Religion in 1901

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 19, 1902

“Religion in 1901.”—In an article under this caption, the New York Tribune has some striking statements. Here are a few of them:—

The old saying that prosperity is bad for religion seems to be borne out in the year just closing.

Evangelism has made an unsatisfactory showing. Various twentieth-century revival movements were started at the beginning of the year, but not one of them fulfilled expectations. Even church-members seem to be out of sympathy with the purely emotional appeals to sinners that were once so potent.

The tendency toward liturgical worship and ceremonial has been developed in the non-liturgical churches. Lent and Holy Week are looming up larger than the Week of Prayer, and vested choirs have increased among the Methodists.

While there have been no large benefactions to religion during the year, many millions of dollars have been given to secular objects, in some cases by church-members who declined to give anything to meet the urgent needs of their denomination.

The article from which these excerpts are taken also credits Dr. Minton, moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly, with saying that the country is university mad. It is true that there has been no little concern in denominational circles for their colleges and academies. Dr. Minton has been making special effort to bolster up those of the Presbyterian Church by appeals through the country. He has been reported by other authorities to have complained that the universities are overshadowing the colleges, and the high schools are crowding out the academies. In this way the religious educational institutions are losing their prestige and influence.