rj>issl? //^OQ Book iahtN° 11 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCHES 9 Copyright 1914 BY Roger W, Babsok V The Future of the Churches Historic and Economic Fadts BY ROGER W. BABSON President of the Babson Statistical Organization, Wellesley Hills Station, Boston, U.S.A. Based on the address delivered before the Tiventieth Century Club, December 13, 1913 and at the Old South Church, Boston, January 18, 1914 AMERICAN EDITION BOSTON BABSON'S STATISTICAL ORGANIZATION (Incorporated) 1914 Dedicated to Walter Rauschenbusch Professor of Church History in Rochester Theological Seminary and George W. Coleman Founder of the Ford Hall Meetings JUL ~6 I9f4 ©C1,A376565 Contents ^ THE FIRST SECTION Page Preface 7 The Future of the Churches . 11 Christ's Methods What History Teaches Why the Church is Weak To-day What the Church WUl Preach THE SECOND SECTION Another Point of View . . 39 The Question of To-day What Moses Taught A Question Charities THE THIRD SECTION A Possibility . . . .69 One Suggestion Conclusion Appendix (Outline of Church History) Preface /^WING to the inherited differences of ^^ opinions relative to churches and re- ligions, among people who are logical, or at least consistent, upon almost every other subject, I have tried to suppress here my personal views. Thus in revising these addresses, I have tried to avoid making this little book a preachment of any sort; but to confine these pages to a forecast, based solely upon historical analysis, assuming that what has happened in the past will — under similar conditions — be repeated in the future. R. W. B. Wellesley HiUs, June 1, 1914. The First Section The Future of the Churches study of history shows clearly that churches have prospered when they have given a motive for man to be religious. The basis of political econ- omy, that " all natural actions of man are for the purpose either of avoiding pain or gain- ing happiness," apparently underlies the growth of the world's great religions. In fact, according to the econo- mists, all civilization has been constructed on these two natu- 11 / v ral desires. Governments, industries and individuals have succeeded or fallen as they have or have not utilized this fundamental law of human nature. Of course, some will at once take exceptions to this state- ment and insist that such is not in accordance with the teachings of Christ; but here again the economist would retort by claiming that the distinction which we make between "selfishness" and "un- selfishness" really involves an analysis of the words "happi- ness" and "unhappiness." Some persons attempt to se* cure happiness by acquiring, and others attempt to secure happiness by serving; while what is considered happiness 13 by one is unhappiness for an- other. Hence the claim that even Christ did not ignore this fundamental law of human nature, but instead strove to show people how to be truly happy and how to avoid real unhappiness. Christ's Methods Although Christ taught that we should be willing to lose our lives, yet he usually added "that we may save them." Christ preached that we must die **to live/' and should give up temporal things for some- thing much more worth-while. This is very clearly brought out in his Sermon on the Mount and in many parables. In fact, if we forget the ideas 13 ^ « of our childhood and study the New Testament to-day with this thought in mind, it appears fairly probable that Christ clearly recognized that man's basic nature is to seek pleasure and to avoid pain, and used this as a foundation for his teachings. Likewise, to a lim- ited extent, this same theory is apparently the foundation of the other most successful religious teachers of history. Christ capitalized this in- herent desire when he said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden." Why ? *'And I will give you rest ** Take my yoke upon you." Why ? **For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. " When study- ing the first four books of the New Testament, this is most 14 evident; namely, that Christ continually based his teachings on this inherent desire of man to obtain pleasure and to avoid pain. On the other hand, he showed the people that real pleasure consisteth not in the things of the world, the lust of the flesh and such pleasures as the Gentiles sought. In his discussion of pain, he told the people to "fear not them which kill the body, but are not able /^ to kill the soul ; but rather fear him which is able to kill both soul and body." In the same chapter (Matthew 10) we find the words: "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Later, in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew, we find 15 the words: "Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life;" and then he concludes by saying that "the last shall be first and the first shall be last." Turn to any discourse by Jesus Christ— claims the soci- ologist—and he will be found always to have given his hear- ers a practical reason for con- forming to the laws of God. He held up before them a punishment of " everlasting death" if they did not live right and a reward in the form of " real life " if they did live right. 16 Moreover, when turning to the Old Testament and study- ing the teachings of the patri- archs and prophets, from Abraham to Malachi, we also apparently find this inherent desire in man capitalized to an infinitely greater degree. There was little preaching that the Israelites should do right for right's sake, but rather that they should avoid being anni- hilated from the face of the earth ! What History Teaches But let us turn to more recent history. Since the founding of the Christian Church, the same law certainly is apparent. (The rule has been //^ that when churches have held 17 j/^ up a practical motive for re- ligion, they have prospered ;\ but not at other times. The great Reformation under Luther grew out of his teach- ing the people that they needed V no longer to pay tribute to the Church of Rome in order to be saved ; but that they could be "saved by faith," — "simple ^aith." To the man who had been spending all his earnings in purchasing indulgences from the priests of the Roman Church, this was a great reve- lation, and the new Protestant wing spread rapidly all over Northern Europe. Not only did Luther give men a reason for leaving the Roman Church, but he also drew within this new organi- zation hundreds of thousands 18 who had drifted away from the church altogether. He offered the people salvation by grace — simple grace — a salva- tion which heretofore they thought could be purchased only with gold. But it was only a short while — the next century — be- fore people became callous to this doctrine and needed an- other motive for rallying to the church, another motive for living right. At the psycho- logical moment came Calvin, John Knox and the other founders of sects which we have to-day, — Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, etc. In order to inject motive power into this new Protestantism, they went much further than did Luther. These men were 19 not content with telling the people how to be saved ; but in- sisted that, if not saved, they would be "eternally damned"! This was the beginning of the "hell-fire and brimstone" era which held its own until recently. Certainly, these leaders capitalized man's in- herent desire to avoid pain, not to mention utter destruc- tion! They preached not "right for right's sake;" they urged attendance at church from no sentimental reason, but rather to save one's soul from eternal damnation ! Moreover, a study of any of the great revivals which have taken place during the past centuries, will show every one of them to have been based on this same teaching of 20 reward and punishment. The great religious leaders of the churches have taught that right living will be rewarded, but that disobedience to the laws of God will be punished. The more insistent the preach- ers have been along these lines, the more successful they ap- parently have been. In direct proportion to the teaching of reward and punishment, have our present churches flourished since their humble beginnings. Furthermore, this applies to almost every religion and creed. This is especially true of New England churches and even those in our own city of Boston. I have the greatest respect for Boston preachers. I believe that they are much 21 more thoughtful and consist- ent than are the members of their congregations. Their methods should appeal to thoughtful men of intellect; but they make very little head- way. Their teaching is like a wonderfully perfect watch which lacks only a spring! The "spring" which their ser- mons lack is the "reward and punishment" feature. These preachers are trying to teach that we should do right for right's sake, which apparently is contrary to economic law and certainly to the lessons of history. Does not this criticism apply to-day to the most intelligent preachers throughout the land? Otherwise, why are the churches declining in power 22 and influence? Why has the\ Protestant Church absolutely j lost its hold on the masses?/ Why have so many churches of all creeds changed from being dynamic forces in the community to a condition wherein they simply exist, comparatively speaking, as social clubs for certain respect- able families ? Why the Church is Weak To-day To the sociologist the answer is very clear. The church to-day offers no motive which appeals to men and women. The "reward and punishment" doctrine has been dropped without giving 23 any other in its place. It looks as though the hard working preachers have temporarily forgotten their first lesson in economics and, as is shown by the growth statistics of all prominent denominations ex- cept two, are urging that man should do right "because it is right," which doctrine never has and never will rally a following. The great mass of Protestant and Hebrew churches are at present very inactive com- pared with former times, although they are doing much good in many ways. ('The most thoughtful and progressive y men of almost every commu- nity are no longer identified with church work ; while the working people absolutely dis- trust all churches.J The Sunday 24 services are poorly attended, the midweek prayer meeting is almost ignored, the Sunday- schools are not taken serious- ly, while preachers are so poorly paid that it is almost impossible to get a bright and self-respecting young man to consider entering the minis- try, unless he can depend upon inherited property. Of course, there are excep- tions in the cases of special churches which temporarily either have a strong man as a preacher or are galvanized by large gifts from certain