The average and earn a living how they can.20 salary of ministers of all denominations is estimated to be about four hundred dollars a year. The average in the Episcopal Church is three hundred and fifty dollars." The Episcopal Bishop of New York is said to be the highest paid religious functionary in the country, and he receives six thousand dollars a year. No men among us," says Dr. Belcher, "work harder; no professional men are so poorly paid for their work. Financially, they rank upon an average below school teachers." Sometimes a popular preacher, in a large town, will draw so great a throng of listeners that it is worth while to let the pews by auction, and thus a considerable income is secured. But such cases are rare, and the clergy in nine cases out of ten are badly off. The consequence is that the reservoir of ministers of the Gospel is the poorer class of artisans, and even in flourishing cities men of the rudest education are sometimes found in charge of large congregations. In many religious bodies the pastor is chosen by the congregation. It is so in the Episcopal Church, but the consent of the Bishop of the diocese is necessary before a clergyman can officiate. The Roman Catholic priests are appointed by their bishops, without reference to the wishes of the congregations. Among the Methodists they are selected at an an 20 Baird, p. 276. 21 Belcher's 'Religious Denominations,' p. 482. Baird, however, estimates their stipend at 600 dollars. CHAP. IX. THE AMERICAN PRAYER-BOOK. 197 nual conference. The Episcopal Church of America differs from the English chiefly in certain modifications which it has introduced into its forms and ceremonies. The services have been abridged, the Athanasian Creed omitted from the Prayer Book, the marriage and burial services modified, and a number of verbal alterations introduced into the ritual, which seem fastidious rather than necessary or judicious.22 In the government of the Church each State is made into a separate diocese,23 and an annual convention is held in every diocese to regulate its affairs. This convention is composed of the clergy, and one or more lay members, who are chosen by the people, or perhaps by the wardens and vestry. The clergy form one 66 22 The language has been suited to nice ears, and the grammar (as I suppose it is considered) improved. Those" has invariably been substituted for “them” as a relative pronoun, even in the Lord's Prayer. As an example of the way in which the English has been refined, take the following, from the "Collect for Grace." In the English version the sentence reads: "but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance to do always that is righteous in thy sight." In the American book it appears thus: "but that all our doings, being ordered by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight"- -a pedantic schoolmaster's correction. In the prayer for the President (adapted from that for the Queen), "health and prosperity" are prayed for instead of "health and wealth." But the purist alterations are the most extraordinary. In the Te Deum we read: "when thou tookest upon thee to deliver man thou didst humble thyself to be born of a Virgin "-the old version not being deemed suitable to polite ears. In the Litany, instead of, "From fornication and all other deadly sin," we read, "From all inordinate and sinful affections." "To dread thee," is changed into "fear thee;" "to raise up them that fall," into "to raise up those who fall; so as in due time we may enjoy them," into "so that in due time," &c. 99 66 23 In New York and Pennsylvania there are two dioceses. house and the laity another, and a concurrent vote of both is required on any question before any new rule or law can be made. A general convention of all the churches is held once in three years, and in this the Bishops form the upper house, and the clergy and laity the lower. The Church is left free to order its affairs after its own desire, but there is a case in which the Supreme Court of the State of New York interfered to prevent a Bishop deposing a clergyman on the ground of immorality, which had been proved against him. The question, however, with the Court was whether the canons of the Church had been strictly followed, for, if so, it had no jurisdiction. It was decided that there had been no irregularity, and the Bishop removed the clergyman. It is sometimes asserted that the Roman Catholic Church has extended its authority more rapidly and widely in the United States than any other religious order. But the truth is that its prosperity is maintained only by the constant influx of its followers, in large numbers, from Europe. Roman Catholicism does not take a firm root among the people. The native-born American seldom joins the Church, and the second generation of Irish settlers wander away from it. It is the Irish emigration which sustains it, and consequently it is powerful only in a few of the largest cities on the line of emigration, such as New York and Chicago, Cincinnatti and St. Louis. The Archbishops and Bishops are appointed by the Pope, and receive fixed salaries, partly from the cathedral CHAP. IX. CLAIMS OF THE VOLUNTARY SYSTEM. 199 church, partly by an assessment upon the clergy. The priests depend entirely upon voluntary contributions, and fees for marriages and other rites and ceremonies. Two special merits are claimed for the voluntary over the compulsory system-(1) That a church can be properly supported by voluntary contributions with perfect success, and with no cause of dissatisfaction being given to any; and (2) that the separation of Church and State keeps the Church within its proper sphere, far removed from the dangerous whirlpool of politics. The first of these claims is substantiated by the facts, for, whatever individual ministers may suffer, the Church is constantly extending its influence, and benevolent societies and schools are liberally supported. It has been proved that the Church-any church-can exist very well, can flourish and multiply its followers, without borrowing aid or countenance from the State. But the separation does not keep politics and political influences from reaching religion. De Tocqueville states that the clergy in America "keep aloof from parties and from public affairs." 24 If this was the case when De Tocqueville visited the country, he would be greatly surprised could he revisit it now. It is like his strange remark that "almost all education is intrusted to the clergy," 25 whereas the clergy have actually far less to do with education than in England. Perhaps in no 24 Chapter xvii. 388. 25 Ibid. country in the world is the pulpit used for hustings purposes so systematically, with the general encouragement of public approval, as in America. The Almighty is constantly exhorted to compass the return of the popular candidate, and the misery and discomfiture of his rival. The morning sermon in some churches is a diffuse essay upon the events of the day, in which the Divine approval is announced of certain political opinions. New England preachers address their hearers, in a time of excitement, as if from the stump. The Chaplain in Congress during 1865–67 prayed daily against the President, "that he might be humbled and cast down," and that his own party might be covered with great glory. The best known preacher in America gains his notoriety solely by the freedom with which he discusses on Sunday morning, from a text of Scripture, the acts of public men, and the turn affairs are likely to take. There is probably no good reason why it should not be so; but there is certainly no reason why the fact should be denied. Religion will always influence the course of human affairs, and in America it will interfere in politics all the more energetically because it is not in any way dependent upon the State, but is free to speak openly and without fear of losing its allowance. The preacher accommodates himself to the tastes and wishes of his congregation, and if they demand from him matter which would be more suitable in the columns of the Sunday newspaper, they will have the article, or turn him out and elect another man willing to supply it. |