission work, Romanism reports,*
in all India, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, and " the Mala-
bar coasts :"
Bishops and archbishops ..................... 19
Priests .................................... 1,009
Catholic schools ............................ 1,192
Scholars ................................... 51,781
Roman Catholic population (estimated) ....... 1,046,932
Protestantism, within the same limits, after 180
years since a few Danish missionaries began their
labors in South India, and, for the most part, after
less than ninety years of labor, reported : f
Missions (in India, Burmah, Siam, and
Ceylon)
Statistics 1
in 1880. i
74-
tf is'ns not
-eporting.
562
3
Sub-stations ....
1,64.2
41
Ordained ministers, foreign and native..
1,137
6
* Sadlier's Catholic Almanac and Directory, 1879, Part ii, p. 135.
f See Table XXXVIII in Appendix.
496 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Statistics Mis'ns not
in 1880. reporting.
Lay assistants, foreign and native 7,093 n
Total workers 8,230 17
Communicants 126,409 4
Hearers 246,018 28
Day-schools 3, 741 18
Day-school pupils 181,945 i{
These statistics show that the Protestant missions
are rapidly outgrowing the Roman Catholic. Prot-
estant ministers already outnumber the Roman
Catholic ; and the day-school pupils of Protestant-
ism are three and a half times as many as theirs.
The following figures* will indicate the progress:
Year Christian Communicants of
Population. t Mission Churches.
1830 27,000
1851 127,000 22,40O
1861 213,370 49,688
1871 318,363 78,494
1880 500,000 126,409
Turning from these older to two of the later mis-
sion fields, Australia and New Zealand really one
field, and, for the sake of conciseness, combined un-
* Partly from reports to the English House of Commons, ordered
to be printed April 23, 1873 and partly from the " Proceedings of
the General Conference of Foreign Missions," held in London, Octo-
ber, 1878, pp. 119-121.
f The "Statesman's Year-Book," 1881, gives the following r lig-
ions statistics of India :
Hindus 139,248,568
Mohammedans 40,882,537
Buddhists. 2,832,851
Sikhs 1^74,436
Christians 897,216
Other creeds 5,102,823
Not known i ,977,400
Total 192,51 1,831
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 497
der one term, Australasia we see very clearly the
feebleness of modern Roman Catholic missions.
In Australia, ninety years ago, there was not a
single civilized man where there are now nearly
two millions. All the vast world of Australasia was
in a similar condition.
In 1879 the Roman Catholic Church had in all
Australasia 285 priests, 135 schools, and 12,379
scholars, 3 dioceses not reporting the last item. In
1880 Protestantism had,
Statistics Missions
for 1880. not reporting.
Missions 17
Principal stations 1,251 2
Sub-stations 891 12
Ordained ministers, native and for'gn 429
Lay assistants, native and foreign. . . 1.785 II
Total laborers 2,214
Communicants 33, 143 2
Hearers 229,955 6
Day-schools 26 14
Pupils 3,658 ii
Besides the above, we have the reports of the
English census of 1871 for Australia and New Zea-
land, aa follows : " Roman Catholics, 412,802 ; Prot-
estants, 1,317,310; Jews, Chinese, natives, etc.,
138,802."
Other recently occupied fields show a similar nu-
merical superiority of Protestantism. Only in fields
occupied several hundred years ago by Romanism,
and less than a century by Protestantism, has Ro-
manism any preponderance. In respect to moral
498 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
renovation, enlightenment, and social elevation,
Protestant mission communities are incomparably
superior to those of the Papal Church.
MISSIONS VINDICATED BY TESTIMONY.
Testimonies of the highest authority have at-
tested the genuine worth, high character, and real
progress of Christian missions. A few brief extracts
from an official statement in the English " Parlia-
mentary Blue Book," in 1873, ought not to be
omitted :
The mission presses in India are twenty-five in number.
During the years between 1852 and 1862 they issued 1,634,940
copies of the Scriptures, chiefly single books; and 8,604,033
tracts, school-books, and books for general circulation. Dur-
ing the ten years between 1862 and 1872 they issued 3,410 new
works, in thirty languages; and circulated 1,315,503 copies of
books of Scripture, 2,375,040 school-books, and 8,750,129 Chris-
tian books and tracts. ... A very large number of Christian
communities scattered over India are small, especially in the
country towns : and they contain fewer than a hundred com-
municants,' and three hundred converts of all ages. At the
same time some of these small congregations consist of edu-
cated men, have considerable resources, and are able to provide
for themselves. From them have sprung a large number of
native clergy and ministers in different Churches, who have re-
ceived a high education in English institutions, and who are
now taking a prominent place in the instruction and manage-
ment of our indigenous Christian Church. . . .
Taking them together, these rural and aboriginal populations
of India, which have received a large share of the attention of
the missionary societies, now contain among them a quarter
of a million native Christian converts. The principles they
SPIRITUAL VITALITY. 499
profess, the standard of morals at which they aim, the educa-
tion and training which they receive, make them no unimport-
ant element in the empire which the government of India has
under its control. These populations must greatly influence
the communities of which they form a part ; they are thoroughly
loyal to the British crown; and the experience through which
many ha ;e passed has proved that they are governed by solid
principle in the conduct they pursue. . . .
Insensibly a higher standard of moral conduct is becoming
familiar to the people, especially to the young, which has been
set before them, not merely by public teaching, but by the
millions of printed books and tracts scattered widely through
the country. . . . And they augur well of the future moral
progress of the native population of India, from these signs of
solid advance already exhibited on every hand, and gained
within the brief period of two generations. This view of the
general influence of their teaching, and of the greatness of the
revolution which it is silently producing, is not taken by mis-
sionaries only ; it has been accepted by many distinguished
residents in India and experienced officers of the government,
and has been emphatically indorsed by Sir Bartle Frere.
The following is Sir Bartle Frere's testimony:
I assure you that, whatever you may be told to the contrary,
the teaching of Christianity among the one hundred and sixty
millions of civilized industrious Hindus and Mohammedans in
India, is effecting changes, moral, social, and political, which,
for extent and rapidity of effect, are far more extraordinary
than any thing you or your fathers have witnessed in modern
Europe.
Lord Lawrence, Viceroy and Governor-General
of India, said :
I believe, notwithstanding all that the English people have
done to benefit India, the missionaries have done more than all
other agencies combined.
5oo PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
" The Friend of India and Statesman," Calcutta,
April 25, 1879, contains a remarkable lecture deliv-
ered by Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen, the leading
man in the Church of Brhum, in which this high
official bears the following generous testimony in
favor of Christian missions :
Is not a new and aggressive civilization winning its way day
after day, and year after year, into the very heart and soul of the
people? Are not Christian ideas and institutions taking their
root, on all sides, in the soil of India? Has not a Christian
government taken possession of its cities, its provinces, its vil-
lages ; with its hills and plains, its rivers and seas, its homes
and hearths, its teeming millions of men and women and chil-
dren ? Yes ! the advancing surges of a mighty revolution are
encompassing the land ; and, in the name of Christ, strange in-
novations and reforms are penetrating the very core of India's
heart. Well may our fatherland sincerely, earnestly, ask,
" Who is this Christ ? "
Who rules India ? What power is that that sways the des-
tinies of India at the present moment? You are mistaken if
you think that it is Lord Lytton in the cabinet, or the military
genius of Sir Frederick Haines in the field, that rules India. It
is not politics, it is not diplomacy, that has laid a firm hold of
the Indian heart. It is not the glittering bayonet, nor the fiery
cannon that influences us. ... Armies never conquered the
heart of the nation. No ! If you wish to secure the attach-
ment and allegiance of India, it must be by exercising spiritual
and moral influence. And such, indeed, has been the case in
India. You cannot deny that our hearts have been touched,
conquered, and subjugated by a superior power. That pcwer
is Christ ! Christ rules British India, and not the British Gov-
ernment. England has sent us a tremendous moral force in
the life and character of that mighty Prophet to conquer and
hold this vast empire. None but Jesus, none but Jesus, none
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 501
but Jesus ever deserved this bright, this precious diadem
India ; and Christ shall have it.
India is unconsciously imbibing 1 this new civilization, suc-
cumbing to its irresistible influence. It is not the British army,
I say again, that deserves honor for holding India. If to any
army appertains that honor, that army is the army of Christian
missionaries, headed by their invincible Captain, Jesus Christ.
Their devotion, their self-abnegation, their philanthropy, their
love of God, their attachment and allegiance to the truth, all
these have found, and will continue to find, a deep place, in the
gratitude of our countrymen. It is needless for me to bestow
eulogium upon such tried friends and benefactors of our
country.
Mr. Robert Mackenzie has said : *
The greatest of all fields of missionary labor is India. . . .
For fifty years Hindu youth in increasing numbers have re-
ceived an English education. A revolution of extraordinary
magnitude has been silently in progress during those years,
and even now points decisively to the ultimate, although still
remote, overthrow of Hindu beliefs and usages. A vast body
of educated and influential natives acknowledge that their an-
cient faith is a mass of incredibilities. A public opinion has
been created, by whose help such practices as infanticide and
the burning of widows have been easily suppressed. . . .
Through the open gateway of the English language English
knowledge and ideas and principles are being poured into
India. . . . The Hindu mind is awakening from its sleep of
ages. ... A higher moral tone is becoming familiar to the
people. . . .
England has undertaken to rescue from the debasement of
ages that enormous multitude of human beings. No enter-
prise of equal greatness was ever engaged in by any people.
Generations will pass away while it is still in progress, but its
* The "Nineteenth Century." Franklin Square Library, pp.
39. 45-
32
PRDBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
final success cannot be frustrated. We who watch it in its
early stages see mainly imperfections. Posterity will look
only upon the majestic picture of a vast and utterly barbaric
population, numbering well nigh one fourth of the human
family, subdued, governed, educated, Christianized, and led up
to the dignity of a free, self-governing nation by a handful of
strangers, who came from an inconsiderable island 15,000
miles away.
Mr. Mackenzie says of the missions of South
Africa : *
Southern Africa was the home of the Bechuanas, a fierce,
warlike race, cruel, treacherous, delighting in blood. No trav-
eler could go among them with safety ; they refused even to
trade with strangers. They had no trace of a religion, no
belief in any being greater than themselves, no idea of a future
life. . . . Christianity is now almost universal among the Bechu-
anas. Education is rapidly extending ; natives are being
trained in adequate numbers for teachers and preachers ;
Christianity is spreading out among the neighboring tribes.
The Bechuanas have been changed by Christian missions into
an orderly, industrious people, who cultivate their fields in
peace, and maintain with foreigners a mutually beneficial
traffic.
Rev. S. J. Whitmee, missionary at Samoa, said : f
At the present time we have in Polynesia nearly two hun-
dred ordained native ministers doing, in some respects, more
than the English and American missionaries. I have had the
honor of placing some of these men, as pioneer missionaries,
on heathen islands, among the native savages. Then I have
afterward seen what God has done by their agency. Whole
* The "' Nineteenth Century." Franklin Square Library, p, 19.
f Volume of "London Conference of Foreign Missions."
p. 200.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 503
populations of islands and groups of islands have been brought
out of idolatry, and have received Christianity and civilization,
and all through the agency, not of Englishmen, but of native
missionaries. They are Polynesians, who have received the
Gospel themselves, whose hearts the grace of God has touched,
who have been trained in native colleges, and who have then
gone as missionaries to preach the unsearchable riches of
Christ to their heathen fellow-islanders.
Again,*
Christianity has, also, become a power for good, in most of
our older missions, over the people generally. Public morality
has been benefited by it. The political, social, and domestic
life of the people has, to a greater or less extent, received a
more healthy moral tone. . . . The Sabbath is usually strictly
observed. Nearly all the people make a practice of attending
public worship at least once on the Lord's day.
It has been said that, under the influence of
pagan superstitions, men evince an inanity and a
torpor, from which no stimulus has proved power-
ful enough to arouse them but the new ideas and
principles imparted by Christianity. If not already
proved, but little time longer will be needed to
demonstrate the fact, that Protestant missions are
the most effective means ever brought to operate
upon the social, civil, commercial, moral, or spirit-
ual interests of mankind. Commencing at a time
when the larger pagan nations (China, Japan, etc.)
were inaccessible, Polynesia and Australasia were
* Volume of "London Conference of Foreign Missions," 1878,
p. 269.
504 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
providentially opened as the trial-ground on which
the great problem of foreign missions was to be
tested and wrought out. In these dark moral
wastes the densest ignorance has been enlightened,
the fiercest cannibalism confronted, the lowest con-
ditions of humanity elevated, the most abominable
idolatries overthrown, and the pure worship of the
Prince of Peace substituted. Well-organized civil
institutions have been established, a literature has
been created and learned, new ideals of life pro-
duced, and new types of society developed.
Many of the results of modern missions cannot
be definitely expressed. No array of figures, nor
terms, nor illustrations, will adequately set them
before us. Who can measure the preparatory
work, the learning of the imperfect languages, in
some cases, almost creating them ; the translating
of the Bible into such crude tongues, without
words to express the higher forms of thought ; the
development of a religious literature, sometimes
among people without any literature ; the removal
of prejudices seated in the lowest passions ; and
the establishment of confidence. Mountains and
hills have been made plains, valleys exalted, chasms
bridged, the far off brought nigh, and foundations
laid. The centrifugal aversions of paganism are
giving way to the centripetal attractions of Christi-
anity ; the habitations of cruelty are becoming safe,
peaceful abodes ; and the dark vapors and clouds
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 505
of superstition are vanishing before the brightening
light of Gospel day.
The translation and diffusion of the holy Script-
ures, at once one of the factors and one of the
achievements of this world-wide evangelization, de-
serve particular mention.
Reaching, as we have, the semi-millennial anni-
versary of the first complete translation of the Bible
into the English language, we joyfully recognize
that grand consummation as one of the great way-
marks of the Church's progress.
Seven great events mark distinct epochs in the
history of the Bible : The giving of the Law on
Mount Sinai, B. C. 1491 ; the compilation of the
Hebrew Bible by Ezra, B. C. 450; the Septuagint
version, B. C. 287 ; the Vulgate version, about
A. D. 400; Wycliffe's version, A. D. 1380; King
James' version, 1611 ; and the newly-revised En-
glish version, completed probably the present
year.
Each of these dates has marked an era of more
rapid and widely-extended progress of God's king-
dom. The Pentateuch, for nearly fifteen hundred
years, was the basis of the national life and order
of a people, who, though numerically small, acted a
leading part in the earlier religious movements of
the world. The work of Ezra brought into consist-
ent unity and permanence the fragmentary revela-
tions of a long dispensation, for the benefit of after
5o6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
ages. The Septuagint invested the Hebrew Script-
ures in a language the most perfect and beautiful
ever written or spoken, and introduced them into
the widely-extended realm of letters during the
great centuries of ancient classical culture. The
Vulgate, appearing simultaneously with the con-
quest of the old world by Christianity, conveyed
the sacred volume to the numerous rising nations
of northern, western, and southern Europe, among
whom for centuries the Latin tongue was the cur-
rent medium of communication. WyclifTe's version
introduced the divine word into the vernacular of a
young nation just coming into prominence, and des-
tined to act a leading part in the most active era
of progress the world has ever seen. In King
James' version, completed near the close of a
period of extended Papal colonization, and at the
opening of the period of Protestant colonization in
the new world, the Bible has become the corner-
stone of numerous new Christian States, in both
hemispheres, the impulse and purifier of our civil-
ization, and the inspiration of the great world-wide
evangelizing movements, which are the crowning
glory of our age. And may we not confidently
anticipate for the revised version, now nearly com-
pleted, in this age of steamships, railroads, tele-
graphs, telephones, and electric light, a glorious
providential mission, in connection with the ad-
vancement of the divine kingdom, demonstrating
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 507
anew the wonderful possibilities of the word of
God ; that it can live and work with increasing
power in all the languages of the successive ages ;
that it not only satisfies the advancing necessities
of the world, but also leads the column of progress ;
that each new verbal investiture, notwithstanding
outward diversities, is both a symbol and a factor
of an increasing spiritual unity, bringing the com-
mon heart of Christendom nearer to the core of
truth, a fresh illustration of the two eternal facts,
that God's kingdom is unchanged amid changes,
and is capable of perpetual rejuvenescence.
One hundred and twenty years ago, in a room in
Geneva, Voltaire boastingly said, " Before the be-
ginning of the nineteenth century Christianity will
have disappeared from the earth." Since that time
the very room where these vain words were uttered
has been used as a Bible Depository, and Christian-
ity has won the greatest, the widest, and the most
glorious triumphs of her whole history. Of all the
periods of religious history, the most wonderful is
that included in the last seventy-six years, since the
organization of the British and Foreign Bible So-
ciety in 1804 sometimes called the era of Bible
Societies but, more comprehensively, the era of
evangelizing agencies. Numerous data, collected at
the opening of this century, show that large por-
tions of professedly Protestant countries were with-
out copies of the sacred Scriptures, and that they
508 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
could be obtained only with great difficulty and at
great cost. On the continent of Europe, in Lithu-
ania, among 32,800 families, not a Bible could be
found ; in Holland one half of the population vas
destitute ; in Poland a Bible could scarcely be ob-
tained at any price ; in the district of Dorpat, in a
population of 106,000, not 200 New Testaments
could be found, and there were Christian pastors
who did not possess the Bible in the dialects in
which they preached ; in Iceland, in a population
of 50,000, almost all of whom could read, not more
than forty or fifty copies of the Bible existed ; in
the United States no Bible was published until the
close of the Revolution ; the pagan world was
wholly destitute, and in papal countries it did not
exist in the dialects of the people.
There are libraries in which are to be found
copies of every edition of the Bible ever printed,
and it is probable that in 1804 there were much
less than 5,000,000 of Bibles in all the world, a far
greater number, probably, than were in the hands
of mankind during the thirty centuries from Moses
to Luther. But since 1804 over 160,000,000* copies,
in whole or in part, of the word of God have been
scattered abroad in three quarters of a century,
more than thirty times as many as existed in all
the previous thirty-three centuries since the law
was given on Mount Sinai.
* See Report of American Bible Society, 1880, pp. 182, 3.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 509
At the beginning of this century, the Bible ex-
isted, in some fifty translations, in the languages of
one fourth of the earth's population ; now it exists
in the languages of over four fifths of the inhab- ;
itants of the world in 250* languages and dia-
lects, thirty-nine of which had no written form f
until Protestant missionaries created it. Such has
been the accelerated progress in our time, in sup-
plying the unevangelized world with scriptural
knowledge.
Many of the results of modern missions are mag-
nificent. Some of the largest local Churches in the
world are mission Churches on some of the islands of
the Pacific, not sixty years removed from utter bar-
barism, and now sending out missionaries to other
Pacific islands. On the Fiji Islands, whose inhabit-
ants, less than fifty years ago, feasted on human
flesh, more than one hundred thousand hearers
assemble for Christian worship, and twenty-five
thousand are enrolled communicants. In 1820
there was not a native Christian on the Friendly
Islands ; now twenty thousand assemble for Sabbath
worship, and nearly eight thousand are enrolled as
communicants of the Wesleyan Societies. In 1860,
forty years after the first mission began on Mada-
gascar, there were only a few hundred scattered,
* Some say over 300.
| Within seventy years, sixty or seventy languages have been made
to possess a literary history.
510 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
persecuted converts. Now the Queen and her
prime minister, with 253,000 of their subjects, are
adherents of Christianity; over seventy thousand
are enrolled communicants ; and forty-eight thou-
sand pupils are in schools. In 1877, the last vestige
of slavery was abolished on that island. Western
Africa numbers over thirty-two thousand commu-
nicants, and over ninety thousand Christian hearers.
Over two thousand miles of coast have been re-
claimed from the slave-trade, and churches and
schools have taken the place of slave-pens.
One hundred years ago Polynesia,* with its 12,000
islands, was, for the first time, clearly made known
to. Europeans by the discoveries of Captain Cook.
Its population was entirely heathen, of the lowest
degree, grossly and savagely heathen, their hideous
vices sadly contrasting with the wonderful natural
beauty of their island groups. Now, by far the
greater portion of Polynesia has become, in a good
degree, Christianized. Heathenism is mainly con-
* Rev. S. J. Whitmee, at the London Foreign Missiop Confer-
ence, in 1878, (see volume, p. 268,) gave the following statistics cf the
Polynesian Missions :
I. Malay o-Polynesian area Members of the Churchei.
London Missionary Society 171025
Wesleyan Missionary Society 10,315
Hawaiian Association 8,739 3^079
a. Micronesian area, (approximate) i5oo
3. Melanesian area
Wesleyan Missionary Society 26,634
London Missionary Society. 3,105
Presbyterian Missionary Society 783 30,522
Total Church members ....68,:ci
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 511
fined to the islands in the western portion, upon
which the missionary societies are now concentrat-
ing. The London Missionary Society has under-
taken the work in New Guinea ; the Melanesian
Mission, in the Banks' and Solomon Islands ; the
Presbyterians, in the New Hebrides; the Wesley-
ans, in New Britain and New Ireland ; and the
American Board, in connection with the Hawaiian
Churches, are widening their labors in Micronesia.
More than 60,000 converts were gathered into the
Protestant Mission Churches of the world in 1878
a number nearly equal to the whole number of
members of the Mission Churches fifty-five years
ago. Marvelous harvests were reaped in India,
Burmah, and Siam. Over 18,000 souls, at once,
joined the Anglicans in Tinnevelly, subsequently
increased by 6,000 more in the same presidency.
About 6,000 converts were added -to the Arcot
Mission of the Reformed Dutch Church. In the
American Baptist Mission, among the Telugus,
there was a similar immense ingathering of 10,537
converts in one year.