mem- bers. (Church workers, how- . ever, tell me that city missions, ^^/^ settlement houses and soup kitchens are but artificial stim- ulants, good for only a limited time ; while the "Institutional" 35 church, which was once hailed as the solution of the problem, has signally failed in its pur- pose. The future of the churches depends not on these artificial efforts. Churches need neither buildings nor gifts in order to be powers in the community. They need a message, and — from what I learn — this message will be based upon the old and ever powerful fundamental eco- nomic theory of reward and punishment. I do not criticise preachers for placing the soft pedal on certain old theology. Civiliza- tion has outgrown such teach- ing in the same way that the masses had outgrown the pur- chasing of indulgences when Luther offered them another 36 doctrine more worth-while. Thus, is it not probably true that the present condition of the churches is due to this fact: viz, that "Heaven" as a reward and "Hell" as a punish- ment have been withdrawn, while no other suitable reward or punishment has been held up in place thereof ? More than this, until some suitable substitute has been found, the churches may continue to lie dormant. Therefore, it seems to me that the future of the churches probably depends upon find- ing some other reward to offer and some other punishment to hold up. Certainly, human nature is the same to-day as in the days of Calvin, Luther, Jesus, or the old Hebrew prophets; and man's natural 27 desire is still to seek real hap- piness and avoid disaster. Churches, like other organiza- tions, must work out their salvation along economic lines and rise or fall in power as they utilize or ignore these eco- nomic laws. Churches have an economic opportunity; for man has a spiritual side as well as a physical or intellectual. They are as necessary to an efficient community as the dispensary or school, and preachers are needed by the people even more than are physicians or college prof essors. Hence, not- withstanding all I have said, I am a great optimist as to the future of the churches. I be- lieve they are lying dormant to-day only preparatory to a 28 great social awakening in which they will lead. In fact, I believe that a religious re- vival is the greatest need of the world at this very hour. What the Church Will Preach As to what this new message of the churches may be, I will venture to state the opinion of my organization, based upon reports which it is daily re- ceiving from all parts of the world. First, let me say that we , heUeve\the only development which can possibly keep democracy afloat is a revival of religion.) Under the old system of centralized gov- ernment, conditions depended only upon the character of the v rulers and not upon the char- V acter of the masses. A govern- ment could once prosper what- ever the conditions of the churches, or even without any educational system for the people ; but to-day, with every man a voter and with all votes counting the same|the stability of the government depends not upon wealth nor armies, but upon the character of the elec- torate.) This electorate now includes almost every man, and may soon include the women as well. With the " initiative and referendum," the stability of nations de- pends even more directly upon the character and intelligence of the people as a whole. Be- / fore the days of public schools, only a comparative few could read and those who could were 30 trained by the churches to read the best literature. To-day, however, everyone is able to read. The love of money on the part of both labor and capital, the enjoyment of special privi- leges, the effect of tariffs, >/ subsidies and position, the evil influence of banking interests, the growth of the department store, the decadence of the legal profession and the fact that all of us, good and bad, are judged by what we have, irrespective of how we got it and what we are doing with it, are undermining the very foundations of the republic."^ Furthermore, these are only a \ few of the things which are \ sure to bring ruin upon us un- | 31 1/ less we have a revival of religion. With these facts and past his- tory in mind, my organization hopes that before long the churches will break forth with some new message like this: viz, that(the survival of this re- public depends upon the immediate teaching in the homes and schools, of what is really worth-while, and that we must all have the spirit of Christ in our buying and selling, borrowing and loaning, employing and serving; that is, in all we do, say and think.) Let the churches again teach the value of family prayers and home training, and that scholars at school should be rigidly marked on the fundamentals of character, fining us parents for our chil- dren's shortcomings. Yes, the 32 churches will some day insist that unless the development of righteousness— in its practical interpretation — immediately becomes the fundamental pur- pose of home, school and college, this and other nations (depending upon the rule of the masses) will end in disaster and the clock of civilization be set back several centuries. Here's something practical to hold up as a punishment. ( As churches once grew by preach- ing that "the wages of sin is death," so they can again wax strong by holding before the ^ people the