OCR Text |
Show THE INDEPENDENT'S STATISTICS. STATIS-TICS. The New York Independent has published pub-lished a table of statistics bearing on the growth of the different churches in the United States during the year 1S99, which, in some respects, is so palpably absurd as to force the conclusion that the Independent's statistics were prepared pre-pared by incompetent hands. "The totals of its statistics showed 1 per cent of gain over 1S9S. The net gains in 1S99 are 4,581 ministers, 421 churches and 277,367 members, the totals to-tals for the year being 153,901 ministers, 187,083 churches, and 27,710,004 members. The largest gain in ministers, 2,000, is made by the Christian Scientists; in churches, 1,293, by the Methodists; and in members, 89,201, by the Baptists. The largest gains in membership, next to Baptists, are 52,123 by the Catholics, 32.7S1 by the Disciples of Christ, 40,226 by the Lutherans, 33,051 by the Methodises, Meth-odises, 18.446 by the Presbyterians, 10,-978 10,-978 by the Episcopalians and 10,000 by the Christian Scientists." According to the Independent there has been a decrease of 8,101 Catholic ' churches during the year just closed. This, of course, is obviously absurd, for there has not been a single diocese in the United States where churches have been closed. On the contrary, every diocese has witnessed the erection erec-tion of one or more new churches, so that the total number must necessarily have been increased. If the Independent Independ-ent is no more accurate in dealing with other denominations' than it is with the Roman Catholic, then its figures are indeed valueless. |