" Seventy years from the first promulgation of
Christianity," said a religious journal, discussing the
success of missions, " it is probable that there were
not more avowed Christians in the world than there
are now in India and Burmah." The nominal
Christian population of the world, at the close of
the second century, has been quite uniformly esti-
512 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
mated at two millions. But the Christian hearers
reported on three fifths of the foreign Protestant
missions, in 1880, at the close of ninety years since
the great English foreign missionary societies were
organized, was 1,813,596. Complete returns would
probably give more than three millions at the pres-
ent time ; and the enrolled communicants quite
one million. And yet, in the face of these unpar-
alleled results in the widely extended field of the
world, and an increase of 9,679,619 communicants
in the Evangelical Churches of the United States
during the past eighty years, a writer in the " Cath-
olic World" not long ago had the hardihood to
declare, 4< All historians agree that the triumphs of
Protestantism closed with the first fifty years of its
existence."
The eyes of India, China, and Japan are turning
more and more to Christian lands as the sources
whence are to be obtained the blessings of knowl-
edge and culture. Young men from these three
countries, now numbered by hundreds, are enrolled
as pupils in our schools and colleges, taking prizes
at our universities, and fitting for the Christian
ministry at our theological seminaries. Japanese
princesses, also, have come to join their dusky
brothers in Christian halls of science, fulfilling the
Scriptures: "The Gentiles shall come to thy light;"
" thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters
shall be nursed by thy side."
CHAPTER V.
THE WORLD-WIDE VIEW.
Christian Populations.
Christian Governments.
Papal and Protestant Governments.
Papal and Protestant Areas.
The English-speaking Population.
Civil Supremacy of Protestantism.
The Ascending Sun.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 515
CHAPTER V.
THE WORLD-WIDE VIEW.
THE progress of Christianity during the past
one hundred years is one of the most pal-
pable of all the phases of the world's history. The
following table,* published as a conjectural, but
probable, estimate of the progressive increase of the
number of Christians in the world, in the succes-
sive centuries, intelligently made up from carefully
collated data, has been generally accepted. For
the period more especially under consideration
the time since the birth of Protestantism the fol-
lowing are the figures :
I500,f 100,000,000 Christians. I 1700, 1 5 5, 000,000 Christians.
1600, 125,000,000 I 1800, 200,000,000 "
Before 1847 Rev. Sharon Turner said : J " In
this nineteenth century the real numbe*- of the
* See Ferussac, " Bull. Univ. Geog.," January, 1827, page 4.
f The statistics of the earlier periods are as follows :
Christians.
First century 500,000
Second
Third u 5,000,000
Fourth " 10,000,000
Fifth
15,000,000
Sixth * 20,000,000
Seventh " 25,000,000
Christiani.
Eighth century 30,000,000
Ninth 40,000,000
Tenth " 50,000,000
Eleventh " 70,000,000
Twelfth " 80,000,000
Thirteenth" 75,000,000
Fourteenth " 80,000,000
See Mr. Turner's " History of the Anglo-Saxons."
J " History of the Anglo-Saxons," sixth edit., vol. iii, p. 484, note.
516 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Christian population of the world is nearer to three
hundred millions, and is visibly much increasing
from the missionary spirit and exertions which are
now distinguishing the chief Protestant nations of
the world."
The latest estimates are as follows :
Year. Christians. Authorities.
1830 228,000,000 Malte Brun.
1840 300,000,000 Rev. Sharon Turner, D. D.
1850 342,000,000 Rev. Robert Baird, D.D.
1876 394,000,000 Prof. Schem, LL.D.
1880 410,900,000 Prof. Schem, LL.D.
The above are probably the most reliable repre-
sentations of the later progress of Christianity in
the whole world, showing its wonderful growth in
later years, far exceeding its previous progress. In
fifteen hundred years it gained one hundred mill-
ions ; then, in three hundred years, it gained one
hundred millions more ; then, in seventy-nine years,
it gained two hundred and ten millions more. In
the last seventy-nine years it gained as much as in
the eighteen centuries previous to 1800. During
the nearly ten centuries of almost exclusive papal
dominion, Christianity gained only about eighty-
five millions. Since the birth of Protestantism, a
period about one third as long, it has gained nearly
four times as much. And since the great religious
quickening of Protestantism under the Wesleys and
Whitefield, in the middle of the last century, it has
gained two hundred and thirty-five millions.
50 millions.
Illustrating the progress of Christianity
in all the world, A. D. 1-1880.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 519
But the portion of the earth's population under
Christian governments has increased even more rap-
idly than the number of Christians, as will be seen
by the following well-established figures :
UNDER CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENTS.
Year. Population. Authorities.
1500 100,000,000 Rev. Sharon Turner, D.D.
1700 155,000,000 Rev. Sharon Turner, D.D.
1830 387,788,000 Adrian Balbi.
1876 685,459,411 Prof. Schem, LL.D.
These figures show the wonderful growth of the
Christian nations, the enlargement of their national
domains, and the increase of their populations.
They demonstrate the rapid extension of Christian
influences and the Christian subjugation of the
world. Nearly seven times the number of people
are under the control of Christian nations as at the
opening of the sixteenth century, when Protestant-
ism arose. The increase in the one hundred and
forty years since Wesleyanism arose in England
has been five hundred millions, equal to more than
one third of the population of the globe.
But has this wond&rful increase been in the
Greek, or the Roman Catholic, or the Protestant
form of Christianity ? Let us see. The following
table, based upon statistics furnished in Seaman's
" Progress of Nations," will show the relative
strength of these forms of Christianity in the world
in the year 1700 :
33
520 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
Countries.
Pop'n under
Roman Catholic
Governments.
Italy and islands 18,000,000
Spain and Portugal 13,500,000
France and colonies 20,700,000
Great Britain and colonies . .
Ireland 2,400,000
Holland and colonies
Belgium 1,400,000
Prussia
Denmark and colonies
Sweden and Norway
Germany
Switzerland
Austria and Hungary. ..... 18,000,000
Poland 3,000,000
Spanish and Portuguese Am. 13,000,000
Russia
Greece and isles
Africa, etc
Pop'n under Pop'n under
Greek Church Protestant
Governments. Governments.
9,000,000
I,8OO,000
7,500,000
1,300,000
2,400,000
8,500,000
1,500,000
17,000,000
12,000,000
4,000,000
Total 90,000,000 33,000,000 32,000,000
In the year 1 500 about 80,000,000 of people were
under Roman Catholic governments, and not far
from 2O,ooo 5 ooo under the Greek Church govern-
ments. The following estimates by Adrian Balbi,
for 1830, and by Prof. Schem, for 1876, will serve
our purpose :
Year.
I ^OO
Pop'n under
Roman Catholic
Governments.
80 ooo ooo
Pop'n under
Greek Church
Governments.
2O OOO OOO
Pop'n under
Protestant
Governments.
Total.
IOO OOO OOO
1700.. .
1830...
1876*.
90,000,000
134,164,000
180,787,905
33,000,000
60,000,000
96,101,894
32,000,000
193,624,000
408,569,612
155,000,000
387.788,000
685,459,411
* See Table XXXIX, in Appendix, for a fuller exhibit of the sta-
tistics for 1876.
1500.
200 millions.
Xllust rating growth of populations under,
Roman Catholic, Greek Churuh, and Prot-
tnnt Governments.
1600.
Roman Catholic.
BHi Greek Church.
Protestant.
See pp. 519-521.
1700.
1800.
1830.
1876.
685 millions.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 523
One hundred and eighty years ago only 155,000,000
of the earth's population were under Christian gov-
ernments. Then the Grand Seignior, the Sophi,
and the Great Mogul were the most potent arbiters
of the destinies of the race. Nearly all Asia and
Africa were under pagan and Mohammedan sway.
The mighty worlds of Australasia, Polynesia, and
the Indian Archipelago lay in the undisturbed
slumbers of savagery and superstition. Scarcely
four hundred thousand Protestant colonists occu-
pied both American continents ; all the remainder
was pagan or Catholic. All the religious missions
of the world, excepting a few among the aborigines
in the American colonies, were papal, and the only
religion not disseminating itself and gaining ground
was the Protestant. Great Britain and her colonies
did not number ten million of people. Now she
comprises a population of more than three hundred
million * under her civil sway.
The population under Roman Catholic govern-
ments, in the year 1700, as we have seen, was
90,000,000. This has increased to 180,787,905 in
1876, simply doubling. The population under the
Greek Church governments, in 1700, was 33,000,000.
This increased to 96,101,894, nearly trebling. The
population under Protestant governments, in 1700,
* According to the census for 1872 the inhabitants of India were
237,552,958, of whom 191,300,000 were directly governed by British
rulers, and 46,250,000 by native governments dependent upon the
BritisL
524 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
was 32,000,000. This increased to 408,569,612 h
1876, a more than twelve fold increase. While Ro
manism brought 90,787,905 more people under her
sway, Protestantism extended her dominion over
376,569,612 more people an actual gain more than
four times as great as that of Romanism in the
same period. Since 1830, while Romanism added
about 46,000,000 of people to her civil sway, Prot-
estantism added 215,000,000 to hers. In these
calculations Italy, France, and Mexico, rapidly
passing out from under the civil control of the Pa-
pacy, are reckoned with Romanism. In twenty
years more they will probably be transferred to the
other side, and much of South America also.
The Roman Catholic and the Protestant popula-
tions of the world, which were not long ago sup-
posed to be nearly equal, the transitions from the
one to the other nearly balancing, have relatively
changed very greatly during the last thirty years,
the preponderance being now very largely in favor
of Protestant nations. The losses and gains of Ro-
manism and Protestantism are now far from balanc-
ing each other, the preponderance of the gains being
immensely in favor of Protestantism. The signs of
the times clearly indicate that the future will bring
still greater relative gains to Protestantism. In
Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, Chili, and in almost
every Catholic country of the globe, Protestantism
:s gaining more rapidly and substantially than
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 525
Romanism is gaining in any country wholly or pre-
dominantly Protestant. Under the spread of toler-
ation, other papal lands are opening to the introduc-
tion of Protestantism, and Rome is losing her exclu-
sive hold upon other long-occupied seats of power.
While Rome is thus losing to a great extent the
control of the great nations hitherto nominally con-
nected with her, it must be admitted that she is
making some gains in the aristocracy of some Prot-
estant countries. The number of Roman Catholic
peers in Great Britain, in one hundred years, in-
creased from nine to more than thirty. In Germany
the facts are similar. The Marquis of Bute and the
Count of Schonburg are examples. The explana-
tion of this fact is not difficult. The aristocracy of
those countries is no less opposed to the liberalizing
tendencies of modern civilization than Rome, and is
thus drawn into natural alliance with Rome. She
may still continue to make such gains, and increase
her wealth ; but among the masses of the people
the effect can only be favorable to Protestantism.
The opposition to the principles of progress and
liberty is more and more centering in the Roman
Catholic Church ; and the plainer this becomes the
sooner will society emancipate itself from her influ-
ence, for the irreversible drift of the world is in the
direction of popular freedom.
Looking at the territorial area of the earth, we
notice similar progress. The latest computations
526 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
fix the total area at 52,062,470 square miles, of
which Christian nations have under their civil con-
trol 32,419,915 square miles; and the pagan and
Mohammedan, 19,624,555 three fifths Christian and
two fifths pagan and Mohammedan. Dividing the
Christian nations, we find under the civil dominion
of Protestant governments, 14,337,187 square miles ;
under Roman Catholic, 9,304,605 square miles ; and
under Greek Church governments, 8,778,123 square
miles.
" The acquisition of foreign territory by Great
Britain is without a parallel in the history of the
human family. She bears rule over one third of the
surface of the globe, and one fourth of its popula-
tion. Her possessions abroad are in area sixty
times larger than the parent State. She owns three
millions and a half of square miles in America, one
million each in Africa and Asia, and two and a half
millions in Australia. These enormous acquisitions
have been gained chiefly within the last hundred
years. There are thirty-eight separate colonies, or
groups of colonies, varying in area from Gibraltar
with its two miles, to Canada, with three million
and a half. Their population aggregates eleven
millions, and steadily continues to increase." *
Great changes are also taking place in the pre-
vailing language of the world, the English coming
more than ever to be the means of intercommuni-
* " The Ninteenth Century," p. 45.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 527
cation among the great nations. Baron Kolb, the
German statistician, after extensive research, has
given the following statement of the prevalence
of leading languages. The German is spoken by
fifty to sixty millions of people ; the French and
Spanish, by forty millions each ; the Russian by fifty-
five millions ; and the English, by eighty millions.
"Whitaker's Almanac" for 1881 (p. 157) puts the lat-
ter at eighty-one millions. These the same author-
ity divides as follows:
Episcopalians 18,000,000
Methodists 14,250,000
Presbyterians 10,250,000
Baptists 8,000,000
Congregationalists 6,000,000
Unitarians 1,000,000
M inor sects 1 ,500,000
Total Protestants 59,000,000
Roman Catholics 13 ,500,000
Of no particular religion 8 ,500,000
Aggregate 81 ,000,000
In the year 1800 the English-speaking popula-
tion of the globe did not exceed twenty-four mil-
lions, of which five millions and a half were Roman
Catholics ; four millions and a half were of no par-
ticular religion ; and fourteen millions were Prot-
estants. According to this analysis, the English-
speaking population has increased two hundred and
thirty-seven per cent. ; the Roman Catholic popu-
lation among English-speaking people, one hundred
and forty-five per cent. ; the non-religious English-
528 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
speaking population about one hundred per cent. ;
and the Protestant English-speaking population,
three hundred and twenty-one per cent.
The Bible, in the year 1800 existing in the lan-
guages of only one fifth of the earth's population,
has now been translated into the languages of nine
tenths of the inhabitants of the world.
The institution of Sunday-schools, which one
hundred years ago was just coming into being, at
the end of the first half century of its existence, in
1830,* had less than two millions of teachers and
scholars. Now it has a world-wide existence, and
over fourteen millions of members.
Officers and
Teachers.
Scholars. Total.
Europe 550,001 6,332,813 5,882,814
Asia 1,772 38,000 39,772
Africa 300 15,000 15,300
North America 931,740 6,974,454 7,906,194
South America 3,000 150,000 153,000
Oceanica 17,800 170,000 187,800
Total f in world .. 1,504,613 12,680,267 14,184,880
In the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church
exerted the controlling influence in civil legislation
and administration all over Europe. It claimed the
sole right of dictating legislation, exempted its
priests and monks from civil jurisdiction, and ac-
* See "American Quarterly Register" for 1830.
f This table takes in only the Sunday-schools of Evangelical Prot-
estant Churches, and the figures are probably incomplete. Se*
Table XXX, in Appendix.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 529
cumulated within its hands a very large portion of
the wealth of the nations.
The Reformation was a movement in the direc-
tion of freedom. It sought to break this exclusive
control of the Church over the State, and to make
all citizens equal before the law. Immense ad-
vances have every- where been made toward the
realization of this reform. "Although the Catholic
Church has still a larger membership than all the
Reformed Churches combined, the power and com-
manding influence upon the destinies of mankind
are more and more passing into the hands of States
and governments which are separated from Rome.
In the New World, the ascendency of the United
States and British America, in both of which Prot-
estantism prevails, over the States of Spanish and
Portuguese America, is not disputed even by Cath-
olics. In Europe, England has become the great-
est world power, and, in its wide dominions, new
great Protestant countries are springing into exist-
ence, especially in Australia and South Africa. In
Germany, the supreme power has passed from the
declining Catholic house of Hapsburg to the Prot-
estant house of Hohenzollern, and the new Prot-
estant German Empire marks an addition of the
greatest importance to the aggregate power of the
Protestant world. The combined influence of the
three great Teutonic peoples, the United States,
Great Britain, and Germany, continues to be cast
53Q PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
in a steadily increasing ratio, for the defense of that
freedom from the dictation of Rome which was
first won by the Reformation. That freedom is
now not only fully secured against any possible
combination of Catholic States, but the Parliaments
of most of the latter, as France, Austria, Italy,
Portugal, are as eager in the defense of this princi-
ple as the Protestant States. Thus it may be said
that, after an existence of about three hundred and
fifty years, the Reformation has totally annihilated
the influence of Rome upon the laws and the govern-
ment of the civilized world." *
" Once the slightest whispers of the Roman pon-
tiff upon political affairs caused every throne of
Europe to nod ;" but now his utterances are of
" little more account than the ghosts of Tarn O'Shan-
ter." How greatly has the area of liberty extend-
ed since the days of Louis XV. and George II.
Thirty years ago an able writer said, " We do not
despair of yet hearing a Protestant sermon within
the gates of the Eternal City." It is now more
than an accomplished fact, for Protestant Churches,
Sunday-schools, and Bibles are penetrating all Italy,
and are established under the very shadow of St.
Peter's. Protestantism has steadily gained power,
and widely extended the blessings of a higher civ-
ilization. The Anglo-Saxon race, now in the
ascendant, that has stretched its power over Amer-
* M'Clintock & Strong's " Cyclopaedia," art., Reformation.
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 531
ica, India, and Australia, has " a history and a
temperament that will never allow it to become the
craven minion of Rome."
How marvelous the changes that have taken
place in China within thirty years. This exclusive,
Icircumvallated people have admitted innovation
after innovation, and are accepting the Christian
civilization, as a thing no longer to be resisted.
Japan is putting on the new civilization as a gar-
ment, effecting changes in her political constitu-
tion and social habits, the like of which no other
State ever accomplished in a century.
Very early one morning several hundred eagei
tourists, in scanty apparel, stood shivering on one
of the Alpine summits, waiting the rising of the
sun. So long was his approach delayed, that it
seemed as though somewhere in the far East un-
expected events had detained him. Soon deep
shadows began to lift and retire, and purple streaks
gleamed athwart the eastern horizon. Clearer and
louder notes from an Alpine horn roused the weary
waiters to the tiptoe of expectation ; and on the
cloudless blue there soon formed a band of gold,
swiftly growing in brilliancy, until the full-orbed sun
blazed, and blinded all eyes with its brightness.*
Long ago the purple streaks and dispersing
shadows of the world's great day-dawn and the
fillet of its earliest rays appeared. Christianity is
*Rev. J. L. Withrow, D.D.
532 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
now far beyond its dawn. We see something more
than the purple tints of Christ's kingly presence
in the affairs of men. Though dark shadows,
hideous specters and poisonous malaria still lin-
ger in deep vales, yet we behold his rising glory,
diffusing light and warmth, purifying and sweet-
ening the world. Higher and higher is Christ's
scepter lifted. Willing nations, rejoicing in the
day of his power,
"To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all."
In the last moments of the Convention that
framed the Constitution of the United States, while
the members were affixing their signatures to the
document, Benjamin Franklin arose in his seat, and
pointing to a painting of the rising sun on the wall
behind the President, said : " Painters, in their
art, have found it difficult to distinguish between
a rising and a setting sun. I have often, in the
course of the session of this convention, in the vi-
cissitudes of hope and fear as to its issue, looked
at that picture, without being able to tell whether
it was rising or setting. But now, at length, I have
the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a
setting sun."
There have been periods, since the conquest of
the old Roman world by Christianity, when some
friends have entertained grave doubts whether it
would not soon go down in darkness and wholly
STATISTICAL EXHIBITS. 533
disappear. Many times have its enemies confi-
dently predicted such disaster.
But, at the present time, no intelligent person,
standing in the light of the last four centuries, and
beholding the great religious movements of this
age, can doubt whether Protestant Christianity is
a setting or a rising sun. Every year it is robing
itself in fuller effulgence, and pouring its blessed
illumination upon new millions of earth's benighted
children.
How marvelous the advances of Christ's kingdom
in our days ! What a privilege to be witnesses and
sharers in the great movements ! That devout
commentator, Rev. Albert Barnes, deeply inter-
ested in the kingdom of God, rejoicing in its ad-
vances, and the clear indications of still greater
strides of progress soon to come, was accustomed
often to say that he would like to live a hundred
years longer than the allotted term of human life,
that he might participate in the glories of the grand
advancing era.
Much yet remains to be done. Heavy duties
and arduous toils are before us. Stern battles are
to be fought All along the vast lines of Christ's
militant hosts the conflict rages. Skepticism and
worldliness are rallying their forces. Subtle and
specious forms of evil are seeking to undermine
and destroy. But over the storm of battle hangs
the bright bow of promise ; and tidings, from afar
534 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
and near, of mighty conquests cheer us. Even in
the tomb, where some think faith is being buried,
we see the angels of resurrection standing. The
rapidly accumulating treasures of humanity are
being joyfully laid at the feet of the Son of God.
The utilities of art, invention, and enterprise ; the
sublimest discoveries of science and exploration ;
the broadest researches of history, ethnography,
and philology ; the beautiful .charities of the good ;
the best thought of the wise ; the cultured ameni-
ties of the rich and the loving gratitude of the poor,
unite in a common homage, and chant hymns of
praise to the great Redeemer.
" The continual and steady growth of Christianity r ,
its vigorous life in spite of various seasons of una-
voidable ebb, and notwithstanding the presence of
many sources of corruption, and its continual reju-
venescence, are no ordinary proof of its divine origin
as well as of its superior fitness for the position, in
the world which it claims to occupy." *
* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," ninth edition, art. " Christianity."
APPENDIX.
ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS.
The United States. Tables I to XVII.
The British Islands. Tables XVIII to XXIII.
The British Dominion in North America. Table XXIV.
keumenieal Statistics. Tables XXV to XXXIX.
APPENDIX,
ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS,
UNITED STATES.
TABLES I TO XVII.
TABLE I. 1
CHURCHES AND MINISTERS IN 1775.
DENOMINATIONS.
Churches.
Ministers.
7OO
C-7C
^oo
2CQ
Baptist
^80
2CO
3QO
I4O
Lutheran
60
25
German Reformed
60
2q
Dutch Reformed
60
2K
2O
ra
Moravian
8
12
Methodist 2
*?o
2O
Total
i 918
I 4.35
1 All this table, except the item in regard to the Methodist Church, then not
organized as a national body, was taken from Rev. Dr. Baird's " Religion in
America," p. 210. Harper & Brothers, 1856. There were 52 Roman Catholic
Churches and 26 priests not included in this table.
2 The "Minutes" for 1775 give 20 preachers, 10 circuits, and 3,418 members.
Each circuit comprised several societies, or Church organizations.
34
538 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE II.
CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND COMMUNICANTS, 1800.