danger of a wrecked republic ruled by anarchism, socialism, I. W.W.ism, the regu- lation of everythingism, or by some other "ism !" ) But to counterbalance this 33 dismal message of warning, (appealing to man's desire to avoid disaster) there will be another message promising re- ward, f I believe that the churches will once more break .with the vested interests as ^ they did under Luther, and again actively work for all truly economic, educational, legislative and co-operative movements to equalize oppor- tunity, — such legislation, for instance, as the enactment of revised inheritance laws tend- ing to eliminate legacies so large as to give the recipients more than they need, the money thus received from inheritance taxes being used for vocational continuation schools^ In addition to preach- ing disaster for failing to 34 develop righteousness, the churches will also show the people how much better con- ditions will be when operating on unselfish principles, conse- quently attracting through offers of reward those who will not be attracted by fear of disaster. 35 The Second Section i Another Point of View study of history since the days of Christ* shows that our ancestors were origi- nally vassals or slaves of the lord or duke in whose province they were born. Christianity, as distinct from their heathen religions, won the respect and loyalty of these people because it resulted in their throwing off serf dom/ In fact, the reason why the Roman and other na- tions so persecuted the Jews was not on account of their •A study of the Jewish CJhurch previous to Christ's time shows the same wonderful history and a synopsis thereof is here omitted only because of lack of space. 39 V theology, but because their churches elevated the people and r provided for them greater oppor- tunitiesJ^ In the early centuries the churches fought for the "underdog" and so long as they did, they prospered and gre^v mightily, notwithstanding poverty and persecution.^ In accordance with the law of action and reaction, these churches gradually became rich until, under Constantine, Christianity became the fash- ionable religion and the cross was no longer a sign for per- secution, but rather became an ornament of fashion. From that time, and for several cen- turies thereafter, the vital power of Christianity waned until it reached a very low ebb, just preceding the breaking up 40 OLDEN ^Oe UNDER Graphic History 975 B.C. to 1900 A. D. The peaks represent periods of prosperity following religious revival. The low points represent periods of depression following a rich and self-satisfied church. of the feudal system. New- ton's law of Action and Reac- tion applies to church history as it does to industry and com- merce. This is shown by the accompanying chart. After our ancestors had cast off serfdom, the land still be- longed to the lord or duke who inherited it. It was many cen- turies after these ancestors ceased being vassals before they were allowed to own land. ( Discontent, arising from the feudal system, had been gradually growing as the in- fluence of Christianity had been waning, until about the time of the Reformation. What brought about the Ref- ormation? Secular history states that it was a revival of Christianity resulting from the 41 interest which certain churches took in aiding the masses to destroy the economic system of that day. In other \vords, as the Chris- tian churches of the early centuries got their start by interesting themselves in breaking up serfdom, so the Protestant wing was later greatly aided by the interest which a little band of fighting churches took in breaking up feudalism. On the other hand, just as the influence of the early church waned, after Christianity became popular through the power of Constan- tine, so the power of the later Protestant wing began to wane when it, in turn, became pros- perous and popular. The third great landmark in 42 church history of the past nine- teen centuries came Avhen the common people were granted the privilege of having educa- tion and the right to w^orship God as they desired. In this great movement for freedom of thought, certain churches were a prominent factor, and the influence of such churches increased greatly thereby. On the other hand, after this third step had been taken, these churches again began to rest upon their laurels, and conse- quently again declined in power and influence. The next movement came in the seventeenth century, when man reached his fourth step, namely, the acquiring of polit- ical freedom. In the early centuries, as above stated, serf- 43 dom was eliminated through the teachings of the early Christian churches ; then in the Middle Ages feudalism was broken up through the influ- ence of a certain group of churches when each family was given the opportunity to own land; next, the right to worship God and study as one pleased was secured through another group of churches, contrary to the wishes of the vested interests of that day; and finally, the churches ob- tained for the masses political freedom, or the right to rule. Moreover, a study of history shows that this last struggle, wherein the vested interests were stripped of their right to rule, was the most bitter of all, and again, it was the sacrifice 44 of a small body of fighting churches which, in their pov- erty and under the keenest persecution, brought