Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/323

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STATISTICS


279


STATISTICS


paganism; yet the latter remains the religion of the tained only the number of communicants (i. e., ac- majority. A more accurate determination of the cording to English and American usage, partakers of number of Mohammedans and pagans in Africa is not the Lord's Supper, or full members), not the total possible, as the population has not yet been ascer- number of adherents to the different denominations, tained in many districts of the interior. These data, however, do not carry us very far for the America (see Table VII) roughly counts 169 mil- purposes of general statistics of religions. The pro- lions of inhabitants. Of these more than half portion of com m unicants to non-communicants differs


Table IV.— Asia.


Countries.


Catholics.


Protes- tants.


Greek Orthodox.


Total

of

Christians


Jews.


Moham- medans.


Brahmins.


Buddhists.


Adherents of Con- fucianism

and Ancestor Worship.


Taoists

and

Shinto ists.


Other Heathens.


Persia, Afghanistan, Baluc- histan, and Independent


1 629,797

112,000

12,3.50,000

931,357

33,267

1,210.054

68,016

65.741

    • 56,214

7,205,052


/ 80,000

98.000 1,195,000



  • 3,610,000


40.000 560.000

125.000 18,000


15.000.000 130.00.000

12.100.000 64,000,000


2.000,000


1,000,000






12,000.000 183,000






Russian Possessions and


114 087 000






350,000 12,220,000


British Possessions... . . I


§3,982,000 931,357 42,767 1,495,000 181,515 180,000 528,214 7,235,052


208,000,000


13,500,000




Portuguese Possessions.. )





9,500

f285,000

tll3,499

71,818

472,000

30,000










China with Dependencies . .


■ 2,666


20,000.000



110,000,000


240,000,000


32,000,000





J


23,000






17,000,000



Dutrh P ifSf>siiona



31.000,000

T



500,000



4.000.000 300,000


Philinninps













12,661,498


2.354,817


13,806,000


32,272.905


745,000


155.100.000


1 210,000,000 125,000,000


240,000,000


49,000,000


16.870,000


Qtals.


  • Inclusive of 1.300,000 Armenians and other Schismatic Orientals,

t Inclusive of 512.000 Raskolniks and 1.365.000 Armenians and other Schismatic Ori j Inciusive of the French Possessions in India. § Inclusive of 254.000 schismatic Thomas-Christians. 1 Inclusive of 12,114,000 adherents to ancient Indian Cults.

^ These numbers are taken over from the " Abriss der Geschichte der protestantischen Missionen," by Wameck, 9th ed., and ! founded on estimates which probably are much too high. ♦♦ Inclusive of North-Borneo.


(87,614,635, or 51-8 per cent) are Catholics; 70,868,923 (41-9 per cent) Protestants. In all 93-7 per cent are Christians. The number of Jews, very small up to a few decades ago, has increased considerably of late on account of the immigration from Russia. There are nearly 2 millions at present. The pagan Indians and


widely in the various denominations. Calculation of membership in the denominations from these data re- sults only in vague estimates of very doubtful value. Still, as Carroll's list is of some interest, his figures for the more important denominations are given below (table: "Number of Commimicants, United States")


Table V.

AtJSTRAUA AND OCEANIA.


Countries.


Catholics.


Protestants.


Jews.


Moham- medans.


Bud- dhists.


Fetich wor- shippers and other Heathens.


Others and un- denom- inational.



951,429 127,227 35,000 53,000 3.000 27,399 47.000


3,013,000 719,087 147,500 21,000 22,000 44,460 30,000


15,000 1,867


20.000


10,000





2,000

650.000

10,000

60,000

390,000


24 000
























60,000


40,000







1,244,055


3,997,047


16,867


20.000


70,000


1,112,000


174,000




(0 Inclusive of British and German New Guinea. — Dutch New Guinea was included in the Dutch East Indies.


Negroes may be put down at from 214 to 2}^ millions; in their case a more accurate estimate is out of the question. The great variety of denominations in the United States makes it very difficult to determine their creeds; an official cen.sus of religions has never yet been taken. The American .stati.stician. Dr. Carroll, has tried to find a substitute by inquiries addres.sed to the church authorities, but in this way he has ascer-


as they appear in "The Christian Advocate" for 26 January, 1911, omitting only the ordinal numbers in- dicating the relative numerical importance of each denomination. From this table it is evident that the Catholic Church is by far the largest religious de- nomination in the United States, and that, except- ing the Mormons, no other body shows as high a rate of increase within the last twenty years, the