Church Gains

Annually the Christian Herald makes a survey of the U. S. church situation. Last week it published statistics which showed 46,883,756 communicants, a gain of 807,256 over the previous year. Of new ordinations the net gain was 2,906 (total 216,078); of new church buildings 166.

Methodist congregations gained most, 220,183, which made the total membership 8,920,190, somewhat greater than the Baptists count, somewhat more than half of the Catholic Western bodies. The Catholic gain, as shown in the following table, was less than in recent years, chiefly because of the restriction of immigration from Catholic countries. The increase of other denominations grew from the spirited evangelical activities of the year and, doubtless, also from the religious thought induced by the current fundamentalist-modernist and religion-evolution controversies.

The table:

GROUPS.....................COMMUNICANTS OR MEMBERS... GAINS IN 1925

Catholic Western, 3 bodies.......16,156,914.................203,990

Methodist, 15 bodies .............8,920,190.................220,188

Baptist, 14 bodies................8,397,914.................104,396

Presbyterian, 9 bodies............2,561,986....................61,520

Lutheran, 17 bodies ..............2,546,127....................42,485

Disciples of Christ, 2 bodies......... 1,759,399................90,493

Eastern. Orthodox, 9 bodies...........729,630.................2,980

Latter-Day Saints, 2 bodies...........625,160.......................1,416

Reformed, 3 bodies....................540,987.......................8,319

United Brethren in Christ, 2 bodies...411,956...............6,853

Brethren (Dunkards), 4 bodies.........150,160.....................6,273

Adventist, 5 bodies...................149,092......................4,925

Friends, 4 bodies.....................115,528.....................less 549

Mennonites, 12 bodies ................85,639

Scandinavian Evangelical..............42,758

Moravian, 2 bodies....................27,804......................1,002

Pentecostal, 3 bodies ................18.641

..................................43,239,885......................753,6 56