this about. Thus, this ne\v group came to the forefront, and the churches of to-day owe much to these martyrs. Once again then the law of action and re- action was evident, for as these churches, like their prede- cessors, became prosperous, their interest in the masses waned and their power corre- spondingly declined. Hence, history shows plainly that when the churches have been sacrificing or fighting to bring about more equal oppor- tunity, the people have listened to their doctrine and have re- spected their leaders. Under these conditions, churches 45 have waxed strong and power- ful, hoAvever poor or perse- cuted they may have been. On the other hand, when churches have been prosperous and considered immediate per- sonal gain, and ceased fighting for the equalization of oppor- tunity, then their influence has been comparatively small, even though their members were rich and their creeds fashionable. It is true that these pages have treated only of the so- called " Christian " churches, including the great Protestant, Roman Catholic and Greek divisions; but, as heretofore suggested, the same laws ap- plied to the rise and fall of the Jewish church previous to the split of the first century. It 46 should, however, be remem- bered that civilization fails to recognize the great service which the Jews have rendered along the lines of social prog- ress both before and since this dissension in their ranks. I am also told, when travelling abroad, that the various other great religions of the world have a similar history, and the rise and fall of their churches, during the past centuries, has coincided absolutely with whether, for the time being, they have given the people something worth-while or whether the people have had to fight alone for their freedom and happiness. Hence, the great conflict of the future may not be between Protestants and Roman Catholics, as so 47 many pretend to fear, but may again be between Christians and Mohammedans or between the East and the West. More- over, such a conflict might unite these great wings of the Christian church — Roman, Greek and Protestant — even with the Hebrew or mother church itself. The Ouestion of To-day The world is now in the fifth era of the conflict. Serfdom has been abolished ; feudalism has been broken up; freedom of education and worship has been secured ; the right of the people to rule has been estab- lished; but still there is a great contrast between the opportu- nities of the children of the 48 rich and the children of the poor. Many opinions exist as to how this can be remedied, and, generally speaking, the think- ing people are divided into two groups : (1) The larger group includes those who are generous and anxious that all shall have a fair chance in life, but in their efforts ignore fundamental economic law such as the law of action and reaction, the law of supply and demand, the law of reward and punishment and other laws which might read- ily be mentioned. This first group is made up largely of the working classes, but in- cludes many others who style themselves "progressives" or " radicals." 49 (2) The smaller group — but often the more powerful — in- cludes those who have the proper notions about funda- mental economic law, and thus are opposed to government in- terference with enterprise, but who are determined to retain all the property which they now have and to bequeath fortunes to their children. This group is made up mostly of those who have inherited property, but includes all who style themselves " conserva- tives" or "capitalists." It seems to me that each of these tw^o great groups is right on one of the two important features of progress, and wrong on the other. For instance, I be- lieve that the working classes are justified in their desire for 50 further opportunities, but are wholly >vrong in their various legislative plans which so en- tirely ignore the fundamental laws of action and reaction, supply and demand, reward and punishment. Further, I believe that the capitalist group is right in its opposition to much of the legislation to- day, but is mistaken in its idea that property is sacred and should be given away or be- queathed by the owner to any one he desires. What Moses Taught Were there not four funda- mental principles underlying the Mosaic economy for which law all the churches in Amer- ica pretend to stand ? 51 (1) The land was originally distributed by lot, each family having the same opportunity so far as legislation could provide it. (2) After prescribing a few rules to the game (which rules applied to all alike, the weak and the strong), the funda- mental laws of nature, such as the laws of supply and demand, and reward and punishment, were allowed full sway for fifty years. 