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiza-
tions or
Congrega-
tions. 1
Minis-
ters.
Communi-
cants.
1,500
T.200
100,000
3,000
75,000
50,000
64,894
40,000
'ii,978
20,000
Congregational 4 .
810
600
Friend &
Methodist Episcopal Church * ...
287
300
264
500
320
(
Protestant Episcopal 8
SMALLER BODIES.
Lutheran, Dutch, and German Reformed,
Seventh-day Baptist, Six-Principle Bap-
tist, Mennonite, Moravian, etc., estim'd.
Total
1
3,030
2,651
364,872
1 In some cases the congregations are given.
2 " Christian Retrospect and Register," by Rev. Dr. Baird, p. 220; also arti-
cles on the " History of the Baptists,"by Rev. Rufus Babcock, D.D., in "Ameri-
can Quarterly Register," 1841-42.
8 Appleton's old kk Encyclopedia," article, Free-will Baptists.
4 " Historical Sketches of Congregationalism," by Rev. Joseph S. Clark, D.D.,
and Dr. Baird's " Christian Retrospect and Register," p. 220.
8 Estimated.
8 ik General Minutes of Methodist Episcopal Church."
' Rev. Robert Baird, D.D.
8 " Episcopal Record," 1860.
8 Dr. Baird, in " Report to. Evangelical Alliance," 1850, set the number of com-
municants at 16,000, in 1800.
TABLE III.
CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND COMMUNICANTS, 1850.
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiza-
tions or
Congrega-
tions. 1
Minis-
ters. a
Communi-
cants. 8
Baptist * Regular North *
3,557
2,665
296,614
South 5
4,840
2,477
300,103
Total. .
8,406
5,142
686,807
APPENDIX.
539
TABLE III, (Continued.)
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiza-
tions or
Congrega-
tions. 1
Minis-
ters. 11
Communi-
cants.*
Baptist, Free-will *
1,126
867
c.O.22^
" Seventh-day T
71
58
6 351
A
4OO
" Six-Principle 4
21
2C
3 586
* Anti-mission 4
2 035
67 845
V /
Total Baptist
11,659
7 003
815 212
I Q7I
I 687
IQ7 IQ7
Disciple or Campbellite* .
I 808
848
118 618
Dutch Reformed 9
286
2QQ
3-2 780
Dunker 4
I ?2
160
7 840
T-3CO
i 595
Evangelical Association * l . .
2OO
IQC
12 2I ^74
Friend (Evangelical) (est'd by Friends). .
*6oo
7O,OOO
70 ooo
1,603
I 4OO
163 ooo
400
24O
25 ooo
Moravian ^ ...
27
3O27
Methodist Episcopal Church 13
4I2Q
14 6g3 8n
South 16 ...
11 African 15 .
" Zion 16
Protestant 15 .
....
1,556
127
71
807
14 22,I2J
Wesleyan 15
4OO
14 2I 4OO
12
14 I 112
Reformed 15 . .
CQ
1*2 050
** Stillwellite 15
2OO
Total Methodist
J *i7 ooo
17 7 m2
14 I 325 631
Presbyterian Old School 18 . . . . ...
I 026
2O7 7^4
New School 19
j 473
T-3Q 707
' Reformed General Synoc
of, in North America 20 . .
Ref 'd Synod of, in N. Am. 2t
* Associate 15
63
50
214
43
33
1 20
6,800
6,000
18,000
' Associate Reformed 15
1 Cumberland 21 . .
332
CQO
219
26,340
17^,000
11 Other small bodies (est'd).
....
8,000
Tntal Prartt'Htpvisi'n
A 9 6/1
/iR7 finl
$40 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE III, (Continued.)
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiza-
tions or
Congrega-
tions. 1
Minis-
ters. 2
Communi-
cants. 8
40,OOO
800
14 50,450
11,000
United Brethren 23
500
IOO
43,072
450
75
Several small bodies (estimated). .......
25,655
3,529,988
1 In some cases, probably, congregations are reported instead of Church or-
ganizations.
2 Local preachers and licentiates not included.
8 Some Churches include baptized children, but not many.
4 " Baptist Almanac," 1851.
6 Divided on the basis of the two General Conventions, which, since the schism
in 1845, have not affiliated, as is also the case with the Methodist Episcopal
Churches, North and South, and the Presbyterian.
6 Free-will Baptist " Register," for 1851.
7 Seventh-day Baptist " Manual, " for 1852.
8 " Christian Almanac, 11 1850, and Dr. Baird's " Christian Retrospect and
Register."
9 " Christian Retrospect and Register," by Dr. Baird.
10 " Church Almanac."
11 Official document, number of churches estimated.
12 Ministers added with members to make the total communicants, as with the
Methodist bodies, because of peculiarities of Church polity. See " Methodist."
13 u Minutes of the Methodist Episcopal Church," 1850.
l * According to the polity of the Methodist Churches, it is necessary to add
the number of preachers to the number of members, in order to get the total
communicants, because they are not reckoned into the number of communicants
in the local Churches, as with other denominations.
16 Fox and Hoyt's " Ecclesiastical Register."
18 The Methodist Minutes do not report the number of Church organizations.
The United States Census for 1850 gave 14,861 church edifices, (all kinds of
Methodists.) The organizations or societies considerably exceed the edifices ;
hence the above number is partly estimated.
17 Besides 10,599 local preachers.
18 u Minutes of General Assembly," Old School, 1850.
19 " Minutes of General Assembly," New School, 1850.
20 Rev. R. Baird, D.D., in "American and Foreign Christian Union," vol. a,
pp. 77, 78.
21 kt Christian Retrospect and Register," by Rev. Robert Baird, D.D.
22 Estimated by Revs. J. Litch and J. V. Hines.
28 Official sources. Number of churches estimated.
APPENDIX.
TABLE IV.
CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND COMMUNICANTS, 1870.
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiz-
ations. 1
Minis-
ters. 1
Communi-
cants. 1
Baptist 3 Regular North 8
c 8^7
4 112
AQ OQO
" South 3
IO 777
6<3<JT
H-yD, v -'yy
7OO 2^2
' " Colored 3
811
37C
12^ 14.2
Total Regular Baptist
14j<y A AC.
10 818
I4IO J.Q^
I ^"^
1,116
6^ 6ot?
" " " Minor bodies 4
" Seventh-day 5
174
78
86
8,549
7 600
* " " German 8
20
2 OOO
" Six-Principle 8
22
20
3. OOO
Total Baptist
15 IQ OQ4.
12 040
I 4.Q7 2^6
J -V> v -'Vt
'i 121
3 IQ4
^06 m8
16 2 d?8
2 2OO
A.Q OOO
OOO
Ioco
40 ooo
Episcopal Protestant 9
16o 7^2
2 803
207 762
12 8l5
587
13 73 566
OQ2
7 4(X
Lutheran n General Synod ....
^QO7
CQT
Ql 72O
Council
w/
008
C27
I2Q ^l6
" Synod of N. Amer.
Other Synods
214
i 183
121
686
16,662
JCQ 64O
Total Lutheran
16< 3 -2Q2
I,Q2^
17 388 538
27O
-32C
7Q IOO
72
66
7,6^4,
Methodist Episcopal Church 20
9IQ-2
13 I ^76 ^27
" South 20 ....
2,022
13 5Q8,350
" African 21 ..
560
13 2OO,s6o
" " " " Zion 21
6O4
13 i64,694
14 Protestant 21
42^
13 72,423
" Wesleyan 21
250
13 2O,25O
Free 20
128
13 7,866
" Primitive 21
20
13 2,020
" Welsh Calvinistic 22
20
2,OOO
" Reformed 6
3.OOO
IOO
6,OOO
" The Methodist Church " 24
766
13 54,562
Total Methodist. . .
12 25,278
15,076
13 2,400,O52
542 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE IV, (Continued.)
DENOMINATIONS.
Church
Organiz-
ations. 1
Minis-
ters. 1
Communi-
cants. 1
Presbyterian, General Assembly 25
South 25 ..
" United of North America. 25 . .
' Reformed Synod 26
4,526
1,469
729
87
4,238
840
553
86
446,561
82,014
69,805
8577
" General 26 ..
' " Ass. Syn. of South 26
60
6,000
4. 5OO
' Cumberland 25
I 6OO
i 116
80 ooo
Free Synod 26
60
6,OOO
lOjOOO
Total Presbyterian
8.4.71
6 Sen
71-3 4.1:7
Reformed Church (late Dutch) 27
46.1
/J.Q'I
6 1 444.
" " (late German) 87 ...
I I7O
493
526
06 728
Second Advent 88
225
56,000
*' " Seventh-day
IO OOO
United Brethren 6
18 I 445
881
13 n8 cn6
Winebrennarian, or Church of God 8 . . .
MINOR BODIES NOT WELL KNOWN.
Bible Christian, Schwenkfelder, German
Evangelical Ch. Union, River Breth-
4OO
350
30,000
20,000
7O 14.8
4.7 6OQ
6 67^,306
1 See References (i, 2, 3) under previous Table. a " Baptist Year-Book," 1871.
8 For the division, see Explanation under Table V, Reference 6.
4 Free-will Baptist " Register," 1871. ' Official statement to the author.
Estimated. 7 "Congregational Quarterly," 1871.
8 Estimate of leading officials. Number of Churches from " U. S. Census," 1870.
9 Church Almanac, 1871. 10 u Friends' Review," 1871.
"N. Y. Observer Year-Book," 1871. ia " United States Census," 1870.
18 Ministers added with members, to make the full number of communicants.
See Explanation under Tables III and V.
14 In 1870 the "United States Census" reported 3,061 less Church organizations
of the Regular Baptists than their "Year-book" gave. See "Compendium of
Census," 1870, p. 517, note.
18 " United States Census " gave 15,829 Baptist Churches of all kinds.
16 Congregations, or Parishes. 17 Includes baptized children in some synods.
18 Prof. Schem, 1867. 19 Official Statement. 20 "Annual Minutes," 1870.
21 " Methodist Almanac," 1871. 22 Appleton's "Annual Cyclopedia," 1870.
" N. Y. Observer Year-Book," 1871. 24 " Minutes" of said Church, 1871.
' a " Official Minutes," 1870. 28 For 1866.
y* " New York Observer Year-Book," 1871.
88 Estimated by Revs. J. Litch and J. V. Hines.
APPENDIX.
TABLE v.
CHURCHES, MINISTERS, AND COMMUNICANTS, 1880. *
543
EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS.
Church Or-
ganizations
or Congre-
gations. 2
Ministers. s
ill
Sfe'S
6,782
5,280
608,556
South 6
13,827
8,227
1,026,413
" Colored 6
5,451
2,080
1661.358
Total
26,06O
16,596
2,296,327
Baptist Free-will 7
1,432
1,213
78,012
" " Minor bodies 8
25,000
Anti-mission^ ...
qoo
4OO
40,000
Seventh-day 9 . ... ....
Q4
no
8 530
" " German (estimated)
25
20
12
3,ooo
2,000
Total Baptist
10 28,53i
18,331
2,452,878
3,743
3,654
384,332
Disciple 12
5,100
3,782
591,821
Dunker 13
250
2OO
60,000
Episcopal Protestant 1 *
15 3,ooo
3,432
338,333
' ' Reformed 16
IOO
Q,448
Evangelical Association 1 '
1.477
8oq
112 JQ7
Friend, Evangelical (partly estimated) . .
Lutheran, 18 General Council
392
1,151
200
624
60,000
184,074
" General Synod South
214
122
18,223
" " " North .
1. 28<?
841
I2^.8l^
'* Independent
013
360
69,353
I, QOO
1,176
554,505
Total Lutheran
i5,553
3,132
20 950,868
Methodist Episcopal 91
12. Oq6
22 i, 755,018
South* 8
3,887
832,189
" " African 24
1,738
387,566
" Zion 26 ...
Colored' 2 '
1, 800
638
300,000
112,938
225
13,750
' Free 28
26o
12,318
" Primitive 28
5 2
3.369
Protestant 27
1,385
135,000
3,000
101
2,250
Wesleyan in United States 29 .
4OO
17,087
Total Methodist . .
30 2Q,278
22, <582
M 3, 5 74,48 5
544 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE V, (Continued.)
EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS.
Church Or-
ganizations
or Congre-
gations. 8
m
i
Members
or Commu-
nicants.*
JQO
3CQ
5O,OOO
84
Q4
Q.4QI
Presbyterian General Assembly 81
5d8o
e Q4.1
578 6?I
South 31
" United, of North America 81
" Cumberland 81
1,928
8l 3
2 4^7
1, 060
684
I 386
120,028
82,119
111.86^
44 Synod of Reformed 81
44 Gen. Synod of Reformed 32
44 Welsh Calvinistic 33 . .
H7
50
I 17
III
32
IOO
io,473
6,800
II OOO
44 Associate Synod of South 81
44 Other bodies (estimated)..
112
121
6,686
10,000
Total Presbyterian
II IO3
8 m8
017.640
Reformed Church (late Dutch) 81
CIO
K.AA
80,208
44 " (late German) M .
I 4O5
748
jee 8^7
Second Advent 86 .
800
600
7O OOO
' " Seventh-day 81
88 64O
144
IC.C7O
United Brethren 87
4C24
2 106
i<>7.8i<>
Winebrennarian, or Church of God 6 . . .
German Evang'l Ch. Union, Bible Chris-
tians, Schwenkfelders, Bible Union,
River Brethren, little known (estimat'd)
400
350
30,000
2^.000
Aggregate . .
07.000
60.870
10.06^.061
1 The "Year-Books" for 1881 contain the statistics for 1880; but some of the
" Annual Minutes " of the Churches give the statistics for the given year.
8 In some cases the congregations are reported ; in others, only the organized
Churches. ' Local preachers and licentiates not included.
4 A few denominations reckon baptized children as members, but by far the
smaller part. " Baptist Year-Book," for 1881.
Divided on the basis of the two General Conventions, North and South, which
are as separate as the Methodist and the Presbyterian Churches, North and
South. The colored associations are also independent of the others.
7 Free-will Baptist " Register," for 1881. 8 Ibid., 1880.
9 u Minutes of Seventh-day Baptist Convention," for 1880.
10 Probably to some extent congregations. See references 14 and 15, under
previous table.
" Official Statistics, furnished by Rev. A. H. Quint, D.D., 1881.
13 Furnished by Rev. F. W. Green, Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary
Society of the Disciples. 18 Official returns for 1877.
APPENDIX.
545
14 M Church Almanac, for 1881." Another Almanac, a few more. 1B Parishes.
16 Statistics published after late Convention. 1T "Almanac Evang. Ass'n, 1881.
18 " Lutheran Church Almanac," 1881. 19 Congregations.
* Including baptized children in some Synods. 21 To December, 1880.
22 Including ministers, because not reckoned elsewhere as communicants, and
also probationers. See explanation under Table III.
23 " Almanac of Methodist Episcopal Church, South," for 1881.
24 " Official Report," for 1880.
28 Furnished by Rev. R. G. Dyson, a prominent minister of said Church.
ae n Methodist Almanac," 1881. 27 Furnished for 1880 by a leading minister.
38 " Minutes," for 1880. 29 Minutes of said Church, for 1879.
30 Church organizations of the Methodist Churches are not published in the
" Minutes," and therefore cannot be accurately gathered. The " United States
Census" reported 25,278 for all Methodist bodies in 1870. It is a moderate esti-
mate to suppose that they have since increased 4,000. One branch of Methodism
has increased its church edifices 3,700 since 1870.
31 " Official Minutes," 1880. 32 Furnished by Rev. David Steele, D.D., Phila.
83 Report of the Second Council of the Presbyterian Alliance, p. 963.
84 " Almanac of Ref d Ch.," 1881. 35 Estimated by leading Advent officials.
86 Congregations. 87 " Almanac of United Brethren," for z88z.
TABLE VI.
RECAPITULATION.
YEAR.
Churches or
Congregations.
Ordained
Ministers.
Communicants.
I77C .
I Ql8
I 4^
I800
3,030
2,651
364,872
i8e;o. .
43,O72
25,555
^,520,088
1870.. .
70,148
47,6oq
6,67^,^06
1880..
97,090
69,870
10,065,963
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
1775 2,640,000 [870 38,558,371
1800 5,305,925 1880 50,152,866
1850 23,191,876
RATIO OF COMMUNICANTS TO THE POPULATION.
1800, one in 14.50 inhabitants, j 1870, one in 5.78 inhabitants.
1850, one in 6.57 1880, one in 5
From 1800 to 1880 the population increased 9.46 fold ; the com-
municants 27.52 fold.
From 1850 to 1880 the population increased 116 per cent.; the
communicants 184 per cent.
ACTUAL INCREASE OF COMMUNICANTS.
1800-1850... 3, 165,116 in soyrs. I 1870-1880. . .3,392,567 in 10 yrs.
1850-1870.. .3,143,408 in 20 yrs. | 1800-1880. . .9,701,091 in 80 yrs.
546 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE VII.
SUNDAY-SCHOOL STATISTICS. 1
Collected by Mr. E. PAYSON PORTER.*
UNITED STATES.
Sunday-
schools.
Teachers.
Scholars.
Total
Alabama
I,OOO
3
9
505
800
67
1,031
73
200
60
500
2,547
7
6,535
98
3,915
4,200
2,792
2,501
1,377
1,200
2,003
1,337
2,258
887
1,583
2,833
28
1,231
67
600
1,899
38
5,936
1,985
6,770-
1 80
7,798
401
1,412
2,45i
2,500
30
6,300
10
50
4,542
3,648
700
17,578
517
3,000
1,150
2,500
22,808
42
65,806
319
38,785
45,000
30,712
29,436
13,220
11,500
19,495
24,095
19,998
8,115
14,244
24,247
169
8,864
411
4,585
29,586
224
98,992
17,867
85,982
1,136
105,870
5,998
12,704
22,055
10,000
171
77,000
500
303
33,312
45,600
5,200
139,797
2,873
22,003
10,350
2I,OOO
167,254
455
502,898
2,400
324,110
245,000
125,472
214,121
96,843
78,500
205,525
207,917
255,182
55,953
104,452
179,840
1,243
62,329
2,928
52,277
188,631
1,646
806,427
131,026
590,038
11,286
754,420
43,994
93,i64
161,736
70,000
2.IQQ
83,300
510
353
37,854
49,248
5,900
148,375
3,390
25,003
11,500
23,500
190,062
497
568,704
2,719
362,895
290,000
156,184
243,557
110,063
90,000
225,020
232,012
275,180
64,068
118,696
204,087
1,412
7i,i93
3,339
56 : 862
218,217
1,870
905,419
148,893
676,020
12,422
860,290
49,992
105,868
183,791
80,000
2.^70
Alaska Territory .......
Arizona Territory ...
Colorado .
Connecticut . . ......
District of Columbia
Idaho Territory .
Indian Territory ........
Michigan .... .......
Mississippi . .
Montana Territory .
Nevada .
New Hampshire .....
New Jersey
New Mexico Territory. . .
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania .......
Texas
Utah Territory..,
APPENDIX.
TABLE VII, (Continued.)
547
7 'UITED STATES.
Sunday-
schools.
Teachers.
Scholars.
TotaL
Vermont ...........
6co
6 8
6O 14 ^
67 ooo
3.QII
^,QO4
22Q 217
26^,117
Washington Territory.. . .
West Virginia
87
I ^OO
47i
12 ^OO
3,977
7t OOO
4,448
8? ^OO
Wisconsin.
2 d^d
1 8 OQ4.
16^ 02^
184 OIQ
12
7-3
660
7-2 a
Totals for United States
82,264
886,328
6,623,124
7,509,452
1 Of the tl Evangelical " Churches. Some were collected in 1875, and others
in 1878-79. For 1880 the figures would be larger.
2 For explanations see Mr. Porter's " Report to the Robert Raikes 1 Centennial
Convention, 1 ' London, England, June 28-July 3, 1880.
TABLE VIII.
UNITARIAN SOCIETIES.
STATES AND SECTIONS.
1830.
1840.
1850.
1860.
1870.
1880.
12
15
15
14
20
IQ
II
IQ
17
1C
18
27
Vermont
7
5
3
6
Massachusetts
147
ICQ
165
161
176
176
Rhode Island
2
( 3
2
4
4
2
[ ^
1 5
2
2
2
Total New England...
Western States
177
2
IQ4
17
206
17
199
26
226
62
229
76
Middle "
12
) ?
( TR
26
77
27
Southern "
2
[ 19
] 5
^
a
Out of New England ....
16
36
40
55
IO2
106
Total in United States.
193
230
246
254
328
335
The Unitarians have two Theological Schools, at Meadville, Pa.,
and Cambridge, Mass., with 40 students.
The receipts of the American Unitarian Association, from all
sources, from 1825 to 1880, amount to $1,883,529 03, of which sum
$83,788 91 has been appropriated to its single foreign mission in
India, an average of $3,083 42 yearly since it was founded in 1855.
The average annual sales of books, tracts, etc., during the past ten
years has been $8,697 29.
548 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE IX.
UNIVERSALIST MINISTERS IN THE UNITED STATES.*
STATES.
1835-
1840.
1851.
1860.
1870.
I&&X
20
60
60
46
4O
4Q
New Hampshire
^2
0-3
24
27
7 -
2-3
Vermont
2C
4O
4O
41
o/1
4 1
Massachusetts
67
TOO
142
126
TO7
TO 7
Rhode Island
2
8
4'
r
q
X JJ
8
14
IO
16
JC
17
18
Total in New England
Out of New England. . .
169
139
269
243
286
356
260
425
216
409
272
457
Total in United States
308
512
642
685
625
729
1 Each " Year-Book" gives the statistics of the previous year.
NOTE. This denomination has 4 colleges, with 279 students, and 2 theological
seminaries, with 42 students. They also have a publishing house in Boston,
whose sales amount to about $50,000 annually.
TABLE X.
UNIVERSALIST PARISHES IN THE UNITED STATES.
STATES.
1835.
1840.
1851.
1860.
1870.
1880.
Maine
IOI
IOO
I-JQ
I -JQ
80
QI
New Hampshire. ......
