The practical history of Christianity, ever since the dawn of
civilization, has been that of schisms, sects, and divisions, all
indicating the natural growth of the human mind, and its thirst for
knowledge, its struggles for freedom, and its unalterable determination
to be as free as the eagle that soars above the clouds. The number of
church sects is estimated to be more than five hundred, and the number
is still increasing. And the multiplication of infidels has kept pace
with the increase of the churches; and skeptics are now increasing much
more rapidly than converts to the churches. This fact accounts for the
lamentations with which church organs and religious magazines an now
filled with respect to the rapid falling off of church membership,
and the decline of church attendance. The people are rapidly outgrowing
their creeds and dogmas. This causes the decline of the churches. We
will cite a few facts by way of illustration: A recent number of "The
Christian Era" states that there has been twenty-two thousand more
deserters from the Baptist Church than conversions to it within the
brief period of five years. This does not look like converting the
world, as they have avowed their determination to do. And the Methodist
Church, according to "The Watchman and Reflector." is losing its members
still faster: several thousand have left within the past year. "Zion's
Watchman" presents us with a still sadder picture of the evangelical
churches in general. It states that religion is on the decline in all
those churches, and that in some of them it is rapidly dying out. It
states, that, where one new church is erected, two are shut up; and
concludes by saying, "Zion indeed languisheth, and religion is at a low
ebb." It means churchianity religion; "for pure religion and undefiled,"
the outgrowth of modern intelligence, is on the increase, and increases
in the ratio of the decline of the churches. The cause of Zion in old
England appears to be in as lamentable a condition as in this country.
A recent number of "The English Recorder" makes the solemn declaration
that there are five millions of people living without the means of grace
in that one province, and that, if arranged in a continuous line in
single file, they would reach the distance of fourteen miles. This is
rather a large number of immortal souls to be traveling the broad road
in one nation. And we are informed that in Canada a large number of the
people have no religion, and are on the road to infidelity. To return to
this country: A colporteur of the American Bible Society informs us that
three-fourths of the citizens of Philadelphia, and four-fifths of those
of New York and vicinity, have no religion, and no faith in the religion
of the Bible. They must therefore be set down as infidels. And the
American Christian Commission, which assembled not long since in New
York, has made some startling developments with respect to the decline
of church attendance throughout the country. This body, I believe,
represents nearly all the evangelical churches, and is composed
principally of clergymen. They have had census committees traveling
the whole country over to ascertain the proportionate number of
church-members and church-goers in every city, town, and village in the
country. Their report is really astonishing; and, as figures will
not lie, these reports prove that the orthodox churches are rapidly
declining. As indicative of the state of the whole country, look at the
condition of some of our large cities. This vigilance committee tells
us that three-fourths of the citizens of St. Louis never attend church,
making about two hundred thousand out of the whole population. And in
Boston, according to their figures, the proportion of church-members and
church-goers is still smaller, being only about one-fifth, which leaves
two hundred thousand persons "out in the cold;" but it is a kind of
cold that is very comfortable compared with the cold, chilling dogmas of
orthodoxy. Statistics similar to the above are furnished for many of the
cities, towns, and villages throughout the country, by which it appears
that many people are forsaking these old, obsolete institutions, and
that the credal churches are really in a dying condition. The State
of Vermont, taking it at large, furnishes a moral lesson worthy of
imitation. It is one of the best educated, moral, enlightened, and
intelligent States in the Union. Crime is but little known compared with
the world at large; and yet only about one in twenty of her citizens
is a sound church-member. Thus we see that Vermont is about the best
educated and most moral State in the Union, and, at the same time, the
most infidel State. Put this and that together. It will be seen at once
that education, intelligence, morality, and infidelity go hand in hand;
and that morality grows out of infidelity, instead of Christianity; and
that science and infidelity, and not the Bible or Christianity, are
to be the great levers and instrumentalities for reforming the world.
Where, then, is the moral force of Christianity, so much talked of by
the clergy? And we have it, upon the authority of this national body of
clergymen, that there are not a sufficient number of church edifices
in the country to hold one-half of the people if they wished to attend
"divine service;" and that, on an an average, the churches are not half
filled on the sabbath.
From this statement it is evident that only about one-fifth are
church-goers; and a large number of these are not church-members, but
attend, as the committees state, for mere pastime. This state of things
forms a striking contrast with the condition of things only eighty or a
hundred years ago, when nearly everybody attended church. To sum up the
thing in a few words, the case stands about thus: A hundred years ago
from three-fourths to nine-tenths of the people were church-attendants,
and the most of them church-members; but now not more than one in eight
or ten is a church-adherent, and not the half of these are sound or full
believers. A gentleman: who has recently traveled in every State in the
Union for the purpose of critically investigating the matter, concludes,
as the result of his inquiries; that not one in fifteen of the entire
population of the United States is a sound orthodox believer. This,
contrasted with the state of the country and churches a hundred years
ago, shows the difference is great, and that the decline of the orthodox
faith is rapid, and their approach to their final destiny swift and
sure. Calculating from the present rates of decrease in church interest
and belief in church creeds, there will not be an orthodox church in
existence sixty years from this time. Truly does the committee making
this report say, "The state of the churches is alarming", but it is only
alarming to the unprogressive adherents to old, musty, mind-crushing
creeds and dogmas. To us it is not alarming, but cause of rejoicing,
in view of the fact that the disappearance of these old soul-crushing
institutions will give place to the glorious and grand truths of the
Harmonial philosophy,--a religion adapted to the true wants of the soul,
and calculated to save both soul and body from every thing which now
mars their health, beauty, and happiness. Then every one can "sit under
his own vine and fig-tree, where none can make him afraid" of orthodox
devils or an angry God. We bring these things to notice for the purpose
of showing that a religious body which persists in preaching, from year
to year and from age to age, the same creed, dogmas, and catechisms,
without any improvement, or even conceding the possibility that they can
be improved, will fall behind the times, and finally be abandoned by
all growing and intelligent minds. They cease to answer the moral and
spiritual wants of the people, and become as cramping to their souls as
the Chinese wooden shoes would be to their feet. "Excelsior, onward and
upward," is the motto for this age. And that institution, whether moral,
religious, or political, which obstinately refuses to live out this
motto, will die as certainly as that the stopping the circulation of the
blood will produce death.
