| Sittings. | Communicants. | Ministers (Pastoral). | Local Preachers. | Sunday Scholars. | |
| Baptists[16] | 1,421,742 | 424,741 | 2134 | 5,748 | 590,321 |
| Congregationalists (1907) | 1,801,447 | 498,953 | 3197 | 5,603 | 729,347 |
| Presbyterian Church of England[17] | 173,047 | 85,755 | 323 | · · | 98,258 |
| Society of Friends | · · | 17,442 | · · | · · | 62,347 |
| Moravians | 10,100 | 2,999 | 34 | · · | 4,542 |
| Wesleyan Methodists[18] | 2,500,000 | 620,350 | 2658 | 20,119 | 1,039,437 |
| Primitive Methodists[16] | 1,017,690 | 205,407 | 1101 | 15,963 | 477,114 |
| United Methodist Church[19] | 738,840 | 158,095 | 833 | 5,577 | 315,993 |
| Wesleyan Reform Union | 47,435 | 8,717 | 19 | 508 | 23,008 |
| Independent Methodists | 33,000 | 9,732 | · · | 375 | 28,387 |
| Welsh Calvinistic Methodist | 472,089 | 185,935 | 900 | 361 | 187,484 |
| Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion | 12,347 | 2,469 | 26 | · · | 3,040 |
| Reformed Episcopal Church | 6,000 | 1,090 | 28 | · · | 2,600 |
| Free Church of England | 8,140 | 1,352 | 24 | · · | 4,196 |
The number of “denominations” by whom buildings were certified for worship up to 1895 was 293 (see list in Whitaker’s Almanack, 1886, p. 252), but in many instances such “denominations” consisted of two or Other Protestant communions. three congregations only, in some cases of a single congregation. The more important nonconformist churches are fully dealt with under their several headings. The above table, however, based on that in the Statesman’s Year-Book for 1908, and giving the comparative statistics of the chief nonconformist churches, may be useful for purposes of comparison. It may be prefaced by stating that, according to returns made in 1905, the Church of England provided sitting accommodation in parish and other churches for 7,177,144 people; had an estimated number of 2,053,455 communicants, 206,873 Sunday-school teachers, and 2,538,240 Sunday scholars. There were 14,029 incumbents (rectors, vicars, and perpetual curates), 7500 curates, i.e. assistant clergy, and some 4000 clergy on the non-active list.
Besides the bodies enumerated in the table there are other churches concerning which similar statistics are lacking, but which, in several cases, have large numbers of adherents. The Unitarians are an important body with (1908) 350 ministers and 345 places of worship. Most numerous, probably, are the adherents of the Salvation Army, which with a semi-military organization has in Great Britain alone over 60,000 officers, and “barracks,” i.e. preaching stations, in almost every town. The Brethren, generally known, from their place of origin, as the Plymouth Brethren, have “rooms” and adherents throughout England; the Catholic Apostolic Church (“Irvingites”) have some 80 churches; the New Jerusalem Church (Swedenborgians) had (1908) 75 “societies”; the Christian Scientists, the Christadelphians, the British Israelites and similar societies, such as the New and Latter House of Israel, the Seventh Day Baptists, deserve mention. The Latter Day Saints (Mormons) had (1908) 82 churches in Great Britain.
Roman Catholicism in England has shown a tendency to advance, especially among the upper and upper-middle classes. The published lists of “converts” are, however, no safe index to actual progress; for no Roman Catholics. equivalent statistics are available for “leakage” in the opposite direction. The membership of the Roman Catholic Church in England is estimated at about 2,200,000. But though the growth of the church relatively to the population has not been particularly startling, there can be no doubt that, since the restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in 1851, its general political and religious influence has enormously increased. A notable feature in this has been the great development of monastic institutions, due in large measure to the settlement in England of the congregations expelled from France. The Roman Catholic Church in England is organized in 15 dioceses, which are united in a single province under the primacy of the archbishop of Westminster. In December 1907 there were 1736 Roman Catholic churches and stations, and the number of the clergy was returned at 3524 (see [Roman Catholic Church]).
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The Jews in Great Britain, chiefly found in London and other great towns, number (1907) about 196,000 and have Jews. some 200 synagogues; at the head of their organization is a chief Rabbi resident in London.
Finally it may be mentioned that a small number of Englishmen, chiefly resident in Liverpool and London, have embraced Islam; they have a mosque at Liverpool. Various foreign churches which have numbers of adherents settled in England have also branch churches and organizations in the country, notably the Orthodox Eastern Church,—with a considerable number of adherents in London, Liverpool and Manchester,—the Lutheran, and the Armenian churches.
(W. A. P.)
VII. Communications