72
81
7O
78
2Q
je
Vermont .... . . . . .
80
Q2
108
82
60
64
Massachusetts ........
QO
T-3T
I ^O
1 68
IOH
TTK
Rhode Island
e.
7
IO
12
e
8
4.c
27
C-5
27
16
18
Total in New England
Out of New England. . .
393
260
438
415
501
568
506
758
304
613
33i
025
Total in United States
653
853
1,069
1,264
917
95 6
TABLE XI.
THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.
YEAR.
Societies.
Ministers.
Communicants.
1850 .
4
42
i860 1
7
54
1, 060
i88o 2
93
89
3,Q94
1 From Professor Schem's " Ecclesiastical Year-Book " for 1880.
a From the Minutes of the General Convention for 1880. This denomination
has a General Convention, organized in 1820, one collegiate and one theological
institution.
APPENDIX.
549
TABLE XII.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
(1775
1800.
1830.
1845.
1850.
1860.
1870.
1880. 1
69
6,8 1 7
1,723
6,402
1,170
176
8 673
618
2,389
423,383
386
6,367,330
Dioceses, Vicar
Apostolics. . . .
CL arches, etc..
Chacx:ts,stat'ns
Priests
52
I
9
22
675
592
707
220
29
1,245
585
1,302
322
35
65
123
48
a,5l9
1,278
2,316
499
100
173
*66o
57,6"
2,789,000
58
3,9 12
1,480
3,966
1,015
"5
297
467
1,214
257,600
, 2 95
4,600,000
26
50
232
Ecc'l students.
Malerelig.ho.*
Female dc 4
88
8 9
EducM institu's
for young men
and ladies. . . .
Parochial sch's
Pupils in Paro-
4
Hosp'ls, asyl's.
Et. Cath. Pop.
94
1,071,800
108
1,614,000
..
100,000
500,000
NOTE. The above statistics from 1830 to 1880 have been collated from the
11 Metropolitan Catholic Almanac" and Sadlier's u Catholic Directory." They
do not entirely agree with Father Keeker's table in the "Catholic World," June,
1879. We prefer to rely upon the " Year-Books" of the Church.
1 From Sadlier's " Catholic Directory " for 1881, giving the statistics collected
in 1880. This rule has been observed throughout this table.
2 Not tabulated in the " Year-Book," but collated from the reports of the dio-
ceses. It is difficult sometimes to distinguish between the convents and the
academies. 8 Monasteries. 4 That is, convents.
TABLE XIII.
CHURCH EDIFICES AND ORGANIZATIONS.
(From the U. S. Census for 1870.)
DENOMINATIONS.
EDIFICES.
ORGANI-
ZATIONS- 1
"Evangelical" Bodies.
Methodist (all kinds}
1850.
13,302
1860.
19,883
1870.
21,337
1870.
25,278
Baptist "
9,563
12,150
13,062
15,829
Presbyterian "
4,858
6,406
7,071
7,824
Congregationalist.. ,
1,725
2,234
2,715
2,887
Lutheran
1,231
2,128
2,776
^,O^2
I,4CQ
2,145
2,6or
2,835
Reformed Church (late Dutch) .
" (late German)
United Brethren
335
34i
14
440
676
468
i,i45
037
471
1,256
1,445
Evangelical Association
3Q
641
815
600
I 2OO
I 772
2,478
Friends
726
726
662
692
Moravian
a44
4Q
67
72
34.^37
48,037
56.154
64,014
550 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XIII, (Continued.)
DENOMINATIONS.
EDIFICES.
ORGANI-
ZATIONS.
" Non- Orthodox " Bodies.
1850.
2 AC.
1860.
264.
1870.
QJO
1870.
00 T
C-5Q
664
602
JJ*-
7IO
All others Christians, Jews,
New Jerusalem, etc
I ^27
2 4o/i
2 2IO
r : *j|
o ->AQ
Total " Non-Orthodox"
Roman Catholic
2,302
1,222
3,422
2 tCECO
3,122
3 806
3,413
4127
ARpreeate. .
18,061
^4.000
6^.082
72.4 HO
NOTE. The above table has been so arranged for convenience in comparisons,
which are sometimes desired.
1 Ecclesiastical organizations, variously called " Societies," u Parishes,"
*' Churches." Reported in the U. S. Census for the first time, in 1870.
TABLE XIV.
THE COLLEGES AND THE CHURCHES. ]
DENOMINATIONAL RKIM.TIONS. *
Number of
Colleges.
fl
IS
IS
II
Founded from
1860 to 1877.
Students in
the Course
for A. B. 3
Total College
Property. *
Baptists, Regular, North and South .
40
i
J 4
25
3i56o
$9,630,765
2
Total Baptist
ft
-8
3
2 428
Congregational and Presbyterian
Episcopal, Protestant
4
4
6
JM
827
1,216,000
Friend
6
261
ii3 io
Methodist Episcopal North
og
3
g
" African
i
Total Methodist...
S7
10
^8
4,406
ii.o>;o.6oo
APPENDIX.
551
TABLE XIV, (Continued.)
DENOMINATE >NAL RELATIONS.*
Number of
Colleges.
Founded prior
to 1800.
Founded from
1800 to 1850.
Founded from
1850 to 1877.
Students in the
Course for A.
B.3
Total College
Property.6
26
8
je
6,306,447
14 Tjnited .
6
246,000
Reformed and Associate
Cumberland
2
I
4
II 4
394
202,500
319,000
7,073,947
Refor'd Churches (Dutch and German)
Swedenborgian or New Church
8
i
i
6
i
521
17
1,456,107
42,000
i
i
147,000
6
286
515,782
226
1,021,100
i
813
5,657,491
Total Protestant
258
u
177
20,912
63,514,553
5,250,300
Jewish .... ' .... ...
60,000
Total Non-Protestant
i
J 7
v6
o ,1564
5,310,300
Total, with denominational relations
312
64
12
8
8 7
213
24,476
r 88?
68,824,853
Aggregate . . ,
376
20
102
2=54
10,3 93
$90,126,787
1 A great amount of research, review, and care has been expended upon the
above table. The author cannot claim for it completeness or entire accuracy ;
but it is a close approximation, the best that conscientious care and extensive
inquiry can make. The data are chiefly for 1878, and have been gathered from
the report on Education by General Eaton, the omissions of that year being sup-
plied from his previous reports, and from the Year-Books of the Churches. Con-
sultations have also been had with prominent educators.
2 Under this term is comprised the colleges which are closely associated, by
origin, sympathy, and support, with particular Churches. The nor.-denomina-
tional are those designated in General Eaton's reports as " non-sectarian," or not
specified at all. Some, however, of those thus designated in his reports, as Yale,
Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia, but really Congregational, Presbyterian,
Unitarian, and Episcopal, have been included in the list of denominational col-
leges, because they are such in all their relations. None of the denominational
colleges have any sectarian tests, and the distinction, sectarian and non-sectarian,
is often unfair and offensive. (See discussion, pp. 459-466.)
8 Students in the regular course for the degree of A.B.
4 Chiefly belonging to the Disciples or Campbellites.
6 The Roman Catholic Church "Year-Book," for 1 88 r, gives 79 colleges, but
some are not yet fully developed.
Comprising grounds, buildings, and productive funds.
552 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
IN
s
m O O OO to N >O M
<O 00 M O m * O M
*: '. * *
"
* o < o c < t*o&>o&
<o ro o t^ o oo t>. MOTj-ioo
< t^ >o o. o. o c^ ro ro o q_
"" " " "
ro f^oo fo-^WM t^ 5 Q ""> O
M^ ooc t*.c -*vo 10 o O M e*
t tC t>. c^oo_ - o |L M M
o cT co M *
M ^ ID O ovO VO N
o' M" 10 o- <x\oao H" 10 6"
'i-vo ooi^r^t^o ^coco'*
11 t^ 10 t-- M \O
f
t^vO ? M 1000 O*
W O_ t^OO IO
o <o <
>o t^ ro
cJ"
ft
> * >nvO
oo >O *
,fOO fO
. M 4oO\0
t
*o oo
eco
\0 -4-
>,
US .
Mill
H
fc-n
ll ?
^ w
-
' ' 3 te*
: jc8 g
'"rt *
If!
: S*w 2
ill I
H
APPENDIX.
553
00 O>*O VO*-^-OHQMOOO>OO
tJ3l8ras8otr$8s>
*t- f. *********-.
IP
st
terio
l
k.
st
nd
lp
or
Interi
pal
iladel
w Yo
rth-w
bany
Woman's
Union Society
Congregationa
h.
ut
utc
rch
Methodist Episco
Presbyterian, Phil
Ne
" Nor
" Alb
Baptist, East
> West
Protestant Episcopal
Reformed Church (Dut
United Brethren Chur
Meth. Epis. Church, S
44
44
44
44
44
4>
44
44
44
44
35
the earli
mprises e
sions onl
s the N.
largely
leading
554 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
o co o* coco oop o O o v> o o o o co N
of
^ H S
H O CO CO CO *3- M O M M 1T>
O r>. -3- \r> TJ- o O u->\o coo w o N co M co r>
M CO CO s ! O M CO ON M O ON t^CO t^O COCO
2 o CO M OCO in CO COO t^ i/JO N t^O CO ^ PI
Q oo^ rf CO cC M cT CO
B *
fc" 1 t'* t^CO O t^t^rJ-MvO ^t"O M OCO O MOO
o voOco^i-^\nO>OM^ r^o^ o cs O " ~^~~ "
M oO co ^^ ^ O M ^ O^ O ^t"O O ^"
H co mo M O " OO M rf O O u-> O M
^ O. NOOt^W I^ 1 ^^^^ ^.^^.^
t^gj crcfo"o"co !<5w'rfM'o"oo'o"co"r^
Q S,oo M M -r t^o CO-I-U^M MCOO o w
I
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co m N M O'^-MMO
> . 2 "* I 't - t 'I ^ M 1 H
fc^ r.2 Ir^o~O~I'<frco'efHroo'
^ W 5-oJ o o o a o
2 M ^ M^O co
I H
C/3
pq o, U^'OICOM |\o >r>o
HE " S5 O" * - O~co" '. M" rf *
woo co co ON
t^ CO M M
& ~ ~co coo
o rf " r^ M
. 2 A o : M o^
5 2 *! in . xo co
ca'S O 00
O
::::::: g :;;;; g ;; ;^ ;^
M
9
o
W
H
f^ [H L, vyj , i Q-
U . (i)
I
i liiiii|8iiii|lij
^y ?/? ^H ^ "t^ rH *-H-I r- ^* r* C\J"^ r^ ^ r/l"^ ^ W fll't*
APPENDIX.
555
I
CO M ^ M
M r^oo c
C* O M t^
co m M c
I 1
OO M Tf '^ I
M r^co u^
O^O N w
en en ^f N
o O M r>
co m M o
en
it
> S ? rf 1
1 1 2
C
C
I 2
's -a j?
&~ J3 4
| .3
: : : 2
<x
3 &
H S S |
g 12
1 9 I
8 | :
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i
en
ff S 1
1 1
2* 1
. -8 -| 1
i
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.
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c* 1
f|
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s .2 ^ s
5 s a - s
8*2 .1 o
c c S
.
* co
J -S s 1
S -S ' " 8
c '> S J
!: 1
7
X-N ^-S
2" ts^
52 S2
rt rt
<U <U
* !"
s "s JS S
t. ^ >^
cT en T^-
. "x-sM
3 a
fi M3 S
>^CJ Pn ^ 'o ^
Jilllllgl
0)^0^0^^ <u.H 2
sjjoJoj 2 2i^
Freedmen's Aid Societ
ethodist Episcopal (in
esbyterian (in n year
nited Presbyterian (in
Aggregate
The earlier receipts of soi
United in 1870.
Estimated by a leading of
Including the expenditur
These figures are official.
Partially estimated.
> This work is Home Missi
H-lcA3f^P4P-(^pt)<J^
SP
-
5 $6 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
PI ON O rj- vnco ON inooincocococoQOcovo
CO d COCO ONVO M CM ONCO O CO ONVO O ^" CO ^"
--"cS of O~ co ef < in co" vo" vcTo~'<3 : r^O~vno'r^vcfoN
<Sao MONNMMMONVO rj- coco co ONVO o co m co
H O M cocMONt^vnMcocM OvnOcoON^i-ONCMMCO
Ho T? c CM" in <$>\o vn co w" CM" M"
&
cor>Oco^coco vn coONOOcMd
coOcococoMO O wr^vnr^Mvo "vnco
^ O M Tj*cO ON^O ON in ON CO t^> l^ t-* in O * ^ CO
^. vo"\O COM"COONM rf WMinOCOCO*eMMcn
12 inv^T in t-T rf CM" M" M" t-T
p
in coo in in ^O^ r^;^ O^ ^ vo
r \ ^5 o vp O ONCO m m ON*O ONVO C^ P' co in ^ O
<JS " "" M "
o o
3 .
*^ OH OO OO OO C*") t^OO vO H W CO CO
W w ^ N "
2 H M co rf m M ONCO O O O
o t^oococococo ONQCO
M^gciopci^o'' ^Q"Q.
O EL. oJ'S r^.vO CO Tj-
ffllS QOO coc FTO ..00.
1 ^ ^ O O CO ^"CQ M M O^ O
O P^ o o M o co O oo d * * ^* O
o ^^ o"cicoi<Tfo"'t^- ^ O
<n TO 1 * CO ON M CO
<_j " O PJ O r-O m co
2
w c/r
t w
M
lllil^l^lllIlfllF
MgjH^ S-3 |||-3|mo|-g
"to Cr2 ii rt^Cu *" ^"^.^CO S (-"^"^DuJS
"*. d rr\ ,. '^ V <U fcfirrt t i "^ rt H iT* *?
APPENDIX.
557
I
I
g
2
6
Day Baptist. . .
Methodist. . .
t Methodist . .
lethodist
ijs <
"
a js
1 2 ! *
THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
TABL.ES XVIII to XXIII.
APPENDIX.
561
THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
TABLE XVIII.
THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES.
DENOMINATIONS.
Archbishops.
|
3
Churches,
Parishes, or
Congregations
Communicants.
Church of England : l
2
29
7
10
61
23,000
232
1,800
2,700
'226
2
Total Church of England. . .
Free Church of England 1
4
107
27,732
226
40
1,893
534
88
30
203,304
67,859
9. 2 34
1,251
Baptist * * England
1,360
344
79
17
" Wales
" Scotland
" Ireland
Total Baptist
1,800
2,572
121
2O
2,545
4 3,277
106
30
281,648
j- 8 360,000
Congregational : 8 England and Wales
Scotland
" Ireland
2,713
3,413
19
37
3 ll
64
370
1,420
1,043
5Q3
6 360,000
14,500
5,604
4,987
V 5I5,786
300,OOO
183,221
Catholic Apostolic (Irvingites) 1
Countess of Huntingdon Connection 1
Friends (England and Wales) 1
265
New Jerusalem 1
Unitarians 1
357
i,530
1,060
600
Presbyterian :'
Established Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland
United (Scotl'd, Encl'd. Irel'd) .
562 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XVIII, (Continued.)
DENOMINATIONS.
Archbishops.
!
B
Churches,
Parishes, or
Congregations.
Communicants.
Presbyterian, 6 (continued :)
632
674
104,760
2*8
276
Reformed Synod in Ireland. . . .
3T
4.O
4 4^8
Synod of Reformed Ch. in Scot'd
g
M
I.IQ7
United "Original Seceders". . .
4O
5.45O
Total Presbyterian*
4,151
4,099
1,168,996
BODIES OF METHODISTS. 1
Chapels.*
Ministers. 8
Local
Preachers. 8
Members. 8
Probationers. 8
Sunday-school
Scholars. 7
\Vesleyans . . . . . . .
6 S;Q
2,1^8
15 100
4OI 141
26 ?47
787 14"?
New Connection ....
Primitive
437
4 ^O2
170
I 142
1,135
14 'iO?
20,950
182 69!
3,696
76,457
2 "TO ^7O
United Free Churches
Reform Union
1,238
2,2 e ;6
370
18
3,l65
605
64,712
7000
6,580
368
I8l,2l8
10 078
Bible Christians
C77
182
I 453
2O O4 "3
1Q4
qe 01:7
Irish Conference ....
244
1 800
25 186
1,-Jiq
Q2O
118,251
ICCTKQ
Total Methodist
16,988
5,204
37,765
840,334
37,585
1,617,982
1 From u Whitaker's Almanac," (London,) 1881.
3 From ** American Baptist Year-Book," for 1881.
8 From " English Congregational Year-Book," for 1880.
4 Churches, Branch Churches, and Stations.
6 Rev. H. M. Dexter, D.D., estimates 376,074.
6 From the " Report of Second General Council of the Pan-Presbyterian Affi-
ance," September, 1880, pp. 961, 962.
T For Great Britain only. 8 For the United Kingdom.
For nine hundred and twenty Churches.
APPENDIX.
563
TABLE XIX.
DISSENTERS IN ENGLAND AND WALES.'
In 1699 214,000, or 4.18 per cent, of the population,
" 1845 1,315,000, or 8.08 " "
"1851 i,958,ooo, 2 or 10.89 " "
" 1861 s.ogo.ooo, 2 or 15.36
" 1866 3,686,ooo, a or 17.38 " "
" 1876 4,50o,ooo, a or 20.00 " '*
" In 1876, in Wales, the dissenters constituted the majority of
the population ; in six counties they were one third of the whole
population ; in London one tenth."
According to the above figures the increase of the whole popula-
tion, from 1851 to 1876, was 35 per cent. ; but the dissenting popu-
lation increased 130 per cent.
1 " Encyclopaedia Britannica," ninth edition, vol. viii, pp. 246, 247.
a The above statistics are not altogether satisfactory. When the religious cen-
sus of Great Britain was taken, in 1851, the returns showed 3,773,474 in attend-
ance upon public worship in the Church of England congregations, to 3,487,558 in
the Dissenting Chapels, and the Church of England places of worship were
14,077 to 20,390 of the Dissenters. In the last thirty years, according to all ac-
counts, the Dissenters have gained more than the Established Church.
TABLE XX.
ROMANISM IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
England and
Wales.
Scotland.
Ireland.
Total British
Isles.
1850.1
1870.2
1880.3
1850.1
1870.2
1880.3
1850.1
1870.2
1880.3
1850.
1870.
44
46
5,061
3,695
233
442
1880.
Dioceses
Archbishops and
Bishops
Priests
Churches, chap-
els, and stat'ns.
Communities of
833
5 6o
12
38
'3
14
1,528
1,151
69
216
14
16
1,942
1,264
87
285
8 7
3
3
199
203
17
6
6
276
279
zx
24
28
28
2,552
2,205
41
160
28
29
3,334
2,341
x6 4
209
28
2 9
3,45
2,37i
176
256
28
28
3,385
2,852
53
198
48
51
5,668
3,9H
274
565
Communities of
women
" Metropolitan Catholic Almanac." Baltimore, 1850.
8 Sadlier's " Catholic Almanac and Directory." New York, 1871.
Ibid.. 1881.
564 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS
TABLE XXI.
ROMANISM, PROTESTANTISM, AND THE POPULATION IN IRELAND. !
1834
1861
1871
RXLIOIOUB BODIM.
Religions
Population.
Per ct.
of the
whole
Popula-
Religious
Population.
Percent,
of the
whole
Popular
tion.
Religious
Population.
Percent,
of the
whole
Popula-
tion.
6 436 066
80
?6 1
Established Church
Other Protestant Churches.
853,106
664,880
10.7
8.4
693>357
600,245
11.8
10.3
683,295
577,531
/"/
12.6
10.7
Total
7,954,100
xoo.o
5,798,867
100.0
5,402,759
ZOO.O
* English official sources.
TABLE XXII.
ROMANISM AND THE POPULATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES.
YEARS.
Number of
Roman
Catholics.
Per cent, of
the whole
Population.
3-7 q-I
27 606
O ^O
68 ooo
I OO
60 400
O QO
184^. .
284,^00
I 7O
18^1. .
1 7 t ;8.8oo
422
016 600
A QA
1861
027,500
4-V4
4.6l
1866.....
982,000
4.62
1877
8 I,000,000
'4.07
NOTE. The above data have been taken chiefly from the " En-
cyclopaedia Britannica," ninth edition, vol. viii, pp. 246, 247.
1 This increase followed the Potato Famine in Ireland of 1846-47.
* u Whitaker's Almanac," London, (1880,) says there are two millions in En-
gland, Wales, and Scotland.
8 Calculated on the basis of population for that year adopted by the Registrar-
General.
TABLE XXIII.
ROMAN CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND, WALES, AND IRELAND.
YEARS.
Roman Cath-
olic Popula-
tion.
Per cent, of
the whole
Population.
1841 . .
6,0^8, 7^7
28 8
18^1
6,177 740
2C T
1871 . ..
5 141 Q11
18 2
Decrease from 1841 to 1871. .
I.8I6.804
10.0
THE BRITISH DOMINION IN
NORTH AMERICA.
TABLE XXIV.
APPENDIX.
567
W w
H
Q
s pS
s
fi U
M U
t/3 j^
1 !
og
-a
II
oo^co^
coo"
O
O
vO M <N O
O^ M xn co
CO 1- W CO
^
O
M CO t^ Tf
w M M M
t-^ t-^ tn co
T xn ff
Pre
teri
Mo
mo
O
f ^|
M O
Roman
Catholic
co M rt- O
co co O O
rf cb~ of i-T
CO M CO CO
co <N co m
CO M M
co cooco
O ^f COCO
CO
^
o" o" in r
in co ex co
CO
OM~^ co ex
o in M co
CM CO M CO
o co
in M Oco
co O ex i-^
C> ^f M" CX"
in
O
CO CO
co rf
xo C>
vo
cx m co
m r^ r>-
c
O
co
co co invQ
in rj-co co
ex O
O
O
O
^
CT>
J G "
2 05
>
M O rf- O
vn M o O
oo in mco
(S
vO
M W CO
C^ M CX CO
^-o cr> ^>
oo rf to ;O
co t-T i-T
CO
I ^
co O M o I m
O <N COM ^
CT> <3" M M m
co O
vO co
co r^
O" 1 m CX O
Tl-vO in co
TJ M co in
vo"o"co" CO
in T^- co O
co M
o
o
rt-
O in
in M
cf * <$>
CO a
co O^co
M rj- -3-
\n in
oo N coco
m m o co
co N M in
cx" in n-T cf
rrO M CO
CO coco rf
-rf o -3- M
M cx in in
coo ^1- in
CO
coco o
o O n
o"cb" O co
co
O
o
O O
m M
M CO O
3*
ill!!
