We feel the disparity—that there ought to be an advantage on the preacher’s side—that there must be fearful blame somewhere, if his life be no better than that of other men.
Before we begin our subject, we will get hold of a few facts and figures. According to the very valuable Report of Horace Mann on Religious Worship, it appears that there are, in England and Wales, 10,398,013 persons able to be present at one time in buildings for religious worship, and that, for the accommodation of such, 34,467 places of worship have been erected, leaving an additional supply of 1,644,734 sittings necessary, if all who could attend places of worship were disposed to do so, the actual accommodation being 8,753,279 sittings. In reality, however, the supply more than keeps pace with the demand. ‘Returning,’ says Mr. Mann, ‘to the total of England and Wales, and comparing the number of actual attendants with the number
of persons able to attend, we find that, of 10,398,013 (58 per cent. of the whole population) who would be at liberty to worship at one period of the day, there were actually worshipping but 4,647,482 in the morning, 3,184,135 in the afternoon, and 3,064,449 in the evening. So that, taking any one service of the day, there were actually attending public worship less than half the number who, as far as physical impediments prevented, might have been attending. In the morning there were absent, without physical hindrance, 5,750,531; in the afternoon, 7,213,878; in the evening, 7,333,564. There exist no data for determining how many persons attended twice, and how many three times, on the Sunday, nor, consequently, for deciding how many attended altogether on some service of the day; but if we suppose that half of those attending service in the afternoon had not been present in the morning, and that a third of those attending service in the evening had not been present at either of the previous services, we should obtain a total of 7,261,032 separate persons, who attended service either once or oftener upon the Census Sunday. But as the number who would be able to attend at some time of the day is
more than 58 per cent. (which is the estimated number able to be present at one and the same time), probably reaching 70 per cent.—it is with this latter number (12,549,326) that this 7,261,032 must be compared; and the result of such comparisons would lead to the conclusion that, upon the Census Sunday, 5,288,294 able to attend religious worship once at least, neglected to do so.’
The non-attendance appears to be greater in towns than in our rural populations; and in this respect London is not unlike other places. It is difficult to classify its religious developments; but the principal denominations may be stated as follows:
protestant churches.
BRITISH:
Church of England and Ireland.
Scottish Presbyterians:
Church of Scotland.
United Presbyterian Synod.
Presbyterian Church in England.
Independents or Congregationalists.
Baptists:
General.
Particular.
Seventh Day.
Scotch.
New Connexion, General.
Society of Friends.
Unitarians.
Moravians, or United Brethren.
Wesleyan Methodists:
Original Connexion.
New Connexion.
Primitive Methodists.
Wesleyan Association.
Independent Methodists.
Wesleyan Reformers.
Bible Christians.
Calvinistic Methodists:
Welsh Calvinistic Methodists.
Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion.
Sandemanians, or Glassites.
New Church.
Brethren (Plymouth).
FOREIGN: