VOL. V. No. 17. FREELAND, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., AUGUST 18, 1892.

FREELAND TRIBUNE.§I.OO PER YEAR.

4 BIG CHUECH STRIDESINTERESTING DATA REVEALED BY

OUR LAST CENSUS.

The Twenty MillionCommunicant* Own

142,25(1 Churches, Which AreWorth, inltouml Number*, 9031,000,000 ?TheColored Organization* Swelling.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15.?SuperintendentRobert P. Porter makes public the prelim-inary figures of tho church statistics of theeleventh census, which are both curious andinteresting. There are shown to be in theUnited States nearly 150 separate and dis-tinct church organizations holding to wide-ly different creeds, varying greatly in prac-tice and representing all possible variationsof church polity.

There are a dozen different branches ofthe Presbyterian family. There are somedenominations that will answer only to thesimplest, most indefinito title for ex-ample, tho Brethren. There are variouschurches that claim to be simply Brethren.Four of those are branches of what ore pop-ularlycalled Plymouth Brothreu, but theydo not own the title "Plymouth," or istliero any designation which they haveadopted by which these four bodies of Ply-mouth Brethren may be distinguished fromother brethren. There are two Reformedchurches, known as tho "Roformod Churchin. America" and tho "Reformed Church inthe United States."

Some Peculiarities.Some of the denominations were never

numbered before, and it required theutmost powers of persuasion to inducethorn to submit to the process. Sects haveboon found and enumerated who claim lessthan 100 communicants. Here are seven sects

I which altogether number now only about4,000 persons, and yet own church edificesworth $70,000: Shakers, Amananites, Mon-nonite, Harmony, Separatists, New Icarianand Altruists. All societies observing thecommunal life, whether founded on a re-ligious or secular bolief, are embraced inthereturns. Two these societies are not re-ligious, tho Icaruinand tho Altruist, but areorganized to apply a social principle.

After tho seven great denominations?Congregational, Lutheran, Methodist, Pres-byterian, Roman Catholic, Baptist andEpiscopal?havo been accounted for, theother 184 religious associations representless than 15 per cent, of tho church edificesand less than 11 per cent, of tho aggregatevalue of church property.

Borne of the subdivisions of the Buptistchurches are peculiar. Tho uninitiated per-son thinks itdifficult to define the differ-ence between the Seventh Day and the sixprincipal Baptists, between tho MudheudBaptists and tho River Brethren, betweentho Primitive and tho Freo Will, betweentho Original Froe Willand tho old Two Seedin Spirit, between the General and the Gen-eral Free Will. Besides theso there are alsotho Regular South, Regulur North and theRegular Colored Baptists. The Society ofFriends are divided into the Orthodox andtho Hieksite, the Wilburite and the Primi-tive branches. There are seventeen or eight-een different branches of tho Lutheranchurch inthis country.

Churclie* and Tlielr Wealth.

Tho following tablo Bhows the number ofchurches in the United States today as com-pared with fortyyears ago:

1850. 1890.Congregational 1,700 4,730Lutheran 1,221 0,550Methodist 13,338 44,244Presbyterian 4,830 12,403Roman Catholic 1,227 8,700Baptist 9,800 39,412Episcopal 1,401 5,005Allother 5,007 20,471

Total 38,183 142,250The valuo ofchurch property for the same

k poriod is as follows:\u25bc 1850. 1890.

Congregational $7,970,195 $43,315,437Lutheran 2,854,280 34,218,234Mothodist 14,820,148 130,018,070Proßbytorian 14,557,089 04,870,233Roman Catholic 9,250,758 118,381,510Baptist 11, M1,127 68,028.520

Episcopal 11,331,210 73,580,201Allother 15,590,558 08,777,080

Total $87,440,371 $031,221,303

In point of number the Methodists stoodfirst iu 1850 and still retain the position.Nearly one-third of all the church edificesbelong to tho Methodist church, while theBaptists can lay claim to more than one-quarter. Relatively speaking, the Episco-pal church retains about the same positionto the other denominations as it did in

On the other hand, tho Roman Cath-olic church has advanced considerably, froma trifle over 3 per cent, of the total numberto ovor 0 per cent. In point of value, how-ever, tho Catholic church has mado stillgreater strides, from an ownership of 10%per cont. of all the church property to anownership of 18% per cont. In this respectthe Catholic church now ranks second inimportance, being exceeded only by theMethodist church, which returns a trifloover 20% per cent, of the total value. In1850 the value of church property of four

denominations?Mothodist, Presbyterian,t Baptist and Episcopal?outranked the

Catholic church in this respect.Twenty MillionChurch Members.

According to the returns of the Eleventhcensus, the number of communicants infive principal religions denominations forwhich the statistics have boon completedare as follows:Congregational 512.771Lutheran 1,199,514Mothodist 4,255,377Presbyterian 1,278,815Roman Catholic 0,250,045

Total 18,490,522The communicants of tho Baptist and

Episcopal with those 6t other denomina-tions will bring the aggregate up to übout20,000,000 in all.

The statistics of tho colored denomina-tions likewise show groat progress. Theirdenominations are divided into RegularBaptist, Primitive Baptist, African Metho-dist Episcopal, African Union MethodistProtestant, African Methodist Episcopal,Zion, Colored Methodist Episcopal, Evan-gelical Missionary church, Cumberland Pres-

? byteriau, Disciples of Christ, Roman Catho-M lie, Protestant Episcopal, Methodist Episco-

pal South, Mothodist Protestant, otherfol