.-i.S
ECUMENICAL STATISTICS.
TABLES XXV to XXXIX.
APPENDIX.
ECUMENICAL STATISTICS.
TABLE XXV.
THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION 1 IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
COUNTRIES.
I860.
1880.
Archb'p
and
Bishops.
Clergy.
Archb'p
and
Bi*hops.
Clergy.
EUROPE:
Englind and \Vales ....
28
7
12
I
1 '
I7,OOO
153
1,456
34
7
12
i
1
23,000
232
1, 800
60
6
Continental chaplaincies of
the Prot. Epis. Ch. of U. S.
Total Europe
49
43
5)
18,614
2,073
873
I
55
64
17
6
i
2
25,098
3,400
829
220
4
66
4.519
659
300
680
AMERICA :
United States
British North America
West Indies and other isles
i
Total America
57
I
I
2,947
52
ii
9
14
15
20
AUSTRALASIA AND POLYNESIA
Aorfrrefrate .
2 1 08
2 2I,624
IQ5
31,256
1 Including the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States and its mis-
sions. Impossible to obtain the statistics of the communicants except of the
latter Church. The above statistics for 1880 have been gathered from the " Kal
endar of the English Church," for 1881, the "Church Almanac," United States,
for 1881, and from " Whitaker's (London) Almanac," for 1881. Those for 1860
were taken from Professor Schem's "American Ecclesiastical Year-Book," for
1860. 2 Incomplete.
572 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXVI.
BAPTISTS 1 IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
I860.*
1880. s
COUNTRIES.
Communi-
cants.
Church's.
Minis-
ters.
Communi-
cants.
AMERICA :
United States
i, IT;, 868
28,531
18,331
2 452 8?8
British North America. . . .
West Indies, Bahamas, etc.
35,618
36,250
880
157
8
523
91
i
76,541
28,352
TCO
South America ........
2
2T/1
I 2O7 736
2Q 570
18 050
2 558 135
EUROPE :
2OO OOO
2,545
1, 800
28l 648
France and Holland
038
12
I.IQI
Germany and Switzerland.
Sweden, Norway, Denmark
5,944
4,655
91
332
85
172
4
15,827
2I,58l
II4O
Italy
2O
16
4.2O
Austria, Greece, Turkey . .
Russia, Poland, Finland. . .
20
16
3
13
310
5,833
Total Europe
211.557
^,O2O
2.IO4
326,Q5O
ASIA :
India, Farth. India, Ceylon.
China
16,858
OQ
497
21
246
3O
40,l6g
I 822
2
12
76
Total Asia
16888
C2O
288
42,O67
AFRICA
1^84
60
44
3,6O3
AUSTRALASIA
6,OOO
143
Q5
7,018
Aggregate
1,443,565
33,322
21,481
2,938,673
1 All bodies bearing the name Baptist.
a The statistics for 1860 are chiefly from the " American Ecclesiastical Year-
Book 1 ' of Professor Schem, for 1860.
8 The statistics for 1880 are chiefly from the " Baptist Year-Bosk," for 1881,
adding the Free-Will Baptists in the British Provinces, and a few other ad-
ditions.
APPENDIX.
573
TABLE XXVII.
CONGREGATION ALI ST s l IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
1880.
Churches.
Ministers.
Communi-
cants.
AMERICA :
United States 2
3,743
3,654
384,332
no
88
6,676
I
I
173
Jamaica and British Guiana
40
26
3,673
3,894
3,769
394,854
EUROPE :
British Islands 6
3,210
2,7l8
6 3 76,074
97
101
3
2
190
Italy and Switzerland 8
1x8
4
130
15
237
Total Europe
3,441
2,966
376,501
ASIA:
QI
IO4
6,383
India and Ceylon 4 7
I7O
141
9,182
China 41 . ..
5O
3,6q6
16
14
514
Total Asia
2/12
3OQ
10,775
AFRICA :
Continent 481
11 17
cc
5212
n 7
86
70,125
Total Africa
17~
I4.I
75,337
POLYNESIA 847
"06
"30275
AUSTRALASIA
90
206
'145
Aeereeate . .
7.006
7.670
806.742
I Orthodox.
3 Congregational " Year-Book," 1881.
Congregational " Quarterly," 1877, PP- 64, 65.
4 u Missionary Herald," January, 1881.
6 English Congregational " Year-Book," 1880.
Estimate by Rev. Henry M. Dexter, D.D.
7 Report of the London Missionary Society, for 1880.
8 Report of American Missionary Association, 1880.
Statistics of Foreign Missions, by Rev. William B. Boyce. London, 1873.
10 In part from Report of London Missionary Society, for 1879. The statistic*
of the Sandwich Islands are for 1878.
II The Churches of the London Missionary Society not given in their Report.
574 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXVIII.
METHODISTS 1 IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
1860.2
1880.
COUNTKIKS.
Ministers.
Local
Preachers.
cauls.
Ministers.
Local
Preachers.
Coiainanl-
cants.
AMERICA:
United States
British N. America ..
W. Ind., Bahamas, etc
12,843
688
....
a i,930,7i4
89,726
40,260
25,373
1,682
108
26,875
4,323
*3,775,753
173,361
51,905
I 086
i
D r
A Qcg
Total A merica.
EUR9PE:
I3i532
....
2,065,267
^698 III
27,220
e 080
31,224
4,008,150
8 6881 117
6-2
IO
-> Q 8
Germany, Switzerland
J 3
....
1,279
98
06
94
oV^
21,270
Italy Malta
48
2 586
6
3
Total Europe.
ASIA:
India and Ceylon....
3,46o
6
6
....
701,048
i>i73
7 2
5,375
164
140
44,440
105
46
920,632
10,005
2,884
I
628
Total A sia .
AFRICA . ...
12
....
1,245
315
156
13,517
AUSTRALASIA AND POL-
YNESIA
175
Q-3 128
Aggregate
17,200
35,000
2,818,414
33,522
79,643
5,069,109
1 All bodies bearing the name Methodist, the Evangelical Association, and the
United Brethren, both of which Churches are Methodistic in origin, polity, and
doctrine.
a "Christian Advocate," January 26, 1860, and "Ecclesiastical Year-Book,"
for 1860, by Professor Schem.
8 Exclusive of members in mission fields, who are reckoned in countries where
they live.
4 Including six or seven thousand who should be reckoned in mission fields,
but we are unable to distribute them for lack of sufficien t data.
" Whitaker's London Almanac," 1881.
ArPENDIX.
575
TABLE XXIX.
MORAVIANS IN THE WHOLE WORLD, 1 1880.
COUNTRIES.
Congre-
gations.
Minis-
ters.
Communi-
cants.
AMERICA:
United States
CQ
7S
0.4QI
12
62
1,24?
A
Q
I2<J.
41
89
14,576
6
16
242
16
72
5,6lQ
138
327
ai 2Q7
EUROPE :
38
C7
3o6l
4
2
IC7
26
5,878
28
1
E_S u a 1 o i
7
162
rt^, &1 Russia, Baltic, Poland
14.
r II5
5 g ^ [Switzerland
6
1
Total Europe
121
221
Q,CO7
AFRICA
1C
64
2,588
ASIA
a
7
1C
AUSTRALASIA
2
6
QO
JI7
Arrerreeate . .
28l
621
A^.7^4
1 Moravian Year-Book, 1881.
TABLE XXX.
PRESBYTERIANS 1 IN THE WHOLE WORLD, l88O.
COUNTRIES.
Churches. 2
Ministers.
Communi-
cants.
AMERICA :
United States
*!! 613
1 Q O82
1 1,OI7,848
2 2 ^O^
7O4
125 ooo
2 22
4.
A 2O7
West Indies
2( 54
27
7 228
South America
2 20
iq
1, 1 80
14,012
0.836
I.IH.472
576 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXX, (Continued.)
COUNTRIES.
Churches. 3
Ministers.
Communi-
cants.
EUROPE :
8 276
25 8
8 tLA T'JC
<3 TOO
o 2^O
OH-J^J:)
I OOH 6^4
714
66 *
TOO 2O7
Total British Isles
A OQQ
4. TCI
i 1 68 0^6
28
18
Holland
2 i 6i
i 885
....
382
8 6 4-^7
'3 AQZ
2 12^
8 72 628
851
8 o 700
c
224
*I4I
81
l6 ^71
Total Europe
O ^24
8608
I 268 556
ASIA :
Western Asia
ViJ^t
CQ
2 2*>I
* IIO
IOQ
; 606
64
4 8^7
2*
I.lSo
8 31
x J - w v
4 8^.t:oo
Total Asia
no
qOQ
QQ 47^
AFRICA
io8
8 32,2<?4
AUSTRALASIA
8 577
8 631
J^j-'J^
8 22 IOO
POLYNESIA
8 51
8 872
Ap-pre^ate . .
3 24.02-}
8 iQ.6-; / ;
3 2.c;78.707
NOTE. The data for the above table have been collected from Annual Minutes
of the various Presbyterian bodies in the United States, from the Annual Reports
of their Foreign Missionary Societies, and from the just-published Reports of the
late Pan-Presbyterian Council, (held in Philadelphia, in September, 1880.) See
pp. 611 and 959-964 of the latter volume.
1 Including the (Dutch) Reformed Church, because essentially Presbyterian,
and all bodies having the name Presbyterian.
3 In i>ome instances congregations are included with Churches.
* These items are incomplete, because only partially reported.
4 Probably includes baptized children.
APPENDIX.
577
TABLE XXXI.
NEW JERUSALEM (Swedenborg) CHURCH IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
1860.
1880. '
i
COUNTRIES.
Soci-
eties.
Minis-
ters.
Commu-
nicants.
Soci-
eties.
Minis-
ters.
Commu-
nicants.
57
54
1, 060
93
89
3.994
5
2
England and Scotland . .
4 69
...
4
12
3 34
i
2
i
6
3
2
q
i
3
Italy 5
3
i
I
II
3
Total
126
54
1,960
222
132
3,994
1 From Professor Schem's u American Ecclesiastical Year-Book," 1860.
2 From the " Journal of the General Convention of the New Jerusalem Church
in the United States for 1880."
8 " Manual and Year-Book of the London Association of the New Church," '81.
4 Including twenty-one not in connection with the General Association.
' After diligent search we are unable to fill any of the above blanks.
TABLE XXXII.
UNITARIAN SOCIETIES l IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
COUNTRIES.
1840.
1860.
1880.
United States 2
2^0
2^4
J7C
British Possessions in North America 2 ..
I
242 3
2
235 4
2
V
6 4
B
South Wales
2 5 3
30 4
370*
3 63
42
Asia 7
I
I
540
567
708
578
PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
1 We can get no other statistics.
* From the Year-Books of the American Unitarians.
From " Unitarianism Exhibited," London, 1846.
* From article on " Unitarianism," Appleton's '* Cyclopedia," first edition.
8 " Whitaker's Almanac," London, 1880, which gives 290 chapels and 80 stations.
No statistics. The Unitarian population in Transylvania has been reported
at 120,000.
7 Qn,e Unitarian mission in Calcutta.
TABLE XXXIII.
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
By E. Payson Porter, 1 Philadelphia.
COUNTRIES.
junday-
Schools.
Teach-
ers.
Scholars.
Total.
EUROPE :
422,222
47,972
30,175
3,800,000
494,533
320,920
4,222,222
542,505
351,095
Ireland
Total Great Britain
500,369
5,600
15,000
4,000
10,000
4,615,453
65,000
150,000
45,000
200,000
22,000
100,000
9,500
8,000
1,100
45,ooo
8,414
76,260
36,260
40,000
10,000
8,000
2,000
15,000
3,000
35,ooo
15,000
6,623,124
326,330
25,000
mo.ooo
5,115,822
70,60O
165,000
49,000
210,000
103,000
1,212
49,500
81,580
10,600
8,400
2,100
l6,OOO
3,272
36,500
15,300
7,509,452
369,242
27,500
1^.000
IOO
2,000
City of Berlin
Holland ...
1,000
80
70
50
1,080
90
776
601
175
150
IOO
30
3,000
112
4,500
818
5,320
3,128
2,192
600
400
IOO
1,000
272
1,500
300
886,328
42,912
2,500
3,000
City of Rotterdam
France . . .....
City of Paris
French Switzerland
German Switzerland ......
Italy
Not enumerated above
ASIA:
68
AFRICA
NORTH AMERICA:
United States
82,261
5,640
600
British American Provinces...
Other portions of N. America.
SOUTH AMERICA. .
APPENDIX.
579
TABLE XXXIII, (Continued.)
COUNTRIES.
Sunday-
Schools.
Teach-
ers.
Scholars.
Total.
OCEANIC A:
I.3OO
I2,OOO
IOO.OOO
II2,OOO
7O
I,^OO
I4,OOO
Tasmania
I,2OO
II, 800
New Zealand . .
OOQ
a QOO
30 ooo
33,OOO
Reported in (London) Union
121
1,130
1,300
10,527
I5,OOO
16,300
Other portions of Polynesia . .
1,500
25,000
25,600
RECAPITULATION.
COUNTRIES.
Teachers.
Scholars.
Total.
Europe
CCO.OOI
5, 332, 8l3
5,882,814
.Asia
1.772
38 ooo
^Q,772
3OO
I5,OOO
15,300
Q3I,74O
6,074,454
7,006,104
3.OOO
I5O,OOO
153,000
Oceanica
I7,8OO
I 7O.OOO
187,800
World. .
I,504,6l3
12,680,267
14,184,880
1 The above statistics were reported by Mr. Porter to the Robert Raikes' Cen-
tennial Convention, in London, England, June 28 to July 3, 1880. They com-
prise those of the Evangelical denominations. They are incomplete ; full re-
turns would swell all the aggregates.
580 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXXIV.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 1850.
COU.NTBIKB.
1
Principal
Stations.
Working Forces.
1
Day-schools.
I
Ord. Mission's,
For'n and Nat.
Assistants.
S
cs
11
Total Laborers.
EUROPE :
2
J
3
5
II
10
3
510
Turkey in Europe
I
3
7
8
10
25
105
Z
2
Z
Z
2
I
40
40
;
80
120
z
M
4
5,000
300
Missions not reporting....
Missions not reporting
2
2
6
59
64
13
93
170
5,415
4
62
in
x6
2
82
102
510
4
1,107
z
4,950
340
2
2,M3
4,373
Missions not reporting..
ASIA :
4
16
32
39
32
i
100
i
16
5
124
22
103
212
Q2
i8 5 7
49
463
z
575
a
50
7,492
345
I n di a
5
12
60
52
Missions not reporting . . .
China
8
3
13
10
4i
29
35
2
32
16
Missions not reporting. . . .
21
7
55
10
173
40
i
174
9
40
294
7
12
4
641
9
92
5
8,925
1,333
i
373
2
45
,9i3
3
i,59
Missions not reporting..
AFRICA :
Missions not reporting. . . .
32
78
8
185
8
22
52
60
12
124
6
1,411
53
1,776
Missions not reporting..
AMERICA :
37
50
1 10
117
2
22
a
249
4
8,220
2
51
54
2
I
6
1,749
a
z
250
Missions not reporting....
i
15
3
42
Z
Missions not reporting
I
2
40
2
53
7
126
23
II 7
4
39
22
5
5
i
426
21
265
9
67
i
8,313
3
23,102
i
63
3
393
i
1,999
3
12,012
I
Missions not reporting..
^8
i
77
196
43
9
1,267
3 1
47,266
10
883
10
29,210
II
Missions not reporting..
NOTE. The above table has been collated and arranged from data collected by
Rev. R. Baird, D.D., (" Christian Retrospect and Register,") with a few correc-
tions and additions.
1 Confined to Polynesia,
APPENDIX.
TABLE XXXV.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, i&So. 1
COUNTRIKS.
Missions.
Stations.
Working Forces.
Communicant*.
Day-schools.
j
Principal
Stations.
Ord. Missionaries,
For'n and Native.
Lay Helpers.
Total Laborers.
EUROPE:
c;
4
2
2
204
Z
126
I
8
475
1,493
i
26
z
9
293
Z
123
I
z
z
5
zo4
2
z6z
14
z
zz
397
3
284
2
s
2
z6
32,051
44,988
773
"ato
5
4
2
2
3
5
4
' 2
a
3
Missions not repor'g
Germany and Switz-
Missions not repor'g
Missions not repor'g
Spain and Portugal..
Missions not repor'g
Italy
3
12
2
15
2
3
26
z
3
6
i
zo
32
2
13
772
i
Missions not repor'g
Missions not repor'g
Greece
i
9
a
45
z
i
3
3
z
700
9
3
3
3
5
6
3
z8
4
z
z8
IS
44
*9
X
62
Missions not repor'g
Bulgaria and Turkey
in Europe
Missions not repor'g
Total Europe
23
6
15
i
2
368
2
23
86
7
15
2,039
8
380
i
336
3
15
440
473
5
334
249
i
13
90
365
5
517
i
z,Z7&
54
450
8 3 8
IO
851
I
1,425
I
67
540
78,918
5
9,077
34,687
i
922
21,594
3
292
2
531
2
130
73
700
22
15,751
Z
2Z,045
7,688
5,233
Missions not repor'g
ASIA :
Western Asia
Missions not repor'g
Missions not repor'g
Ceylon
Burmah and Siam...
Missions not repor'g
China
Missions not repor'g
Japan
17
7
88
20
232
57
z86
606
792
7,968
i
2,222
I
8 i
13
3
2,697
Z,Z02
Z
82
183
265
Missions not repor'g
Total Asia
239
25
*8
6
48
8
i
10
4
26
"6
1,460
8
63
3
zz
42
954
z
57
2,986
z
137
3,940
2
194
76,470
4
3,408
2
630
985
1,222
13
24
3
29
44
53,516
4
i,4<>6
2
937
2,218
Missions not repor'g
AFRICA :
Western Africa
Missions not repor'g
Southern Africa
Eevot
zo
14
7i
147
81
161
Total Africa
Missions not repor'g
NORTH AMERICA :
Chinese in California.
Missions not repor'g
39
4
z
55
23
zi6
3
4
152
7 i
3
Si
355
436
5,023
2
413
I
15,207
I
8,919
97
3
20
4,56i
2
z,84z
7
z
152
z
53
z
38
211
2
9 8
45
i
363
3
I5i
I
17
,3
3
1,152
zo
1,551
a
Missions not repor'g
Mexico
Missions not repor'g
582 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXXV, (Continued.)
CODNTBIU.
s
Stations.
Working Forces.
1
Day-school*,
1
Principal Stations.
Sub-stations.
Ordained Missionaries,
Foreign and Native.
Lay Helpers.
Total Laborers.
SOUTH AMERICA :
Brazil, Guiana
Missions not repor'g
Columbia
c;
15
9
16
38
I
54
3
i
1*339
23
4
4
i
605
3
29
Missions not repor'g
Argentine Republic. .
Chili.
Missions not repor'g
WEST INDIES
I
I
4
i
12
I
zo
I
6
6
9
7
15
13
462
92
3
4
100
65
ii
iQ
30
362
6
160
Total A merica ....
Missions not repor'g
POLYNESIA
45
3
108
2
4
261
15
45
251
4
33
421
5
40
672
9
73
26,817
2
17,904
7*
ii
a
12
5,53
IS
i,545
12
Missions not repor'g
Agereeate.
129
75
4
3>925
34
1,792
10
4,167
ii
5,959
21
805,132
13
J ,39 2
62
65,825
55
Missions not repor g
1 Collected from reports for 1880.
TABLE XXXVI.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1830.
Working Forces.
*
Ii
4
&
COOTKIKB.
1
J*
8
1
1
I
J
J
5
1
I
5
o
.S 4
o i*
-2
9
W
Q
J3
1
II
1
i
I
II
EUROPE :
Greece, Malta, Smyrna, etc
4
4
10
15
25
...
...
ASIA :
3
4
14! 10
24
i
3
7
China
3
3
8 7
15
2
10
in
100
101
292
495
1,967
27,922
6
15
9
IOO
671
Ceylon
4
20
26
33
91
150
1,000
9,900
3
14
17
58
3
78
4,279
Total Asia...
161
27
185
227
397
809
3,069
41,879
APPENDIX.
TABLE XXXVI, (Continued.)
COUNTS DM
?,
Principal Stations.
Working Forces.
Communicants.
Scholars in Day-
school.
Ordained Missionaries,
Foreign and Native.
Assistants.
1
%
t
3
H
AFRICA :
19
5
10
50
115
1,117
1,486
1,800
2,128
63
3i429
South u
6
6-i
6
Total Africa ....
19
26
3i
73
I4 I
70
223
5
36
96
200
,3
331
7
27
10
317
90
407
22
30
10
*8
7
15
38
181
Si7
21
215
753
29
95
2,603
7^24
2,167
52,876
7,420
3,000
1,000
9,000
AMERICA :
North American Indians
South America, Guiana
West Indies
Total A. merica
62
3
7
62,167
2 ,45o
13,000
18,165
OCEANICA :
Total Oceania*
10
122
4*
502
34
656
S 2
776
38
460
124
2,450
18,364
Aggregate
1,892
70,289
80,656
NOTE. The above table has been collated and arranged from data furnished,
by a very able survey of the religious condition of the world, in the u American
Quarterly Register," August, 1830, pp. 25-60, from the pen of that eminent
scholar, Rev. B. B. Edwards, D.D. It is not presumed to be absolutely accurate
at every point, nor is it complete, there being numerous omissions of important
items, which could not be supplied ; but it is a close approximate to a full ex-
hibit, and the best that can now be obtained for that period. It is an under-
statement, as are also the tables for later periods. This will appear more clearly
on examination of the table for 1880, where the number of missions not reporting
given items is carefully specified.
