Library University of Texas Austin, Texas GENERAL INTRODUCTION The census of religious bodies, as its name indicates, is a census of religious organizations rather than a census of population classified according to denominational affiliation. This census is taken once in 10 years in accordance with the provisions of the permanent census act approved March 6, 1902, and is confined to churches located in continental United States. Reports are obtained by the Bureau of the Census from each of the congregations, churches, or other local organizations of each religious body. The census data are thus obtained directly from the local churches and are not in any sense a compilation of the statistics collected by the different denominations and published in their yearbooks. Lists of the local organizations for 1926 have been secured in most cases, however, from the denominational headquarters, and much additional assistance has been rendered by the officials of the various denominational organizations. The statistics of expenditures relate either to the calendar year 1926 or to the church record year which closed at some time during 1926, and the figures for membership, value of property, etc., relate to the close of that year. Number of churches.-In the reports of the Census of Religious Bodies for 1916 and 1906 the total number of churches or organizations shown for some denominations was slightly in excess of the number of churches reporting membership. Since membership figures have been obtained for all of the churches included in the reports for the current year, and for other reasons, it has seemed advisable to use for purposes of comparison with 1926 the number of churches reporting membership in 1916 and 1906. These figures are used, therefore, in the tables presenting comparative figures for earlier censuses. Membership. The members of a local church organization, and thus of the denomination to which the church belongs, are those persons who are recognized as constituent parts of the organization. The exact definition of membership depends upon the constitution and practice of the church or denomination under consideration. Each church was instructed to report the number of its members according to the definition of member used in that particular church or organization. In some religious bodies the term "member" is applied only to communicants, while in others it includes all baptized persons, and in still other bodies it covers all enrolled persons. Separate figures are shown for members under 13 years of age and those 13 years of age and over. The membership 13 years of age and over usually affords. a better basis for comparison between denominations reporting membership on a different basis. Urban and rural churches.-Urban churches are those located in cities or other incorporated places which had 2,500 inhabitants or more on January 1, 1920, the date of the last Federal census. Rural churches, in accordance with the census definition, are those located in territory outside such incorporated places. Church edifices. A church edifice is a building used mainly for religious services and owned wholly or in part by the organization so using it. Value of church property.-The term "value of church property" has been used in the reports of the Census of Religious Bodies, at least from 1890 to 1916, inclusive, in a very restricted sense, excluding (1) the value of investment property, (2) the value of parsonages or pastors' residences, and (3) the value of school 3 buildings, parish halls, monasteries, and other property which, while owned and used in some way by the church organization, was used for purposes not directly connected with church services. In this bulletin, in order to avoid any uncertainty as to what is included, the term "value of church edifices" has been substituted for the term "value of church property," which was used in the earlier reports. The figures are strictly comparable, however, the new term covering exactly the same class of property as the old. The "value of church edifices" comprises the estimated value of the church buildings owned and used for worship by the organizations reporting, together with the value of the land on which these buildings stand and the furniture, organs, bells, and other equipment owned by the churches and actually used in connection with church services. Where parts of a church building are used for social or educational work in connection with the church, the whole value of the building and its equipment is included, as it has been found practically impossible to make a proper separation in such cases. The value of the parsonages or pastors' residences is shown as a separate item, where the ownership of such buildings is reported by the churches. Debt.-The debt shown in connection with the data on church edifices and parsonages is for the most part secured by real estate mortgage or other claim on the property concerned. The summary tables show not only the amount of debt reported and the number of churches reporting a specific debt, but also the number of churches reporting that they had no debt. The whole number of churches reporting with regard to debt, including the two groups just mentioned, is in most cases nearly equal to the number reporting the value of church edifices or parsonages, respectively. Expenditures. The amount expended by the churches during their last fiscal year is separated in the reports received for most of the churches into two parts, comprising (1) current expenses and improvements and (2) benevolences, missions, etc. These figures indicate in a general way the distribution of the church expenditures between the requirements of local self-support and the contributions of the church to larger interests. The items called for, as they appeared on the schedule, were as follows: Amount expended for salaries, repairs, and other Total expenditures during year_ $. $_ Averages. The average number of members per church is obtained by dividing the total membership by the total number of churches shown. The average value of property and the average expenditure per church are obtained by dividing the total value of property and the total expenditures, respectively, by the number of churches reporting in each case. Sunday schools.-The Sunday schools for which figures are presented in this bulletin are those maintained by the churches of the denomination to which the bulletin relates, including in some cases mission schools or other Sunday schools conducted by the church elsewhere than in the main church edifice. The statistics given relate to Sunday schools only and do not include the week-day schools that are maintained by a number of denominations. LIBERAL CHURCH OF AMERICA STATISTICS The data given for 1926 represent 3 active organizations of the Liberal Church of America, all reported as being in urban territory. The total membership was 358, comprising 213 males and 145 females. The classification of membership by sex and by age was reported by all of the 3 churches, none of which reported any members under 13 years of age. Membership in the Liberal Church of America is based upon the acceptance of the principles laid down in the preamble to the Constitution of the United States, the desire to seek the truth, and the purpose to practice the Golden Rule in the activities of daily life. There were no church edifices, parsonages, nor Sunday schools reported. Church expenditures for 1926 amounting to $131 were reported by two of the churches, of which $56 was for current expenses and improvements and $75 for benevolences, missions, etc. As this body was not reported at prior censuses, no comparative data are available. State table.-Table 1 presents the statistics of the Liberal Church of America by States, giving the number and membership of the churches and the membership classified by sex. TABLE 1.-NUMBER AND MEMBERSHIP OF CHURCHES AND MEMBERSHIP BY SEX, BY STATES, 1926: THE LIBERAL CHURCH OF AMERICA |