77^/5 encouraged per- sonal ambition and initiative. (3) At the end of fifty years, redistribution was provided, debts were cancelled and prop- erty that had been bought or sold reverted to its original owners. This prevented an aris- tocracy from growing up through inheritance. (4) The church was placed 52 on an economic basis and the people were made to pay for their religious privileges or go without them. In other words, Moses was apparently an exponent of the "laissez faire" doctrine for each individual, so far as it applied to his own efforts; but he prevented one generation from living on the fruits of a previ- ous generation except as all shared the benefits equally. Further than this, it is interest- ing to note that as the Jew^ish nation continued along these economic lines, it prospered; while whenever it departed therefrom and omitted the year of jubilee, it soon became the prey of some other nation. Of course, in our present state of civilization, it would 53 be impossible again to apply this jubilee year principle, al- though our bankruptcy laws are founded thereon; but the church can unite with the masses and fight to give them equal hygienic and educational advantages, and to break up aristocracy and abnormal power acquired through in- heritance. As I understand the masses, they do not object to how much any man honestly earns or object to inheritances for protection purposes, but they do strenuously object to wealth obtained through ma- nipulation, and inheritances which result in endowing fami- lies. I do not for one moment pretend that the purpose of the churches is to redistribute 541 property. Their purpose is rather to sho\v people hoAV to live, and to show them that happiness does not come from material things. On the other hand, it must be admitted that there are four sides to life : the physical, the intellectual, and the material, as well as the spiritual, and that true progress comes only through the simul- taneous development of all four. Just at the moment, many churches are doing splendid work along certain lines, but are they accomplishing much toward helping the masses either materially and spiritual- ly ? Yet, history plainly shows that for missionary move- ments to prosper, the people must simultaneously be helped 55 physically, mentally, material- ly and spiritually. Even Christ healed the sick, fed the five thousand and continually fought for the masses simulta- neously with preaching to them of what is worth-while in life. Therefore, history ap- parently suggests that the churches will again acquire power and influence only as they become factors in solving the problems of the day. Hence, I believe that the re- vived churches, or some new churches springing up, will take hold of the present and fifth great question; namely, the further equalization of op- portunity, so that, as far as possible, all shall have an equal chance in starting the race of life. Moreover, as the 56 churches remain the defenders of this chance, their influence will be great. A Question Why should churches hesi- tate in aiding the masses in their struggle? Their creeds demand that we should not love the world nor the things that are in the world. Do their members not profess to believe that he who loses his life is greater than he who gains it ? Do w^e not every Sunday even sing hymns of praise suggest- ing that we care not for food nor raiment, but only for the things eternal. I am not sar- castic, but serious. Every stu- dent who will carefully read the teachings of the churches 57 cannot help being impressed with one thing more than any other; namely, that money is of no account, and the only thing worth-while is service to others ! Of course, the hard working ministers still preach this doc- trine ; but they are unable to make converts because the world does not take them seri- ously so long as we church members hold so tightly to all we have got and are deter- mined that our children shall have and retain all that we leave! Speaking of children, do we not forget that the masses are more fond of their children than of anything else ? As a rule they are not jealous of the successful man who started on a level with them ; 58 but to have our children in- herit goodly sums of money and their children inherit noth- ing but liabilities, makes them bitter against us. Therefore it appears that the churches will again become a force in the community and convince men that money is not happiness and wealth is not success, only when they again seriously at- tempt to equalize opportunity and cease being a party to the mad race for money, show and pleasure. When we begin to seek things worth-while, then the world will take our pro- fessions more seriously, but not until then. : Hence, I be- lieve that the churches will prosper only when they back the masses in their movement for more equal opportunities. 59 Moreover, this will not only enable the churches to demand the attention of the world and once more lead people to the things Avorth- while ; but the reaction upon ourselves as in- dividuals may be beneficial; viz, (1) When a larger portion of our property descends to the state and then is redistrib- uted through educational and other forms to those who are worthy but unfortunate, which is what the masses are really seeking for to-day, we shall take a greater interest in state affairs and fulfill our duty as citizens. (2) When our children depend upon their own efforts to succeed, instead of what they inherit from us, then we will give much greater attention to training them — more time to our boys and girls and less time to business and pleasure. Certainly their own efforts will be greater. (3) When our wives can no longer de- pend upon the property which we leave, then will the women of the homes demand each year the proportion of our incomes to which they are entitled, or else we will 60 have them reasonably protected by life insurance or in some other practical eco- nomic way. (4) Only by giving young men a certain amount of property as well as votes (and, of course, neither should be given to a young man until he has completed a certain course of training) will the masses be made to be conservative or will the rights of property be recognized and protected. None of the most radical of the masses want any children to suffer, but rather to be de- pendent simply on their own resources, the same as are the children of the great majority. The masses to-day are not ask- ing us to divide with them our property, nor in any way neg- lect our wives or other worthy dependents, but simply that we arrange things so that, as far as possible, their children will have as fair a chance in the race of life as our children. 