584 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXXVII.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1850.
COUNTRIES.
Missions.
Principal
Stations.
Working Forces.
Commnnioantl.
1
|
Ordained
Missionaries.
For. and Nat.
J
<
Native
Assistants.
Total
Laborers.
EUROPE :
I
40
40
...
80
120
1^
II
31
5,ooo
300
M
lie
$
i
" 4 to
510
Greece
2
i
I
10
14
15
Si
97
4i
s
9
Turkey in Europe
Total Europe
8
18
12
3
5
3
62
20
133
1
27
6
65
44
359
63
30
5 I
96
4i
i,59i
18
125
324
5
I 7 6
I 3 6
2,047
122
193
393
ii
5,429
467
24,878
67
7,493
2,651
24
6
61
i, in
20
8 3
345
3
97?
2,305
47,897
2,303
11,914
39"
ASIA:
Western .
India
China
Ceylon
Indian Archipelago
Total Asia
46
12
II
3
217
28
130
5
555
93
"i
243
170
155
I
2,104
75
4
2,902
338
377
13
35,58o
9,625
12,016
18
1,623
'g
3
65,07?
13,63*
20,102
I 7 8
AFRICA:
Western
Southern
Total Africa
26
40
2
4
40
163
62
10
\\
315
235
53
326
119
87
70
728
424
53
26
630
21,659
24,703
1,082
1,521
71,984
215
89
15
135
33,9"
2,886
3,057
JSJ
NORTH AMERICA:
Greenland and Labrador .
SOUTH AMERICA.
6
20
5
344
West Indies
Total A merica
OCEANICA :
Australasia
86
8
4
171
15
72
569
TOO
68
J 45
10
44
419
515
5 2
i,i33
625
164
99,290
i3,75i
35,248
239
214
442
16,965
13,694
17,3*9
Polynesia
Total Oceanica
Aggregate
12
87
168
54
567
789
48,999
656
31,013
178
700
1,672
783
3,293
5,728
210,957
2,739
147,939
NOTE. The above table has been prepared from data furnished by Rev. Robert
Baird, D.D., (" Christian Retrospect and Register," Appendix,) with a few cor-
rections, and some omissions supplied. It is not presumed to be absolutely cor-
rect, some items being frequently omitted in the reports of some of the Mis-
sionary Societies, and some having methods of making up their statistics very
different from others. The aggregates are believed to be short of the full num-
bers. But the table is worthy of confidence, as a close approximation to the tru
facts, and the best that can be obtained for that period.
APPENDIX.
585
TABLE XXXVIII.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1880.
COVNTEIES.
Missions.
Principal Stations.
J
1
Working Forces.
Communicants.
Hearers or
Adherents.
Number of
Day-schools.
j
5,
i
z
z
836
2
ZO
1,470
ZO
1,841
1,551
3
8x7
29,499
9
1,335
z
Ordain'd Mins.
Nat. and For.
Lay
Assistants.
H
NORTH AMERICA:
Greenland, 1880 ..
Miss, not repor'g
AddfKP&n.) 1873
Miss, not repor g
Labrador, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Brit. Domin'n, 1880
Miss, not repor g
A dditional, 1873 . .
Miss, not repor'g
Indians, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Chinese, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Mexico, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Cen. America, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
West Indies, 1880.
Miss not repor'g
Additional, 1873..
Miss, not repor'g
Total N. A merica
Miss, not repor'g
SOUTH AMERICA :
Guiana, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Brazil, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Columbia, 1880 . . .
Miss, not repor 1 g
Argentine Rep. '80
Miss, not repor'g
Chili, 1880
Miss, not repor'g
Total S. A merica .
Miss, not repor'g
Total America ..
Miss, not repor'g
EUROPE :
Ireland, (Pap.,) '80
Additional 1873. .
Miss, not repor'g
Engl'd, (Jews,) '80
Miss, not repor'g
37
i
6
23
61
84
783
1,533
Z
z
z
20
2
ZO
17
5
20
"z6
3
ZO
z
285
ZI
18
i
i
10
8
57
65
9,000
I
10
27
4
*6
2
6
244
i
3i8
2
59
i
4
I
2 3
7
I
402
13 I
152
4
78
J
39
680
299
X
161
i
7
z
53
i
20
48
87
462
Z,260
7i
2
1,363
5
223
2
38
'*98
"58
75i
2
1,662
6
384
45
i
151
i
78
55,598
20,657
15,331
Z
413
1
8,919
1,328
90,134
z
46,849
8
27
4
"*6
4,030
25
3
261
4
13
418
5
9
2
295
'7
1,295
2
16
2
1,59
2
33
2
4,930
17
592
2
54
i
i
15
105,030
2
3,3"
Z
179,248
9
3
83
4
j
i
i
95i
9
3i
15
i
3
4
1,214
32
6 5
3
9
3
12
1,602
4
89
16
i
t
(
3,328
13
503
I
38
3
i
9
2H,833
12
11,065
i,339
23
'462
332,054
47,585
5
z
z
z
386
36
4i
2
4
4
i
3
4
37,349
38
4,657
2
605
3
29
zoo
"65
7
13
92
12
54
86
117
2
55&
4
675
12,981
47,585
5 I
5,456
5
95
i
5
i
1,005
9
29
70
4
1,300
40
37
5
i
' 7 't
34
90
'k
3,886
i?
S
I
20
5,605
2 3
,3
28
224,814
12
4,076
623
4
379,639
9,179
5
439
42
22
313
2
42,805
43
z,o 7 6
6,593
4
Z
z
Z
S
$86 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXXVIII, (Continued.)
J
Working Forces.
.3
.
4
COCMTBIKS.
1
!
|
IP'S
i
1
i
ll
'$
1
.0
la
^2
1
|
S Ja
E ^,
a.
2
A
oa
3-3
^O
K^
o
fi
EUROPE :
Denmark, Sweden
'
Norway, 1880...
|
205
493
300
ZIO
410
32,696
300
Miss, not repor'g
i
....
X
3
3
6
6
5
Germany, Austria
Switzerl'd, 1880.
7
i 7 6
1,699
x6g
348
517
47,155
9,56
:
219
Miss, not repor'g.
i
2
X
Z
2
6
1
6
France, 1883
6
35
2x8
41
169
2ZO
2,957
12,300
13
5"
Miss, not repoi^g
2
z
2
2
2
2
j
3
A /j/1 V//7W/7/ T^T?
]
2
2
2
II"
Miss, not repor'g
Z
....
Z
I
. . . .
I
X
Spain and Portu-
gal 1880
4
ZO
20
19
58
Z
77
902
2,250
24
2,359
2
Additional, 1873 .
Miss, not repor'g.
8
19
12
26
32
4
58
4
1X4
6
6,OOO
1
z 99
7
Italy, Naples, anc
Malta, 1880
10
no
103
59
65
124
4,658
2,688
II
780
Miss, not repor'g.
J
j
8
2
7
7
7
Greece 1880
.
6
A
IJ
19
c
Miss, not repor'g.
4
Z
2
:
4
4
3
Bulgaria and Tur-
key in Europe, '80
5
9
19
2 4
62
86
69
38
j
628
Miss, not repor g.
. . . .
9
19
28
A/.- l ' *?'
t
Total Europe...
1
63
682
2,934
785
1,285
2,070
94,036
42,076
394
13,366
Miss, not repor'g.
3
33
7
18
2 5
27
48
48
47
AFRICA :
South Africa, 1880
26
217
Z,IOO
319
2,020
2,339
45,308
152,677
392
20,igz
Miss, not repor'g.
2
Z2
^
3
IX
Additional, 1873 .
24
151
112
'148
177
325
13,888
18,795
2 3
5,893
Miss, not repor g.
Middle and West-
2
17
7
12
19
ZI
19
23
18
ern Africa, 1880.
24
zi6
454
177
1,114
1,291
25,846
79,564
263
15,246
Miss, not repor'g.
7
....
2
2
6
15
7
6
Additional, 1873 .
Miss, not repor'g.
North-east. Africa
7
5
19
z
16
7
45
69
20
4
188
243
4
208
7,xx8
z
1,320
10,400
5
37
4
52
3,031
5
3,388
Miss, not repor'g.
2
....
z
z
2
4
i
X
Additional, 1873 .
ii
25
62
35
36
7 1
17
17
I,I2Z
Miss, not repor'g.
2
9
2
2
4
ZO
zz
7
3
Madagascar, 1880.
2
29
97
7,345
7,442
70,187
253,402
882
48,050
Miss, not repor'g.
J
i
Additional, 1873 .
Mauritius, 1880 .. .
I
2
|
9
19
10
36
2 i
46
288
456
158
2,169
9
21
704
757
Miss. iiOt repor'g.
St. Helena, 1880 . .
I
3
3
3
273
910
....
Miss, not repor'g.
i
z
....
I
X
Total Africa...
Miss, not repor'g.
03
589
7
3l9 58
897
9
11,094
25
1,991
34
164,701
30
518,075
1,696
57
9 8, 3 8j
APPENDIX.
587
TABLE XXXVIII, (Continued.)
1
Working Forces.
2
5
COCNTEIKS.
2
I
u
Z
|
;|
^
JA
5
'm
3
1
IJ
1
i
|
||
VI
i
a
i
o*
3<
6
x<
fcQ
ASIA:
Western Asia. 1880
i 3
33
383
348
581
929
10,380
1,781
303
17,390
Miss, not repor'g.
r
2
2
4
9
4
3
Additional* 187^ .
Miss, not repor'g.
3
10
2
6
8
10
10
10
9
India 1880
rwr?
764
f
Miss, not repor'g.
3
20
So 1 ;)
0,077
12
ii
5
Additional* 1873 .
Miss, not repor'g.
22
76
158
3
325
483
i)
16,562
6
21,764
12
1 80
6
6,250
Burmah, Siam, '80
2
15
440
90
450
540
21,594
173
5,233
Miss, not repor'g.
China, 1880
jcg
i 088
t
161
Miss, not repor'g.
^ 7
3
I ,39
25
5
Additional, 1873 .
|
15
22
2 4
57
81
333
3
36
Miss, not repor g.
I
....
i
i
i
2
i
2
Japan, iS8o
Miss, not repor'g
Ceylon, 1880
II
6
29
129
58
I 7
97
125
20 1
i
1,005
298
i
1,130
2,436
7,278
297
14,288
22
6
66 7
1,248
35,408
Miss, not repor'g.
2
I
I
East Indies, 1880 .
I4
56
48
I7
6s
85,814
63,754
13
Miss, not repor'g.
IX
14
_
10
IO
II
Additional, 1873 .
21
36
60
77
X 37
8 7 Q
20,400
22
575
Miss, not repor g.
II
21
10
16
26
19
20
16
18
Total Asia
Miss, not repor'g.
175
"3
2,570
I0 4
2,033
25
9,266
40
11,299
65
245,685
61
341,686
104
4,265
77
217,858
66
OCEANICA:
Australasia, 1880..
Miss, not repor'g.
17
1,251
2
891
12
429
1,785
ii
2,214
ii
33,i43
2
229,955
6
26
14
3,658
ii
Additional, 1873 .
25
293
*33
374
19,214
80,474
859
Miss, not repor g.
3
18
20
II
18
25
2 3
Polynesia, 1880 . . .
24
1,032
414
422
6,105
6, S 2 7
75,006
218,691
2,425
68,675
Miss, not repor'g.
6
6
4
8
8
3
Additional, 1873
2
ii
33
37
94
131
733
3,ooo
71
2,000
Miss, not repor'g.
i
i
i
1
i
I
Total Oceanica.
68
2,587
1471
1,262
8,325
9,587
128,096
532,120
2,522
75,192
Miss, not repor'g.
5
3
4
36
40
18
33
47
43
Aggregate
504
5,76.S
12,209
6,6q6
33,856
40,552
857,332
1,813,596
9,3i6
447,602
Miss, not repor'g.
52
273
5i
136
187
148
310
271
247
NOTE. The above table is not quite complete. The author, not having many
of the reports of the Missionary Societies of the European Continent, for 1880,
has supplied this lack with the additional for 1873 (see above) from a semi-
official source. The statistics of the British and American Societies for 1880 are
nearly complete. The reader is referred to the chapter on Foreign Missions. The
full fruitage of Protestant foreign missions should strictly ta*<e in all the religions
life of Canada, Australia, West Indies, etc.
$88 PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.
TABLE XXXIX.
INDEPENDENT STATES UNDER CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENTS, 1 1876.
States, inclusive of Colonies and Dependencies.
Sqr. Miles.
Inhabitants.
PROTESTANT STATES.
8.755.I5Q
283 604 841
2O8 72Q
41 060 864
3611 844
08 ccc nS'i
674 IOO
26 569 ooo
Sweden and Norway .......... .......
2Q4 O^O
6 063 800
228,6OO
5,000 ooo
15,002
2,66o 147
54,^O8
I. 088 OOO
9,^67
718 ooo
II4,OOO
300 ooo
42 47Q
C7 OOO
7 620
c6 877
Australian Isles, exclusive of European
32O,75O
1,926,100
Total Protestant
14, -377, 187
408.560 612
ROMAN CATHOLIC STATES.
577,195
41,736,001
240,954
35,004,4';^
Italy
114,409
26,801,154
316,075
25,196 ioo
Brazil
3,288,100
10,296 238
741, 82^
9,1 eg 247
741,621;
8 028 500
II, ^7^
e 25^ 821
72O 7^8
2 8Q4 OQ2
p eru . ,
CQ^ 4.68
2 500 OOO
Chili .
126 O^4
2 074 OOO
Bolivia .
500 880
2 OOO OOO
838,605
I,8l2,5OO
403,272
1,784 IQ4
248,300
1,308 ooo
40,778
I,IQ4 OOO
7 q-ic
600 ooo
0,2^^
572 OOO
47,092
35O,OOO
69,800
300 ooo
?8,i6q
250 ooo
56,714
221 O7Q
QQQ
IQ7.528
APPENDIX.
589
TABLE XXXIX, (Continued.)
States, inclusive of Colonies and Dependencies.
Sqr. Miles.
Inhabitants.
21 4^^
185 ooo
10,050
136,500
144
12,000
68
8,060
24
7 816
6
5741
Total Roman Catholic States
Q, mi. 605
180.787.00'?
EASTERN CHURCH STATES.
Russian Empire
8 535 142
85 686 ooo
46.710
4,500 ooo
jcg 4OO
3 ooo ooo
IQ 353
I 457 8o4
16 817
I 338 OOO
i 701
1 2O OOO
Total Eastern Church States
8 778 123
96 101 894
Aggregate under Christian govern'ts.
32,419,915
685,459,411
1 These statistics were prepared in 1875. See " Methodist Quarterly," Janu-
ary, 1876. Professor Schem is the authority. Italy, France, and Mexico can
hardly be said to be now under Papal governments, but they have been allowed
to the Papists in this calculation. These governments are, however, not distinct-
ively of this class. Transposing them to the class of Protestant States, which
they are rapidly becoming, and we have the following exhibit :
Protestant States 15,770,610
Roman Catholic States 7,871,178
Greek Church States. 8,778,1*3
Inhabitants.
486,265,013
103,0^8,504
INDEX.
Abstainers In Great Britain, 268.
Academy, The Platonic, 76.
Accountability to God, 126.
Activities, Religious, 340, 354.
Adam's guilt, Imputation of, 116.
Adams, Hon. J. Quincy, LL.D., 193,
197.
Rev. Nehemiah, D.D., 104.
Adherents of Evangelical Churches, 454,
457, 4,53.
Advanced thought, 91, in.
iventists in United States,
Ad%
540, 542.
Advocate, Christian, The, 300-302.
Africa, Southern, 502.
Western, 510.
African Methodists in United States,
539.i 54 1 , 543-
Missions, 583, 584, 586.
Age, Golden, not past, 295.
of Reason, Paine's, 100.
Aggressiveness of Christianity, 378.
Aiken, Robert, 188.
Albert, Prince, Influence of, 270, 274.
Alcott, Dr., 121.
Alexander VI., 152.
Alleghanies, Beyond the, 420, 421.
Allocution, The Pope's, 401.
Almanac and Companion, British, 268,
290.
America, Discovery of, 47.
American and Foreign Church Union,
54-
and Foreign Sabbath Union, 187.
Home Missionary Society, 352, 353.
morals, Decline of, 173.
Quarterly Register, 101, 104, 105,
427, 528, 538, 583.
Romanism, 242.
Tract Society, 351-354.
Amoskeag Falls, Settlers of, 175.
Amusements, Brutal, 158.
Anabaptists, 68, 308.
Ancient philosophies renewed, 60.
Andover Manual, The, 186.
Anglican Church in the world, 571.
Anglo-Saxon population in the United
States, 440-444.
Saxon race, Extension of, 530.
Saxon race and Christianity, 24.
Anglo-Saxons, History of, 515.
Anne, Queen, 173.
Anti-mission Baptists, 539, 541, 543.
Antinomianism, 154.
Anti-Sabbath, 423.
Antitrinitarianism in England, 6$.
Rise of, in Italy, 66.
Apologetical literature, 138.
Apostles' Creed, 140.
Apostolic and modern progress, 469,
470, 471-473, 511, 512.
Appleton, Rev. Dr., 99.
Appleton's Cyclopedia, 263, 538.
Aquinas, Thomas, 46.
Arcot Mission, 511.
Area of Christendom, 526.
of Protestant governments, 526.
of Roman Catholic governments,
526.^
of United States, 420.
Arian ideas, 102.
Arianism among Presbyterians, 69, 96.
in revival of learning, 65.
Arians, High, 103.
Arians in tenth century, 65.
Aristocracy and Popery, 525.
Aristotle, 45, 50, 55, 72.
Arminianism, 28.
in Holland, 73.
Arnold, Matthew, 133.
Ascendency of United States, 529.
of Great Britain, 529.
Asia, Missions in, 582, 584, 586.
Association, General, of Massachusetts,
196.
Asylums, Roman Catholic, in United
States, 549.
Atheism, 106, 119, 120.
in Canada, 382.
in England, 160.
in Harvard College, 112.
in Italy, 56.
in Prussia, 382.
Atheistical tendencies, 83.
Atlantic Monthly, The, 21, 22, 85, 294.
Atonement, Vicarious, 116.
Augustine, St., 236.
Australasia, Missions in, v?6, (97, 583,
.584,587-.
Austria, Religion in, 397.
Missions in, 496.
Babcock, Rev. Rufus, D.D., 578.
Babel of beliefs, 86.
Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen, 500.
Bacon, 71, 76, 155.
Rev. Leonard, LL.D., 103.
Badger, Rev. Joseph, 185.
Baird, Rev. Robert, D.D., 101, 425 516,
537, 538, 540, 580, 584-
592
INDEX.
Balbi, Adrian, 380,519.
Ballou, Rev. Hosea, 102, 126.
Bancroft, Hon. George, 72-74.
Bangs, Rev. Nathan, D.D., 193.
Banking letters of credit, 300.
Banks, Integrity of, 301.
Baptist Almanac, 540, 542, 544.
\nti-mission, 539, 541, 543.
colleges in United States, 463, 550.
Home Missionary Society, 352, 353.
publication receipts, 556.
Publication Society, 352, 353.
"sts and Roman Catholic
pared, 415, 453.
Baptists and Roman Catholics corn-
English-speaking, in the world, 527.
Free-will, 538, 539, 541, 543.
in Germany, 398.
in Switzerland, 396.
in Virginia, 323.
in whole world, 572.
Regular, in United States, 537, 538,
Seventh-day, in United States, 539,
541, 543.
Six-Principle, in United States, 539,
$4i, 543-
Barbarism of slavery, 205.
Barnes, Rev. Albert, D.D., 533.
Bastards, 145.
Battles, Roman, 238.
Bauer, 106.
Bavaria, Religion in, 397.
Bechuanas, Character of, 502.
Beecher, Rev. H. W., 82, 109, 124, 134,
303.
Rev. Lyman, D.D., 98, 103, 193,
195..
Beer Act in England, 267.
Demoralization from, 267.
Belfast address, 121.
Belgium, Religion in, 397.
Beliefs, Babel of, 86.
The central, 1-^6.
Bellows, Rev. H. W., D.D., 18, 365.
Bern and Wagner's statistics, 388.
Benefices become carcasses, 148.
Benevolence, Pecuniary, 357-360, 428,
552-557-
Benevolences organized, 338, 339.
Berlin statistical bureau, 399.
Bertillon, M., Researches of, 377.
Bible, Destitution of, in 1800, 507, 508.
Eliot's Indian, 188.
first American edition, 188.
imported from Holland, 188.
in all the world, 528.
in Rome, 304.
Multiplication of, 508, 509.
Possibilities of, 507.
Society, American, 352, 353, 508, 556.
Society, British and Foreign, 321,
507.
Translations of, 504, 505, 509.
Biblical criticism, 109.
inspiration, 83, 122.
interpretation, 117.
Biddle, John, 69.
Bishops of Methodist Episcopal Church,
104.
Bismarck-Bohlem, Count, 398.
Bitterness, Political, 179.
Blackwood's Magazine, 95, 167, 224 314.
Boasts of Romanists and skeptics, 4*9.
Bodm's, John, Dialogues, 58.
Bolingbroke, Lord, 76.
Bondage of truth, 39-52.
Books, Indecent, 274.
Boston City Missionary Society, 344,
345
Journal, 222, 228, 233, 365, 298, 468-
470. _
liberalism waning, 112.
Morals in, 295.
Recorder, 257.
Traveler, 215.
Botta, Professor Vincenzo, D.D.> 56.
Bowdoin College, Skepticism in, 99.
Bowen's, Professor, lectures, 122.
Boyce, Rev. William B., 483.
Bradford, Dr. G., 103.
Brainard, 324, 478.
Brazil, Missions in, 585.
Bribery in England, 162-164.
