Six Thousand Country Churches Part 9

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 17 BAPTIST]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 18 DISCIPLES OF CHRIST]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 19 LUTHERAN]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 20 CATHOLIC]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 21 CHRISTIAN]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 22 METHODIST PROTESTANT]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 23 REFORMED]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 24 CONGREGATIONAL]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP 25 EVANGELICAL a.s.sOCIATION]

In Table E the Protestant churches are grouped according to their polity.

It will be seen that about 1,600 have a Congregational form of government, in which authority rests in the local church; that in nearly 1,200 churches the polity is Presbyterian, in which authority is largely in the local church, but partly in a representative body of several churches grouped in districts. Under the t.i.tle of "Episcopal Bodies" are grouped denominations comprising 2,721 churches, or more than the total number of the Presbyterian and Congregational combined.

The Methodist Protestant Churches are not placed in either of these groups because their polity resembles, in some respects, that of the Congregational and in others that of the Episcopal churches. Authority with them rests largely in the local church, which owns its property and has authority to receive and dismiss its own members, but in other respects resembles closely the churches of the Episcopal order. In the fourth group are 82 other churches or religious organizations which we have failed to cla.s.sify. The Catholic bodies, including Greek and Russian, number 253.

Differences as to church polity are not sufficiently great to const.i.tute a dangerous obstacle to the progress of church unity among the Protestant rural churches of Ohio. Our system of universities and public schools, together with the custom of reading religious articles, books, and other literature without regard to the denomination of the author, is tending to remove theological differences as between denominations. It may be said it has already removed them in the eleven denominations represented in the Committee of Interchurch Cooperation. This is true whatever differences may still exist between individuals.

TABLE E

CHURCHES GROUPED ACCORDING TO THEIR POLITY

CONGREGATIONAL BODIES

Total 1,601 Baptist, including Free, Free Will and Missionary 379 Disciples 367 Christian 228 Congregational 135 Christian Union 92 Friends 84 Mennonite 56 Church of G.o.d 54 Union 40 Universalist 39 Colored Baptist 38 Disciples, Non-Progressive 32 Primitive Baptist 21 Seventh Day Advent 13 Advent Christian 12 United Baptist 5 Nazarene 5 Seventh Day Baptist 1

PRESBYTERIAN BODIES

Total 1,192 Presbyterian 396 Lutheran 362 Reformed, including German Reformed 175 Brethren (German Baptist) 113 United Presbyterian 77 German Evangelical 48 Calvinist Methodist 12 Reformed Presbyterian 8 Slavic Lutheran 1

EPISCOPAL BODIES

Total 2,721 Methodist Episcopal 1,793 United Brethren 521 Evangelical a.s.sociation 129 Radical United Brethren 95 African Methodist Episcopal 40 Protestant Episcopal 39 United Evangelical 27 German Methodist Episcopal 27 Free Methodist 27 Wesleyan Methodist 27 Moravian 4 Primitive Methodist 1

CATHOLIC BODIES

Total 253 Catholic (Roman) 248 Greek Catholic 4 Russian Catholic 1

OTHER BODIES

Total 293 Methodist Protestant 211 Holiness 25 Brethren (O. O., Prog. and River) 21 Latter Day Saints 6 Saints 5 Christian Missionary Alliance 4 Christian Science 3 International Bible Students a.s.sociation 3 Federated 3 Missionary Church a.s.sociation 2 Pietist 1 Wengerite 1 Seven Sleepers 1 Denomination not reported 7

CHAPTER II

TABULAR SUMMARIES FOR THE STATE

There are in Ohio 1,343 townships (see Table I) which are wholly or partly made up of open country or villages of less than 2,500 inhabitants. (This number of inhabitants having been selected by the United States Census as marking the line between urban and rural, we have necessarily followed.) In the strictly rural townships and the rural sections of townships which are partly urban or suburban, there is altogether a population of more than two million persons, and 6,642 churches. These figures give us, on an average, 1,516 persons and five rural churches to a township, and 307 persons to a church.

Of townships which border on cities and towns of more than 2,500 persons, there are 173. In townships of this cla.s.s there are 342,077 persons and 582 churches, while for each township there are 1,977 persons and three churches, or 587 persons to a church. It is presumable that many persons in these suburban townships attend the churches in the neighboring cities or large towns.

