Appalachian Highlands. In this early sectarian diversity the middle colonies, more than those of any other section, were most typical of the succeeding development of the whole country. During the first century and a quarter of settlement there was naturally little of common religious experiences in the colonies. Some conscientious attempts were made to convert the Indians, of which the most important was the work of ‘The President and Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England.’ The ‘Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,’ a Church of England organization, founded in 1701, did an important work in the middle and southern colonies. The most important religious experience of the eighteenth century was the ‘Great Awakening,’ centring about 1740, which profoundly affected all of the colonies, led to an extension of church-building, the founding of Princeton College as the result of a great Presbyterian development in the middle colonies, and the firm establishment of Baptist preëminence in the South. Because of some unwise practices not wholly avoidable, dissensions were introduced among the existing sects, yet the movement as a whole was most beneficial, not merely because it stamped upon American church life a strong evangelistic and missionary character, but because it led the way to the later establishment of full religious toleration. The later part of the colonial period was characterized by the rapid development of Presbyterianism, the formal establishment of the Reformed and Lutheran churches among the Germans, and the beginning of Methodism—all within the middle and southern colonies. See Congregationalism.
The National Period. The Revolutionary War, although it ushered in an era of complete religions toleration, so far as State and nation were concerned, was not on the whole favorable to the development of the religious life of the newly created States. By the end of the century, when spiritual conditions were at their lowest ebb, the country experienced a second great revival, which if it lacked some of the fervid manifestations of the first, was much more productive of lasting results. As in the former case there came about a secession of some of the more radical elements from the existing denominations in the Middle States and the South, and the severance of the Unitarians and Universalists from the traditional Congregational school in New England. Yet in the main the first three decades of the nineteenth century may be termed the ‘era of good feeling’ in a religious as well as a political sense. It was a period of great catholicity among the various denominations, with coöperation in foreign and home missionary work, in educational advancement, and in the work of Bible distribution. This was the period also when the Episcopal and Catholic churches began to develop along American lines and to assume an important position among American denominations; the latter being recruited most largely from foreign immigration, and the former from the other denominations. The great missionary movement toward foreign lands, the home missionary movement along the Western national border, the building of theological seminaries, the work among the negroes and Indians, protests against slavery, and the first movements in favor of total abstinence also date from this period. Early in the nineteenth century the last of the State aids in favor of New England Congregationalism was withdrawn.
The next thirty years (1830-1860) were characterized by a more intense denominational alignment, showing itself in a withdrawal of the separate churches from organizations for united effort, and in the creation of various denominational boards to carry on this work; in a new zeal for Church history along sectarian lines; in a general Protestant antipathy to the Catholic Church, which even displayed itself in the political world (see Know-Nothing), and in the division of some of the great denominations along sectional lines, especially over the great slavery question. The religious element was especially helpful on both sides during the Civil War, and was much in evidence in the organization of associations for the care of soldiers at the front and also at the North for the education of the freedmen. Only one of the great denominations severed by the slavery issue has as yet been reunited, but there is a feeling of cordiality, and to some extent of coöperation, between the separate parts of these sects.
An important revival, just preceding the Civil War, had stirred deeply the evangelical sentiment of all the churches, and this was quickened by a succeeding revival between 1870 and 1880. The influence of these movements has been much in favor of a sincere and hearty coöperation of all denominations in favor of fundamental religious work. While there has been no tendency toward a dropping of creeds, ceremonial forms, or denominational tenets, there has been a distinct advance in essential Christian union. This tendency has been much strengthened by such organizations as the Evangelical Association, the Young Men's Christian Association, and the various young people's organizations that have sprung up during the last two decades. (See Christian Endeavor; Epworth League; Westminster League; Young Men's Christian Association.) An interesting feature of the religious development of the last half-century has been the growth of certain non-orthodox sects. See Mormons; Christian Science.
Owing to the fact that Church and State are entirely distinct in the United States, it is difficult to obtain accurate information concerning religious statistics. The only figures available are those derived from the annuals and year books published by the several denominations. The accompanying table is intended to show the status of the leading religious sects of the United States for the years 1890 and 1900, and thus furnish a means of determining their growth or decline during this period. The figures supplied by the Roman Catholic Church included as members all persons who had been baptized, irrespective of age, and in order to place this denomination on the same footing as the others, a deduction of 1.5 per cent, from these returns has been made, with the idea of excluding from the membership all children under ten years of age. It was impossible to get exact figures for the Mormons, Christian Scientists, and Unitarians, and an estimate based upon the most reliable authorities has been made. In the case of the Jews, the number of families rather than the individual membership must be given.