Briggs, Governor of Massachusetts, 262.
Bricanntca, Encyclopaedia, 534.
British Almanac and Companion 236,
268, 290, 344.
Bible Society, 321.
Isles, Church statistics of, 561-564.
provinces in America, 410, 413, 567.
rule in India, 523.
Brooks, Rev. Phillips, D.D., 140.
Brun, Malt<>, 380.
Buckle, 17, 376.
Buddhists in India, 496.
Bulgarian missions, 586.
Bureau, Statistical, of Berlin, 399.
of labor in Massachusetts, 215, 216,
244, 252, 253.
Burgess, Right Rev. Bishop, 93.
Burke, Hon. Edmund, 292.
Burmah, Missions in, 495, 582, 584, 586.
Burnett, Bishop, 311.
Burr, Aaron, 180.
Business organizations, 300.
Bute, Marquis of, 164, 525.
Butler, Bishop, 87, 95, 315.
Cabala, The, 62.
Calhoun, Rev. George A., D.D., 283.
Calvinism, Revolt from, 103, 109, 116.
Calvin's Institutes, 20, 116.
Campanella, Thomas, 63, 71.
Canadas, Religion in the, 382, 410-413.
Capital convictions, 155.
and distrust, 302.
crimes in England, 292.
Caroline, Queen, 166.
Cartesians in Holland, 73.
Cartwnght, Rev. Peter, "D.D., 185.
Casuistry, Schools of, 146.
Catholic Family Almanac, 388
INDEX.
593
Catholic celibacy, 439.
Church in United States, History
of, 435, 440-
Publication House, 435.
?uasi, 89.
elegraph, 435.
total abstinence societies, 266.
World, 16, 410, 433, 434, 435, 465,
Celtic and Saxon population in United
States, 438, etc.
Census of United States, 542.
Ceylon, Missions in, 478, 582, 584, 586.
Changes in New England, 275, 276.
in Protestantism, 41, 42.
in theology, 81.
Channing, Rev. W. E., D.D., 20, 128.
Charges against Protestantism, 39.
Charities, Hand-book of, London, 291.
New, 290.
Systematic, 243.
Chastity and divorce, 209-220.
Chauncey, Rev. Charles, D.D., 102.
Chesterfield, Lord, 161, 167.
Children in coal-pits, 272.
in factories, 272.
in New York city, 348, 349.
Chili, Missions in, 585.
Chillingworth, 69.
Chimney sweeps, 272.
China, Changes in, 531.
Missions in, 491, 493, 494, 582, 584,
586.
Chinese in America, 485.
youth in Christian lands, 512.
Choate, Hon. Rufus, 297, 298.
Christ, deity of, 118, 124.
Who is ? 500, 501.
Christendom, Area of, 526.
Christian Advocate, 225, 238.
Almanac, 540.
Evidence Society, 84.
Examiner, 121.
Retrospect and Register, 483, 538,
584.
States, population of, 519, 588, 589.
Christianity and the Saxon race, 24.
aggressive, 339, 340.
ancient and modern compared, 471,
and culture, 106.
and modern thought, 18, 35.
and paganism, 44.
and philosophy, 91.
a propagandism, 374.
its ethics, 128, 129.
its organizing power, 338, 339.
its prodigious power, 136.
lifting the world, 134.
Practical, 339.
Primitive, 140.
Progress of, 471, 515, etc.
unchanged, 82, 124.
Cl.ristians, Colleges of, 463, 550.
Divisions among, 125.
in India, 406.
Christians in the world, 515.
Christlieb, Professor, 483, 484.
Christmas under Cromwell, 157.
Church and colleges, 455, 459, 471, 550.
Dutch, in New York, 316.
Church edifices in United States, 424
428, 430, 549.
Evangelical, 425-428, 445, 448, 537.
in New York city, 348.
in United States, 537-557.
Liberal, 428-430, 547, 548.
of Brhum, 500.
of England, 171, 321.
organizations in United States, 423,
426, 427, 549.
not manufactured, 375.
Permanence of, 373.
The divine, 82.
City missions, 343-349.
Civilization and crime, 244.
Modern, 525.
^Over-wrought, 235.
Civil offenses, Increase of, 245.
power, Loss of, by Rome, 530.
Clark, Rev. Joseph S., D.D., 538.
Rev. Samuel, D.D., 70.
Clergy, Corrupt, 145-150, 314, 169, 181,
176.
Discipline of, 279.
Ignorant, 312.
Cleveland, O., Early morals of, 185.
Cloisters, The, and piety, 307.
Clubs, Infidel, in New York, 182.
of Illuminati in Virginia, 185.
Coal-pits and laborers, 272.
Cobbett, Rev. Thomas, 174.
Coffee-houses in England, 268, 269.
Coke, Rev. Thomas, LL.D., 478.
College, Columbia, 460.
Dartmouth, Revivals in, 328.
Harvard, 328, 460.
Princeton, 328, 460.
property, 458, 459.
students, 328, 463, 465, 469.
The Log, 323.
William and Mary's, 99, 328.
Yale, 460.
Colleges and the Churches, 106, 459-471.
and the population, 465.
Female, 465.
of the States, 461.
Religious origin of, 467-471.
Colonies of Great Britain, 526.
Colored communicants in United States,
447-
Methodists in United States, 543.
Colportage, 351-353.
Colquhoun's Police of London, 236, 237.
Gome-outers and the Sabbath, 197.
Communicants and the population, 538,
545,.4 2 7~448.
Comparative religions, 128.
Competing forces, 420.
Complaints, 15-24.
Complete Preacher, The, 79, 21, 155.
594
INDEX.
Comstnck, Anthony, 223.
Concessions of Liberalists, 127.
Concordat in Spain, 393.
Concrete Christianity, 302.
Confessional, The, 146.
Congregationalists in United Slates, 537,
539. 54i,
llege
543-
Uni
ges in United States, 463, 550.
in whole world, 573.
Congregational Methodists, 541, 543.
publication receipts, 556.
Conserving forces, 35.
Constance, Council of, 148.
Constantinople, Capture of, 48.
Converts, Catholic, 150, 549.
Cook, Captain, in Polynesia, 510.
Cornelius, Rev. Elias, 464.
Corruption in Europe, 145-173.
in England, 162.
of press, 178.
Cosmic philosophy, 121.
Countess of Huntington, 320.
Covenant, Half-way, 318, 325.
Covetousness, 357.
Creeds, 24, 42, 82, 139.
in India, 496.
Crime, 225-254.
and immigration, 240.
and legislation, 292.
and pauperism, 282.
and story reading, 223.
and the Sabbath, 200.
diminution of, 282.
in Great Britain, 161, 248, 249.
in sixteenth century, 155.
Criticism, 15, 90, 280, 281.
Biblical, 109.
Cromwell, Moral regimen of, 157.
Culture and evangelical religion, 106,
112.
Cumberland Presbyterians in United
States, 539, 542-544-
Customs, Drinking, 258260.
Cyclopedia, Appleton s, 263, 538.
M'Clintock and Strong s, 530.
Dance of Death, 151.
Danes, Missions of, 478.
D'Aubigne, Merle, History of Refor-
mation, 148, 153.
Davenport, Rev. M., 323.
Deaconesses, 343.
Dead orthodoxy, 317.
Deaf and Dumb, Institutions for, 291.
Dean Stanley, 322.
Death rates, 289.
Decadence, Moral, in United States,
173-188^
of Romanism in Europe, 391400.
Religious, in England, 30^-3 17.
Religious. United States, 317, 318.
De Courcy, History of CathoLc Church
in United States, 409.
Defalcations, 230, 233.
Deism, Ideal, 58.
in America, 325.
Deism in England, J7, 76-106.
in Oxford University, 94.
Delavan, Hon. E. H., 197.
Deliverance of faith, 113-140.
Demagogues, 178, 308.
Demonology, 90.
Denominational colleges, 106, 461.
Depravity, Doctrine of, 116.
Derry festivals, 175.
Presbyterians, 175.
Descartes, 55, 64, 70-76.
Despotism, Rebound from, 77.
Detectives betray trust, 227.
Dewey, Rev. Orville, D.D., 128, 365.
Dexter, Hon. Samuel, LL.D., 257.
Dialectical arts, 45, 139.
Dike, Rev. Samuel W., 215.
Dingley, ex-governor of Mitfne, 266.
Disciples' colleges, 550.
Disciples in United States, 429, 430, 5391
.54.1, 543-
Discriminations necessary, 191.
Disestablishment, 419.
Dishonesty, 296.
Distilled spirits, Statistics of, 257-263.
Divisions, Church, 124.
Divorce and chastity, 209-220.
Doctrine, Heart of, 141.
Original type of, 138-140.
questioned, 83, 84.
rejected, 95.
retained, 118.
Dogmas, Kicking against, 82.
Dogmatics declining, 73, 74, 97.
Domestic missionary receipts, 554.
Doubters, Bold, 105.
Doubt not always criminal, 87, 88.
Doubts vanishing, 532, 533.
Dow, Hon. Neal, 266.
Drift of religious ideas, 81.
Drinking customs, 161, 162, 173, 175, 181,
182, 258-260, 266, 284, 326.
Dueling, 180, 269, 270.
Dunkers in United States, 539, 541, 543,
Duns Scotus, 46.
Dutch Church in New York, 316.
Dwight, Rev. Timothy, D.D., 99, ict,
211, 278, 283.
East Indies, Missions in, 582 586.
Eaton, Mr. Dorman B., 165.
General, 459, 463, 460, 467 . 551.
Ebbs and flows, 191.
Ecclesiastical statistics, 537-589.
Eckley, Rev. Dr., 103. '
Economic view, 284-287.
Ecumenical statistics, 571589-
Education and crime, 250, 251.
in Great Britain, 249-251.
of Hindu youth, 501.
of the Bechuanas, 502.
Edwardean revival, 177.
Edwards, Rev. B. B., D.D., 464, 583.
and Wesley, 322.
Jonathan, 175, 322.
Jonathan, 20!, D.D., 104, 197, 198.
INDEX.
595
Elfic stage of society, 277.
Eliot, Rev. John, 478.
Rev. William G., D.D., 128.
Emancipation, British, 204.
Emancipation of mind, 75.
Emerson, R. W., 121.
Emigration from New England, 275, 276.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 245, 246, 388,
402, 404, 405, 534.
England and Spain compared, 393.
and emancipation, 204.
Bishop, 433, 438.
Morals in, 157-169, 271-274.
Population of, 402.
Religious statistics, 401407, 561, 564.
Unbelief in, 94-97, 325.
English language, Spread of, 526, 527.
mission funds, 484.
Protestantism quickened, 320.
reformation, 311.
Epicureanism in Italy, 56.
Episcopal Church in New York colony,
316.
colleges in United States, 464, 550.
Episcopalians in United States, 537, 538,
539, 54i, 543-
in the world, 527.
Era, The new spiritual, 333-370.
Error, Service of, 75, 76.
Established Church and Methodism,
321.
Estimates of Roman Catholics, 433, 436.
Ethics of Christianity, 128, 129.
Europe, Missions in, 582, 584, 585.
Population of, 387.
Religious progress, 387407.
Romanism in, 388.
Evangelical Association, Colleges of, 463,
55i 551.
Association in United States, 539,
Churches and the population, 425-
428, 445-448.
party in England, 321.
Evangelistic work, 138.
Evangelizing societies, 337, 338.
Evarts, Jeremiah, 337.
Evils outgrown, 298.
Ewer, Rev. F. C., D.D., 16, 19, ai, 28,
39 1 4, J 54> I 55-
Extravagance, 158.
Factors, Liberating, 51-78.
Failures, Ministerial, 301.
Faith, 39-142.
and criticism, 109.
a soul- need, 92.
Decay of, 21-24.
Deliverance of, 113-140.
Descartes', 74.
Purer, 141.
Simplicity of, 139.
Threatening aspects of, 81-86.
True, 365.
Family, Elevation of the, 219.
Fasts, Numerous, 330.
Feudalism, 47-151.
Fielding, 162, 165, 224.
Fiji Islands, Progress in, 509.
Financial Reform Almanic, 248.
Fisher, Professor, 59, 66.
Fisk, Professor John, LL.D., 121.
Rev. Mr. 341.
Fleet marriages, 161.
Flogging in navy, 271.
Force yielding to morals, 304.
Forcible entry, 246.
Foreign-born population in New En
gland, 275, 276.^
population in United States, 422.
Foreign missions, 356, 477-512.
mission receipts, 357-360.
mission societies, 481.
Forgeries, 230.
Formosa, Missions in, 478.
Fortnightly Review, 284.
Fowler, Rev. C. H., D.D., LL.D., 300-
302.
Fox and Hoyt's Register, 540.
France, Missions in, 586.
Religion in, 382-396.
Romanism in, 396.
Franklin, Benjamin, 532.
Fraud, Increase of, 246.
Freedmen's Aid receipts, 555, 558.
Free inquiry, 73, 74, 75, 77.
Freeman's Journal, 438.
Free-Methodists in United States, 541,
543*
Free religion, 106.
Free-will Baptists founded, 324.
Baptist publications, 556.
French Indian wars, 177, 324.
infidelity in United States, 325.
skeptics, The first, 76.
Frere, Sir Bartle, 499.
Friend of India, 500, 501.
Friendly Islands, 509.
Friends, Colleges of, in United States, 464.
m United" States, 538, 539, 541, 543.
Friends' Review, 542.
Frothingham, Rev. O. B., 20, 92, 132.
Froude, 24, 408.
Funds, Mission. 482, 483.
Funerals, Drinking at, 174.
Gambling, 161.
Gavazzi, 394, 395.
Germans and the Sabbath, 201.
Germany, Religion in. 398.
Gillett, Rev. E. H., D."D., 317, 330.
Gin-drinking in England, 161.
Gladden, Rev. Washington, 299.
Gladstone, Hon. W. E., 125.
Gould, S. Baring, 154.
Greece, Missions in, 586.
Greek Church in England, 388.
Church, vStates of, 589.
refugees, 48.
Green, Rev. Ashbel, 328.
Greenland, Missions in, 478, 584, 585.
Grenville, Sir George, 164.
596
INDEX.
Griffin, Rev. E. D., D.D., 103, 104, 193,
Growth of American Christianity, 473.
Guiana, Missions in, 585.
Gustavus Vasa I., 478.
Half truths, 134.
Half-way Covenant, 318, 325, 326.
Hallam, 57, 59, 67, 146, 404.
Hamilton, Sir William, 154, 314.
Hand-book of charities, 291.
Hapsburg, House of, 529.
Hartmann, 123, 131.
Harvard Advocate, na.
Hase, 47, 68.
Hasheesh, 205.
Hawks, Rev. Dr., 176.
Hecker, Father, 433, 435, 540.
Hedge, Rev. Prof. F. H., D.D., 127, 128.
Hegel, 88.
Heidelberg, 138.
Herbert, 61, 76.
Heresy in Churchos, 101-105.
Hicksites, 105.
Hines, Rev. J. V., 540, 542.
Hobbs, 76, 61, 238.
Hogarth, 158.
Hohenzollern, House of, 529.
Holy Spirit, Effusion of, 333, 336.
Home-life, 220.
Home Missionary Boards, 358.
Missionary Societies, 350.
mission receipts, 554.
missions, 138, 349-354.
Homicides, 207, 232, 247.
Hood, 362.
Hopkins, Right Rev. Bishop, 146.
Hospitals, Roman Catholic, 432, 549.
Howard, John, 293.
Society, London, 423.
Hughes, Archbishop, 15, 433, 438.
Humane societies, 200, 337.
Humanists, School of, 58.
Hume, 76, 96, 479.
Humphrey, Rev. H., D.D., 193, 334, 337.
Hungary, Religion in, 397.
Hurst, Right Rev. Bishop J. F., D.D.,
*37i I 3 8 -
Huss, John, 149, 150.
Hyacinthe, Pere, 17.
Idiots, Institutions for, 291.
Idleness and crime, 239.
Illuminati^ Club of, in Virginia, 185.
Immigration, 200, 201, 231, 240, 241, 422.
Immortality, 125, 126.
Indecency, 167.
India, Christians in, 496, 502.
Creeds of, 496.
Missions in, 496, 582, 584, 586.
Moral progress in, 499-501.
Population of, 523.
Unitarian mission in, 547.
Who rules? 500, 501.
Indians, Missions, 309, 478, 583, 584, 585.
Indifference t& religion, 314.
Indulgences, 147.
Inequalities of condition, 172.
Infant damnation, 116.
Infidel clubs in New York, 182.
Infidelity, 105, 325, 479.
and unchastity, 209.
in colleges, 85.
in Europe, 84, 178.
in New York, 185, 186.
in Virginia, 98-184, 185. .
its religiosity, 136.
not permanent, 92.
portrayed, 182-184.
Infidel publications, 100, 101, 105, 480.
Inquisition in Mexico, 409.
Inspiration, Verbal, 117.
Intellect and Christianity, 106.
Intemperance, 181, 257-269.
International conferences, 304.
Interpretation, Biblical, 117.
Invention of printing, 47, 151.
Ireland, Missions in, 585.
Population of, 400-402.
Religion in, 400, 401.
Irish convicts, 423.
World, 422.
Italy, Missions in, 586.
Religion in, 393, 395, 530.
Kalendar of English Church, 483, 484.
Kant, Immanuel, 118, 123, 126.
Kent, Chancellor, 98.
Kentucky, Morals of, 185.
Kingdom of Christ, 299, 508, 538.
Knavery in Italy, 235.
Knowledge and missions, 493.
Kurtz, 58, 67, 118, 119, 123.
Labor bureau, 252, 253.
Laddie, Rev. Dr., 327.
Lafayette, General, 196.
Lange, F. A., 61.
Law of progress, 299.
Lawrence, Lord, 499.
Lay activity, 341, 342.
Leckey, 96, 159, 161, 163, 166, 170-172.
314, 321.
Lectures on Revivals, Sprague's, 327.
Legal possession, 246.
Legerdemain, 45.
Legge, Rev. Dr., 490, 491.
Legislation and slavery, 205, 206.
and crime, 244.
Leibnitz, 71, 127.
Leighton, Archbishop, 317.
Leo X., 58, 153.
Letters of credit, 300.
Libels, party, 166.
Liberal Christian, 374.
Liberal Christianity, 27, 28, 419, 128-
430, 448.
Liberalism in Boston, 112.
Liberating factors, 51-78.
Licentiousness, 175, 186, 205, 209.
Liquors, Adulteralion of, 265
Litch, Rev. J. V., 540, 542.
INDEX.
597
Literature, Apologetical, 138.
created, 1504,
improved, 224.
Local preachers, 343, 574.
Locke, John, 71, 76.
Log College, The, 323.
London city missions, J44.
Crime in, 159, 160.
Longevity, 288.
Losses, Roman Catholic, 438-444.
Luther, 20, 72, 154,, 155, 308, 378.
Lutheran colleges in United States, 464,
55
Lutherans in United States, 537, 538,
539- 54i, 543-
Luxury, Roman, 238.
I.ytton, Lord, 500.
MV 11, Mr. and Mrs., 307.
Macaulay, 5, 44, 392, 393.
McCarthy, Justin, 270.
Mackenzie, Robert, 252, 268, 273, 289,
293, 501, 502, 316.
Mackeson, Charles, 344.
Madagascar, 509, 510, 583, 586.
Maine law, 262, 266.
Maritime discoveries, 151.
Mark Antony, 2^8.
Marriage and suffrage, 219.
purified, 219, 220.
Materialism, 106, 130.
Matrimony, Quasz, 209, 210.
Mauritius, Missions in, 586.
May hew. Dr., Life of, 103.
Meade, Bishop, 98, 176, 185, 194.
Medici, Gardens of, 48, 57, 76.
Melanchthon, 50, 51.
Melanesian Isles, 510.
Mennonites in United States, 539, 541,
Methodism, 27.
and Roman Catholics in United
States compared, 415, 452.
and the English Church, 321.
Methodist Book Concern, 556.
colleges, 464, 550.
Quarterly Review, 583, 589.
Methodists in Germany, 398.
in Switzerland, 396.
in United States, 537~53^ 54*i 543-
in whole world, 527, 574.
Metropolitan Catholic Almanac, 433,
. 549-
Mexico, Inquisition in, 409.
Missions in, 409, 585.
population, 408, 409.
Micronesia, 511.
Military discipline, 271.
honors on Sunday, 196.
Millard, Rev. David, D.D., 429, 430.
Millerite excitement, 335.
Ministers and population, 445.
Failures of, 301.
in United States, 301, 424, 430, 537,
54 v
Missions among Bechuanas, 502.
Missions and science, 494.
at Andover Seminary, 337.
converts, 486, 487.
Early, 478.
Extent of, 488, 489.
Foreign, 337, 356.
Foreign, of United States, 580, 581,
582, 584, 585-
Foreign, receipts, 358,482,483,485,
Home, 349-354.
Home, receipts, 358, 554.
in papal lands, 391.
in Polynesia, 502, 503.
Papal, in India, 495.
Preparatory work of, 504.
presses, 498.
Protestant, in India, 495.
Trial ground of, 504.
Mississippi valley, 340.
Modern philosophy, 70-78.
and apostolic progress, 511, 512.
science, 35, 121.
skepticism, 55-60.
Mohammedan population, 388.
in India, 496.
Moral interregnum, 22, 85.
self-poise, 303, 304.
standards, 299.
Morality, Commercial, 240.
Morals, 145-304.
and pauperism, 281, 282.
and slavery, 205.
ideas improving, 277, 27^,280,281,
296.
in Maryland and Virginia, 176.
in New England, 275, 276, 295.
in United States, 173290.
of Coriiithian Church, 280.
of foreigners, better, 240.
Post-bellum, 237.
Moravians, 320.
in United States, 437-439, 54^ 544-
in whole world, 575.
Missions of, 478.
Mortality in England, 289.
Murders in England, 162.
Murray, J. O'Kane, 435.
Native clergy in India, 498.
Nature, Worship of, 131.
Neander to Strauss, 137.
Neoplatonic philosophy, 56, 67.