If we subtract the suburban townships from the 1,343 mentioned above, there remain 1,170 townships which are strictly rural. Unless otherwise stated all deductions have been drawn exclusively from these rural townships. The 1,170 strictly rural townships contain nearly 1,700,000 persons and 6,060 churches. They have, on an average, 1,448 persons and five churches to a township and 280 persons to a church.

Although there are 6,060 churches in the 1,170 strictly rural townships, their membership records are so often incomplete that satisfactory figures were found for only 4,941 churches. The membership of 3,351 of these churches, or 68 per cent, is not more than 100; in 2,704, or 55 per cent, the membership is not more than 75; while in 1,817, or 37 per cent, the membership is not more than 50. (See Table II.)

TABLE I

POPULATION, AVERAGE NUMBER OF PERSONS AND CHURCHES, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO A CHURCH, BY TOWNSHIPS

1 _Strictly rural townships_ 2 _Other rural sections_ 3 _All rural sections_

1 2 3 Number of townships 1,170 173 1,343 Population of rural townships 1,693,951 342,077 2,036,028 Number persons per township 1,448 1,977 1,516 Number churches per township 5 3 5 Number of churches 6,060 582 6,642 Number persons per church 280 587 307

In the suburban rural townships and rural sections of townships containing cities and large towns, 72 per cent of the churches have a membership of not more than 100, 56 per cent of not more than 75, and 34 per cent of not more than 50. Altogether, in rural townships and rural sections of other townships, there are 5,392 churches out of 6,642 for which membership data are available. Of these 3,776, or 68 per cent, have a membership of not more than 100; 2,956, or 55 per cent, a membership of not more than 75; and 1,860, or 36 per cent, have a membership of not more than 50.

The number of churches in rural townships whose membership records are not available is 6,060 less 4,941, or 1,119. If we apply to these also the percentages just given for the churches with available membership records, we find that of the total of 6,060 churches in the strictly rural townships, 4,110 have a membership of not more than 100; 3,316 have a membership of not more than 75; while 2,227 have a membership of not more than 50. Since the larger churches as a rule are more careful in keeping their records than the smaller ones, the conclusions drawn from these calculations are well within the limits of truth.

By the same method we find that in the suburban rural townships and rural sections of townships containing cities and towns of more than 2,500 inhabitants, 419 of the 582 churches have a membership of 100 or less; 325 of 75 or less; while 198 churches have a membership of 50 or less. We therefore calculate that of 6,642, or all the rural churches, 4,529 or 68 per cent have a membership of not more than 100; 3,641, or 55 per cent, a membership of not more than 75; and 2,425 or 37 per cent a membership of not more than 50.

TABLE II

CHURCHES CLa.s.sIFIED ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF THEIR MEMBERS

Key: 1 _Rural townships_ 2 _Per cent_ 3 _Other rural sections_ 4 _Per cent_ 5 _All sections_ 6 _Per cent_

1 2 3 4 5 6 No. churches whose membership is reported 4,941 100 451 100 5,392 100 No. of these whose membership is less than 101 3,351 67.8 325 72 3,676 68 No. of these whose membership is less than 76 2,704 54.7 252 56 2,956 55 No. of these whose membership is less than 51 1,817 36.7 153 34 1,860 36 No. churches whose membership data are not available 1,119 18 131 23 1,250 19 Calculated minimum number of churches whose membership is less than 101 4,110* 68 419* 72 4,529 68 Calculated minimum number of churches whose membership is less than 76 3,316* 55 325* 56 3,641 55 Calculated minimum number of churches whose membership is less than 51 2,227* 37 198* 34 2,425 37 No. churches reporting whose membership is from 1 to 25 651 13 45 10 696 13 No. churches reporting whose membership is from 26-50 1,116 23 108 24 1,274 24 No. churches reporting whose membership is from 51-75 887 18 99 22 986 18

*Note: Reckoned as follows: 3351 + .678 1119 = 4110 2704 + .547 1119 = 3316 1817 + .367 1119 = 2227

325 + .72 131 = 419 252 + .56 131 = 325 153 + .34 131 = 198