Having spoken of the decadence of the churches, we will now look at the
counter-picture,--the progress of infidelity. And here we observe that
leading church-members not only confess to the decline of the churches,
but concede, on the other hand, that what they are pleased to stigmatize
as infidelity is rapidly increasing. We will refer to some of their
alarming reports. A recent number of "Scribner's Monthly" says, that
"at this very moment a black cloud of skepticism covers the whole moral
horizon;" and the Right Reverend Bishop of Winchester corroborates the
statement by exclaiming, "Infidelity is everywhere: it colors all our
philosophy and our commonplace religion." Professor Fisher, in a warning
note to Christian professors, says but few religious teachers are aware
of the strength of the infidel party, and the alarming prevalence of
infidelity throughout the country,--that "it pervades all classes of
society, and is in the very atmosphere we breathe." If this be true,
that infidelity pervades the atmosphere, then all must inhale it, and
become contaminated by it, and thus become infidels naturally, and in
spite of any godly resistance. Hence they should not be blamed for what
they can not help. The Rev. David K. Nelson, author of "The Cause and
Cure of Infidelity," makes some wonderful concessions in regard to the
alarming prevalence of infidelity among the higher classes. He tells
us that three-fourths of the editors of our popular newspapers are
infidels, that nearly all our law-makers are infidels, and that "even
the Church itself is full of infidels." If these statements are to be
credited, the reverend gentleman may as well abandon all efforts to
arrest it; for it evidently has the reins of government, and can't be
stopped, and will ultimately rule the nation, and finally the world.
Then will we have a rational religion; then will the millennium, so long
predicted by seers and sung of by poets, be ushered in as an earthly
paradise. This statement of Mr. Nelson's is corroborated by the
religious magazines of the day. "The American Quarterly Review" asserts
that seventeen-twentieths or the people are tinctured with infidelity.
This leaves but a small handful of the faithful and zealous defenders
of the "faith once delivered to the saints." The editor of "The Baptist
Examiner" says that a member of the United-States Senate remarked to
him, "There are, I assure you, but very few members of this body who
believe in your evangelical religion." This is confirmatory of the
statement frequently made in this work, that our current religion is
not adapted to the times; that it is practically outgrown by the better
informed classes of society. Mr. Beecher says, "Four-fifths of
the educated young men of the age are infidels." Take notice, "the
_educated_." Here is further evidence that infidelity and intelligence
are almost synonymous terms,--further proof that education and
intelligence alone are needed to banish Christian superstition from the
world.
Let it be borne in mind that infidelity, in its true sense, simply means
want of faith in the worn-out creeds and dogmas of past ages, but no
lack of faith in any thing good and true. If we were to accept the
orthodox definition of infidelity,--"Want of faith in the precepts and
practice of Christ,"--then it would apply to every Christian professor
on earth. There is not one of them that is not tinctured more or less
with this kind of infidelity. There is not a Christian professor who
believes as Jesus Christ did, or who practices the life he did. For
example: no civilized Christian in this enlightened age believes
with Christ that disease is produced by devils, and that, to cure the
"obsessed," the diabolical intruder must be cast out "of the inner man."
In this and other respects all enlightened Christian professors of the
present day differ from the precepts and examples of Christ; hence,
strictly speaking, are not Christians, but infidels. And we are
warranted in saying that Christ himself, if living in this more
enlightened and scientific age, would reject some of the superstitious
notions which he cherished in common with the religions professors
of that dark and illiterate era. He was most devoutly honest, but very
ignorant on scientific subjects. Here permit us to note the fact that a
very great change has taken place within half a century in the practical
lives, as well as the religious views, of those who still profess
to believe in the Christian faith. The time has been when nearly all
religious professors, including even officers under the government, kept
a diary of their religious experience, about which they talked whenever
they met together; daily engaged in vocal prayer, and daily read their
Bibles and catechisms; and the latter many of them committed to memory.
But now it is doubtful whether one-half of even the clergy themselves
ever read it. And as for the Bible, which used to be read every day by
Christian professors, probably not one-half of them ever see inside
of it once in six months, unless it is when they wish to settle some
controverted question in theology. Some modern works of fiction or of
travel have taken the place of "the Holy Book" on the centre-table,
while the newspaper has supplanted the catechism. These are some of the
extraordinary changes which have recently taken place, and are still
rapidly going on, in the practical lives of Christian professors, which
tend to show that their faith is daily growing weaker in the soul-saving
efficacy of their religion, or in the belief that it possesses any
intrinsic importance. This rapid decline in practical Christianity will
land nearly all its professors on the shores of infidelity in less than
half a century.