New Brunswick, Religion in, 411.
New England changes, 275, 276.
New Guinea, 54.
New Hebrides, 511.
New Jerusalem Church, 428, 430, 548,
Newspapers, Corrupt, 178.
New York city, Churches iu, 348.
missions, ^345.
Religion in, 348, 349.
Sabbath-schools in, 348.
Schools in, 348, 349.
New York, Western, 185, 186.
598
INDEX.
North American Review, 24.
Nova Scotia, Religion in, 412.
Novels, 220.
Numbers and spirituality, 474.
Nuremburg, 155.
Observer, New York, Year-Bof.k, 542.
Oceanica, Missions in, 583, 584, 587.
O'Connor, Bishop, 433.
Old Churches of Virginia, etc., 195.
Old Faiths in New Light, 122.
Old South Church, Boston, 103.
Oneida Community, 220.
Opinion, Public, 33, 279.
Origin of Bible Societies, etc., 321.
Orphanage and crime, 252, 254.
Outrages, Southern, 206.
Owen, Robert, 210.
Padua, School of, 56, 65.
Paganism enfeebled Christianity, 44.
Pagan stage of society, 277.
Page, Harlan, 343.
Paine, Thomas, 98, 297, 479.
Pantheism, 106, 119, 131.
Papal court corrupt, 147, 150,
Papal missions in Australia, 496, 497.
in China, 493.
in Inr'ia, 495.
Papal occupancy of United States, Ear-
ly, 414.
population, Slow growth of, 391, 392.
supremacy in Europe, 387.
Papers, Sensational, 220.
Parishes, Unitarian, 429.
Universalist, 429.
Parker, Theodore, 20, 174, 178, 180, 192,
283, 295.
Park-street Church, Boston, 103, 341.
Parliament and slavery, 204.
Corruption of, 163, 164
Parliamentary Blue Book, 498, 499.
Parochial schools in United States, 432,
549-
Party libels, 166.
Pastoral letter of Presbyterian Church,
1 86, 330.
Pauper immigrants, 282.
Pauperism, 250, 281-284.
Pecuniary benevolence, 357-360.
Peers, Roman Catholic, in Great Brit-
ain, 525.
Penal inflictions, 292-294.
Penumbra, The, 363.
Periodicals, Religious, 341.
Periods of progress, 298.
Revival, 335.
Typical, morals, 145188.
Typical, spirituality, 306-330.
Pessimism, 15, 477.
Phases of progress, 81.
Phelps, Rev. A. A., D.D., 92.
Philanthropic agencies, 290.
movements, 338, 339.
Philosophy and religion, 108.
Modern, 70-78.
Philosophy, Transitional period cf, 55-60,
True, 140.
Physical phenomena and religion, 335,
364.
science, 61-64.
Physicians of London, 161.
Pierce, Rev. B. K., D.D., 107-111.
Piety, Defects of, 360.
Grounds of, 129.
in cloisters, 307.
Intelligent, 142.
More simple and pure, 361.
Pioneer preachers, 339, 340.
Pitt, William, 170, 171.
Platonic Academy, 57, 76.
Political corruption, 162164, 179, 180.
Polynesia, Missions in, 502-504, 510, 583,
584, 587-
Pope, 95, 158, 167, 224.
Pope, Allocution of, 401.
Pope Leo X., 58.
Popery and modern civilization, 525.
in England, 402.
represses progress, 392, 393.
Popes, Corruption of, 152, 153.
Popular education in Great Britain, 249-
252.
Population in Europe, 388.
in United States, 421, 545.
Manufacturing, 172.
Mohammedan, 388.
of Greek Church, 388.
of Ireland, 402.
of New England, 375, 376.
of the world, 380, 381.
of United States, Foreign, 422.
Prison, 252, 253.
Progress of, in England, 28^-287.
Protestant, in Europe, 388.
Roman Catholic, in Europe, 388.
Roman Catholic, in United States,
433-43,6, 549-
nder Christian gove
governments, 519,
588.
Porter, Rev. Ebenezer, D.D., 329, 334.
E. Payson, 427, 546.
Post-bellum periods, 237.
Post-offices and the Sabbath, 196.
Potter, Rev. William J., 18.
Prayer-meetings, 351, 352.
Premillennialists, 15.
Presbyterian Board of Publication, 352,
353, 556-
Church aggressive, 323.
Church, Low condition of, 316.
Church, Synod of, 177.
colleges in United States, 464, 551.
Home Mission Board, 352, 353.
pastoral letter, 330.
Presbyterians and heresy, 96.
in New Hampshire, 175.
in the world, 527, 575.
in United States, 537-539, 54? 544.
Press, Mission, in India, 498.
Sensational, 294.
Priesthood of believers, 308, 340-342, 361,
INDEX.
599
Priestley, Dr., 104.
Priests, Roman Catholic, in United
States, 549.
Primitive Christianity, 140.
Methodists in United States, 539,
S4 T , 543-
Prince Albert, 270, 274.
Princeton College, 328, 460.
Printing, Invention of, 47, 151.
Prison reform, 293.
population, 253.
Profaneness, 160, 180, 273.
Profligacy, i f8, 319.
Progress and crime, 245, 246.
Comparative, 169.
Genuine, 364.
in Europe, 387-407.
in Fiji Isles, 509.
in India, 499501.
in Madagascar, 509, 510.
in Polynesia, 502504, 510.
Irregular, 89, 192.
Law of, 299.
Legislative, 245, 246.
Modern and apostolic, 511, 512.
Moral, 296, 502.
of Christianity, 515.
of Missions, 486.
of population in England, 285-287.
Papal and Protestant, 519.
Periods of, 298.
Religious, in Canada, 411.
Rome opposed to, 525.
Social, in England, 285-287.
Spiritual, 360-362, 367, 368.
under Wesleyanism, 519.
Prologue, n, 12.
Prometheus, The modern, 75.
Propagandas, 433-482.
Protestantism a growth, 30.
and mission funds, 483-485.
and missions, 483, 489498.
and personal religion, 31, 32.
and progress, 519.
Birth of, 49, 50.
Changes in, 41.
Charges against, 15, 20, 21, 24, 39.
Dark period of, 479.
denned, 27.
divorced from State, 31.
fenerator of modern philosophy, 78.
mperfections of, 30, 310.
in bondage, 50-52.
in Ireland, 400, 401.
in Mexico, 408, 409.
in Prussia, 399.
in Rome, 530.
in South America, 406.
in the Canadas, 410-413.
Roman Catholic missions compared,
489-497-
Umty_ of, 398.
what it claims, 30.
Protestant Methodists in United States,
539, 54.1 1.543;
Prussia. Religion in, 382, 400.
Publication Society, Baptist, 352, 353.
receipts, 556.
Society, Catholic, 435.
Society, Presbyterian, 352, 353.
Universalist, 548.
Public opinion, 33, 279.
Purification of jurisprudence, 300.
of theology, 115.
Puritan Recorder, 263.
Puritans, 157, 158, 299, 308, 311.
auakers, 23, 27, 308.
ueen Anne, 173.
Caroline, 166.
Victoria, 270-274.
Quint, Rev. A. H., D.D., 544.
Racow, Printing-office of, 69.
Randall, Rev. Benjamin, 324.
Rationalism, 106.
Reactionary movements, 77, 153.
Reading matter, Corrupt, 220.
Reformation and freedom, 529.
in England, 157, 308, 311.
in Europe, 150-156.
Moral unity of, 28.
Origin of, 47.
The Wesleyan, 319.
Reformed Church, Associate, in United
States, 537, 539,^ 542, 544.
Church colleges in United States,
464, 551.
Church, German, in United States,
537, 53.3, 540, 542, 544-
Church in Jb ranee, 396.
Dutch Church in United States,
5*7, 53 8 , 54, 54 2 , 544-
Episcopal Church in United States,
Methodists in United States, 539,
54*i 54*3-
Presbyterians in United States, 539,
54 2 , 544-
Refreshment houses, 268.
Rehabilitating processes, 135.
Religion and colleges, 467-471.
Comparative study of, 128.
Decay of, in England, 315.
in America Dr. Baird, 101, 4^:5,
. 537-
in Europe, 387-407.
its innermost core, 131.
Religiosity, Spurious, 136.
Religious outlook, Dismal, 327.
visits, 351.
Renaissance in Italy, 59.
Reporters, Ubiquitous, 233.
Reprobation, 116.
Republic, Faith in, 298.
Restatement of faith, 113-140.
Restorative ideas, 102, 127.
Results of missions, 486.
Retribution, 126-128.
Reveiland, Rev. Mr., 396.
Reverence, Decline of, 276, 277.
Review, Methodist Quarterly, 383.
6oo
INDEX.
Review, North American, 24.
Revival, Edwardean, 174, 177, 322.
from Luther to Wesley, 309.
in colleges, 468, 469.
in Middle States, 323.
in Scotland, 309.
lectures by Dr. Sprague, 327.
New England, by Dr. Tyler, 333.
of 1800-1803, 193, 333-338.
of English Church, in.
of learning, 47, etc.
Wesleyan, The, 169-172.
Whitefieldian, 177.
Revivals few from 1745-1800, 317, 326-
329.
Revolt against scholasticism, 74.
against Rome, 41.
Revolutionary spirit, The, 178.
Revolution in India, 501.
Rice, Rev. David, 327.
Rich and poor, 172.
Rider, Rev. W. H., D.D., 128.
Rising sun, The, 532.
Ritualists, 406, 407, 415, 429.
Robespierre, 92.
Roman Catholic and Baptist Churches
compared, 453.
Catholic and Methodist Churches
compared, 453.
Catholic and Protestant missions,
489-497.
Catholic and Protestant progress in
Europe, 387-407.
Catholic Church in Middle Ages,
528, 529.
Catholic Church in United States,
Catholic colleges in United States,
Catholic estimates, 433-436.
Catholic growth in United States,
_ 43,i-437i 444, 450-457- .
Catholic priests in the United States,
432, 549-
Catholic States, 527, 588.
Catholic^ States, Area of, 526.
Romanism, its relations to aristocracy,
525.
and legislation, 528.
and Protestantism in Canada, 410-
413-
and Protestantism in England, 401-
407.
and Protestantism in Ireland, 400,
401.
and Protestantism in Mexico, 408,
. 49-
in despotism, 45.
in the civil power, 530.
invaded by Protestantism, 388, 389.
Losses of, 539.
Losses of, in United States, 438-144.
Rome, Bibles in, 394.
the generator of unbelief, 55.
Rum, New England, 173.
Runaway wives, 210.
Sabbath and crime, 200.
and the Come-outers, 197.
Committee in New York, 199-202.
desecration, 160, 175, 176, 185, 193-199,
. 3 I 5, 316, 325.
in Polynesia, 503.
its eternal sanctity, 203.
mails, 195.
Manual, by Dr. Edwards, 197.
The Christian, 203.
theoretical changes, 203.
Union, The American and Foreign,
197.
Sadlier's Catholic Almanac, 434, 435.
Safeguards of faith, 87.
Saint Helena, Missions in, 586.
Saint Peter's, 141.
Saint Peter's, The, 435.
Saintship, True, 307.
Samoa, Missions in, 502, 503,
Sanitary science, 288, 289.
Saxon race and Christianity, 24.
and Celtic population in the United
States, -138, etc.
Scandinavia, Missions in, 586.
Schem, Prof., LL.D., 380, 388, 516, 519,
542,543,588.
schilling, 124.
Schism, from 1880-1850, 105.
in New England Churches, 104.
Schleiermacher, 129.
Scholasticism, 42, 45, 61, 62, 74.
School attendance New York city, 348.
School of Humanists, 56, 58.
Schools, Parochial, in United States, 549.
Schopenhauer, 131.
Schwartz, Missions of, 478.
Schwenkfelders, 540, 542, 544.
Science and missions, 494.
Modern, 122.
Physical, 64.
Statistical, 373-384.
Scientific confirmation of theology, 123-
130.
Scientists and the Bible, 121.
Scotland, Religion in, 403, 561-564.
Seaman's Progress of Nations, 387, 510.
Seamen's Friend Society, -358.
Second Adventists in the United States,
540, 542, 544.
Self-government advancing, 303, 304.
Semi-millennial of Wycliffe, 505- 508.
Sensationalism, Maudlin, 240.
Sensational press, 294.
Serfs, 204.
Servetus, 20, 66, 67.
Seventh-day Adventists in the United
States, 539, 541, 543.
Baptists in United States,
543*
colleges, 464, 551.
Shaftesbury, Earl of,76.
Shelling, 64.
Sherman, Hon. John, 275.
Simplicity of truth, 139.
Sinfulness of man, 123.
539i 54*.
INDEX.
601
Six-Principle Baptists, 539, 541, 543.
Skeptical era in modern history, 41, 46.
Skepticism a rebound from despotism, 77.
and Rome, 55, 59.
English, 61, 319.
European, 59, 177.
French, 76.
German, 398.
in Bowdom College, 99.
in Italy, 57.
in Princeton College, 99.
in United States, 97-105.
in Yale College, 98, 99.
Modern, 55-60.
receding, 106.
repeats itself, in.
Rise of, 47.
self-defensive, 137.
Slavery in Madagascar, 510.
in United States, 204-208.
Slaves in Hungary, 204.
Slave-trade suppressed, 510.
Smith, Prof. Goldwin, 22, 85.
Smollett, 160, 165, 224.
Socialistic communities, 220.
movements, 211, 398.
Social religion, 320, 341, 342.
Society, American Temperance, 257.
Catholic Temperance, 266.
Elfic stage of, 277.
English, Tendencies of, 319.
for Reformation of Morals, 195.
for Suppression of Intemperance,
257.
for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts, 309, 478.
Geographical, Gotha, 381.
Moral judgment of, 279.
of the Holy Children, 482.
Pagan stage of, 277.
Societies, Bible, Missionary, Tract, etc.,
Origin of, 321.
Evangelizing, Origin of, in United
States, 337-339-
Foreign, organized, 481.
Humane, 337, 338.
Socinian center in Poland, 67, 69.
Socinianism, 102, 103.
in England, 69, 96.
in Germany, 69.
Origin of, 67.
^ repelled by Luther, 68.
Socinians in Switzerland, 67.
South America, Missions in, 408, 583-
5?5.
Africa, 502.
Church, Old, Boston, 341.
Southern Observer, 446.
outrages, 206.
Southey, 219, 310, 311.
Spain and England compared, 393.
Missions in, 586.
Spasmodic efforts, 319.
Spaulding, Archbishop, 439.
Spencer, Herbert, 121.
Spinoza, 71.
38
Spiritual activities, 340, 368.
decadence, 309-330.
era, New, 330-370.
progress, 367, 368.
religion, tangible, 377.
Spiritualism, 106-428.
Spirituality, 307-370.
deepened, 335, 336.
Defects in, 360-363.
Typical examples of, 310, etc.
Sprague, Rev. William B., D.D., 327.
Springfield Republican, 299.
Spring, Rev. Gardner, D.D., 196, 202,
Stanley, Dean, 322.
State Colleges, 461.
States, Christian, 588, 589.
of the Church, 393.
Statesman's Year-Book, 397, 399, 402,
496.
Statesmen atheists and deists, 98.
Statistical Bureau of Berlin, 309.
exhibits, 371-589.
science, 373-384.
Statistics and morals, 374, 375.
Ecumenical, 571-589.
of ale, beer, etc., 264.
of Churches in British Isles, 561-564.
of Churches of United States, 537-
.557- . .
of city missions, 445-447.
of colportage, 352, 353.
of crime, 226, 236, 246, 248, 249, 252..
of distilled spirits, 263.
of early Protestantism, 379.
of evangelical communicants, 537-
545*
of foreign missions, 486, 487, 580-587.
of home missions, 350-353.
of homicides, 247.
of New York city, 348, 349.
of Protestantism, 16, 18.
' of religion in Austria, 397.
of religion in Bavaria, 397.
of religion in Belgium, 397.
of religion in British America, 382,
of religion in England, 401-407.
of religion in France, 382, 396.
of religion in Germany, 398, 399.,
of religion in Hungary, 397^
of religion in Ireland, 400, 401.
of religion in Prussia, 382, 399, 400;
of religion in United States, 419, 474.
of Roman Catholic Church in United
States, 432, 549.
Religious, disparaged, 373, 374.
Stephen, Leslie, 96.
Stillwelhtes in United States, 539.
Stoddard, Rev. Solomon, 318.
Stoicism revived, 60.
Stories, Sensational, 220, 221, 223.
Strauss, Dr. David, 106, 129, 131, 137.
Street children in New York, 349.
Strifes in Churches, 326.
6O2
INDEX.
Strong, Rev. Nathan, D.D., 101, 102.
Students, Pious, 107, 465-470.
Sumner, Hon. Charles, 298.
Sunday afternoon, 468.
Sunday-schools and Churches, 342.
in the United States, 426, 427, 546.
in the world, 528, 578.
organized, 351.
receipts, 556.
Sunday-School Union, American, 358.
Superstitions cast off, 277.
Pagan, 513.
Swedenborgian College, 464, 551.
Switzerland, Religion in, 396.
Tablet, The, 439.
Tamil language, Bible in, 478.
Tammany sachems, 240.
Tarbox, Rev. I. N., D.D., 186, 325, 326.
Ta3'lor, Isaac, 94, 126, 321.
Rev. William, 408.'
TechnicalitieSj Changing, 134.
Telugus, Missions in, 511.
Temperance, 257-269.
Tennents, The, 317, 323.
Territorial area of Christendom, 525, 526.
Testimonies to morals, 294.
to missions, 498-504.
Theism, 120.
The Light: Is it Waning? 86, 136, 362,
363.
Theological changes, 41, 42, 81.
emancipation, 115, 140.
modifications, 109.
purification, 115.
School, Presbyterian, 323.
seminaries, 466, 467.
Thoreau,-i3i, 132.
Thwing, Rev. C. F., 468-471.
Times, Echoes of the, 15-24.
Tinnevilly, 511.
Toleration, 525.
Toronto, Bishop of, 439.
Total abstainers in England, 268.
Abstinence Society, Catholic, 266.
Tractarian movement, 405-407.
Tracts distributed, 188, 353.
Tract Society, American, 351, etc., 556.
Transylvania University, 99.
Traveller, Boston, The, 215.
Trinitarian theology, 28, 65, 66.
Trinity, 117.
Trumbull, Dr., 211, 318.
'Trusts betrayed, 229.
Pecuniary, 301.
Truth, Bondage of, 39-52.
Self-conserving, 115.
tested, 90.
Truths, Half, 134.
Tubingen critics, 106.
Tumblers, 159.
Turkey, Missions in, 584, 586.
Turner, Rev. Sharon, D.D., 515, 516,
5!9-
Tyerman, 160, 169, 194.
Tyler, Rev. Dr. Bennett, 333.
Tyndall, Prof., 121.
Typical cases, 299-145.
examples, 310.
Ueberweg, 50, 51, 55, 60, 62, 63, 70.
Unbelief, 86, 87, 93, 94, 130-133.
Unchastity, 145-150.
Unitarian Association. Receipts of, 547.
Churches, 428, 429.
colleges, 464, 551.
foreign missions, 547.
refugees, 67.
Review j 367.
schism in New England, 104.
societies, 449, 547.
Unitananism, Origin of, 66-102.
Unitarians and Protestantism, 65.
in the world, 527, 577.
United Brethren in United States, 540,
542,544,551.
Presbyterians in United States, 542
544
States, Area of, 420.
States, Ascendency of, 529.
States Census, 298, 421.
States, Religion in, 419, 474, 537*
Unjty of Protestantism, 398.
Universalism, Arian, 105.
Churches of, 429.
Colleges of, 448, 464, 551.
Universahst societies in United States,
449, 548.
Universities of Europe founded, 48.
Valley of the Mississippi, 418, 419.
Verbal inspiration, 117.
Versions, 505, 506.
Vicarious atonement, 116.
Victoria, Queen, 270, 274.
Virginia, Infidelity in, 98.
Visits, Religious, 351.
Vitality, Spiritual, 307-370.
of Wesley anism, 320.
Voltaire, 23, 480, 506.
Volumes given away, 353.
Voluntary principle, 31, 33, 419.
Wages, 283.
Waldensians, 387, 394.
Walpole and corruption, 163, 164, 167.
Walwprth, Hon. R. H., 193.
Washington, Abuse of, 179.
Wealth of United States, 360.
Wellington, Duke of, 270.
Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, 541.
Presbyterians in United States, 544
Wesley, 94, 98, 170, 171, 172, 319, 320, 322,
338, 378, 379. 5i6.
and Edwards, 322.
Wesleyan Methodists in England, 562.
Methodists in United States, 539,
West Indies, Missions in, 478, 583-585.
Wheelock founds Dartmouth College,
324.
INDEX.
603
Whitaker's London Almanac, 248, 402,
Whitefield, 177, 320, 323, 516.
White, Rev. James, 152, 157.
Whittier, n, 12.
Wife-selling in England, 204, 219.
Wild fowl, Flight of, 102.
William and Mary College, 99, 328.
Winchester, Rev. Elhanan, io2 r ii7.
Winebrennarians in United States, 542,
Woman s Christian Temperance Union,
267, 356.
Missionary Societies, 481.
Receipts of, 558, 553.
Women in coal-pits, 272.
Woods, Rev. Leonard, D.D., 181.
Workmen's public houses, 268.
Worldliness, 33.
World-wide view, 515-534.
Worship, Public, in Polynesia, 503.
Wright, Hon. Carroll D., 215, 232, 953.
Wycliffe, 150, 505, 506.
Xavier, Saint Francis, 495.
Yale College, 98, 99, 460.
Year-Book, German Catholic, 434.
[80. f
Christian Associ-
ation, 468.
Roman Catholic, 465.
Years of religious labor, 353, 354.
Young Men's Christian Association, 342,
of Churches, 377-380.
of Young Men s Chri;
348, 352, 354, 3.58, 468
Women s Chri
ristian Association, 355,
6.
ew York city, 348.
Zion's Herald, 107-111.
Zwingli, 20.
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