APPENDIX III.-CONTENTS. PAGE A STATISTICAL EXHIBIT OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY IN THE UNITED STATES.. 751 ROLL OF THE SIXTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE EVANGELICAL AL A STATISTICAL EXHIBIT OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY IN THE UNITED STATES.1 BY THE REV. DANIEL DORCHESTER, A.M., LOWELL, Mass. WITHIN the brief limits assigned to this paper, only a bare statement of numbers can be given, without comments, and with only such explanations as are indispensable. With very considerable labor and correspondence the data have been collected, as far as possible, from official sources, and the utmost care and fidelity have been observed in the use that has been made of them. No comparisons with the past, showing the wonderful progress which American Christianity has made, will be attempted. The exhibit for a single year of itself will be deeply impressive and inspiring. The figures, for the most part, will represent the year 1872, complete data for the present year from so broad a field not being yet obtainable. I.-STATISTICS OF CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS, MINISTERS, AND COMMUNICANTS, FOR 1872. 1 [This exhibit of Protestant Church Statistics was not brought before the Conference, but is here inserted by direction of the Committee on the Programme, and may serve, in part, to supply the deficiency of the first division containing the Reports on the State of Religion. The author of this paper has in preparation a larger statistical work on the progress of American Christianity during the national century now closing.-P. S.] 2 From the Congregational Quarterly, January, 1873, prepared by Rev. A. H. Quint, D.D. 3 From the "Episcopal Church Almanac for 1873." [According to the Protestant Episcopal Almanac for 1874, the number of bishops is 53; the number of other clergy, 3055; the number of communicants, 246,051. The religious and social influence of this body is much greater than its numerical strength, especially in the large cities-New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Quite recently a secession has taken place, headed by Dr. George David Cummins, lately Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky. It was organized in New York, December 2, 1873, under the name of the Reformed Episcopal Church, on the basis of the provisional (Dr. White's) Prayer-book of 1785, and has two bishops, George D. Cummins, and Charles E. Cheney, of Chicago, who was consecrated by the former.-P. S.] 4 For 1871, from the Friend's Review, and embracing only the "evangelical" portion of the denomination. 5 From the Moravian "Text-book" for 1873. 6 Estimated by Rev. Josiah Litch, a very worthy and leading minister among this class of Adventists. Besides these, there are about 50,000 Adventists who hold Arian and Materialistic views. 7 For 1867, from Professor Schem's tables. 8 These statistics were taken from the "New York Observer Year-book for 1873." [The "Lutheran Almanac " for 1874 gives the following numbers: -P. S.1 TABLE III. THE PRESBYTERIAN FAMILY OF CHURCHES. [N. B.-The above Table has been submitted to Rev. Dr. Hatfield, and by him brought down to the latest accessible dates.-Ed.] 1 From the "Minutes of General Assembly " for 1873. 2 From the "Minutes of the General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church for 1873." 3 "Minutes" of the General Assembly of said Church for 1873. 4 "Minutes" of said Church for 1873. 5 "Minutes of the Synod for 1872." • "The Tercentenary-book" of Presbyterianism, pp. 195, 196. 7 From the "N. Y. Observer Year-book" for 1873. 8 "Minutes of the Synod for 1872." 9 From "Baptist Year-book for 1873." The Regular Baptists are divided into two General Conventions, North and South, which are entirely independent of each other. The Northern Convention represents 6052 churches, 4460 ministers, and 519,736 communicants; and the Southern Convention represents 13,668 churches, 7431 ministers, and 1,065,496 communicants. 10 Free-will Baptist Almanac for 1873." The statistics of some of the minor bodies are for 1870. 11 About two-thirds of the colored Baptists in the South, although, according to Rev. N. G. Merry and other leading ministers of that body, independent of the Regular Baptists (white), in all their ecclesiastical associations, are nevertheless reckoned in with the Regular Baptists, in their Year-book (q. v.). The 75,000 additional" is on the basis of numbers given to the compiler of these tables, by Rev. Mr. Merry, of Nashville, Tenn. 12 In the "Baptist Almanac for 1861" as having 80,000 communicants. They have since declined. They are estimated at 40,000 in 1872. 13 From official sources for 1870. 14 Estimated. 15 This denomination make no enrollment of communicants. They are estimated at 350,000. Quite decided Arian tendencies have been manifested among them; but it is supposed that 200,000 of them may be classified as evangelical. 166 Baptist Year-book for 1873." From the foregoing tables we have the | Evangelical Christianity in the United States following results, representing the forces of 1 Embraces ministerial members of the Annual Conferences. 2 Embraces ministers, members in full, and probationers, all of whom, according to the Methodist usages, constitute the body of communicants. The ministers are reckoned in here because they are not numbered as members of the local societies, as in most other denominations. 3 From the Annual Minutes for 1872. 4 See Table in the Nashville Christian Advocate, April 5th, 1873. 5 Statistical report of the Special General Conference, held at Augusta, Ga., March 19th, 1873. 8 The Annual Minutes of the various Methodist bodies do not report the number of societies, or church organizations. In many instances the name of a society which appears in the Minutes is only the leading society of a "circuit," which often contains from two to ten or more small societies, served by several ministers. The above number has, therefore, been taken from the United States Census for 1870, which gives the number of church "organizations" as a as a distinct item from church edifices. It embraces 25,278 bearing the name Methodist, 815 of the Evangelical Association, and 1442 of the United Brethren. Total, 27,538. 7 When compared with the number given by the United States Census, there is an apparent discrepancy. According to that document, the whole number of Church organizations, including Catholic and other non-evangelical bodies, in 1870, was 72,459. This is, however, explained by the fact that most of the above are for a period two years later, and also by | in the year 1872: Ministers.... Church organizations.. 50,167 71,409 7,399,888 |