61 This means to me that the fifth great era will really not be a fight for socialism (which is purely impracticable and de- generating), but rather for the breaking up of aristocracy, power and wealth acquired through inheritance. In other words, I believe that the think- ing radicals of to-day are will- ing to let the "laissez faire" doctrine apply provided it shall apply to all as nearly as possible. They are beginning to realize that nothing is gain- " ed through the attempted arti- ficial regulation of wages, prices, rents or interest. If there is anything which the churches plainly profess and in practice ignore, it is con- cerning the accumulation of money, but will the churches 62 ever again become powerful until they are consistent on this point and at least aid the masses in eliminating unjust handicaps, and at the same time allow themselves more time and energy for gaining the things worth-while ? Charities The great mass of people to- day do not want charities. All they want is a "square deal" — as equal a chance as it is possi- ble for them to get, and a reasonable amount of health, faith, education and material welfare. Most charities insult instead of aid. No self-respect- ing man of the working classes, whom the churches are seek- ing to win, ever solicits you or 63 me for money. Most solicita- tions for charities come to us from our cliurch people them- selves for some pet work of their own or of their friends. Moreover, most of us give to these charities simply because we do not wish to offend these friends. We know that present attempts to distribute pros- perity through charities is like endeavoring to irrigate the Sahara Desert by carrying water in buckets. One thing more, and this I pass along simply as an opin- ion. Not only are our charities making only the faintest im- pression, but I believe if the churches would stop begging continually for money, even they would be much better off. Christ said, "go ye into 64 all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ;" but he never said " collect money and send others to do it for you." He constantly taught people to give, but I do not find a single word urging us to collect money of others or to run church fairs and suppers for spreading the gospel. The gospel on which the churches prosper demands di- rect personal service in the in- terests of others — not through paid agents — and only as we give this service by train- ing the children in our homes, by helping the employees in our business, by aiding neigh- bors on our street, and finally, uniting with the masses by working through schools and politics for laws to equalize 65 opportunity, can we hope again to command the respect of the world and interest mankind in the things worth-while. In other words, before the churches can make people be- lieve in their doctrine that "life is more than meat" and service more to be desired than gold, must we not, as their repre- sentatives, give up something of what we have and cease our continual chase for more? 66 The Third Section i i A Possibility Dotwithstanding the in- consistent attitude which the churches now take toward economic questions, I am very optimistic as to their future. Although the churches are now ridiculed by many thinking people and have utter- ly lost the confidence of the great mass of working people, nevertheless, I believe that their future is bright. At vari- ous other stages in the world's history, they have reached the low ebb which exists to-day. In fact, as stated, the history 69 of the churches has been a series of ups-and-downs, which, if plotted, would cor- respond very closely to the great swings in financial, com- mercial and social develop- ment. Its fluctuations are not short, extending over only two or three years as do the fluctua- tions of the Babson Composite Plot. There are fluctuations in the church which corre- spond to the great movements extending over periods of twenty or more years. The great swings in church activity and recession are over much longer periods and closely allied to the great forward movements in civilization, as explained in a previous chap- ter. More than this, these long TO swings have followed eco- nomic rather than theological lines. When the churches have interested themselves in the equalization of opportunity, they have prospered; but when they have not been so interest- ed, they have declined. Hence I repeat that the economic in- terpretations of history com- bined with the careful study of church progress convinces me that the next church move- ment will be along distinctly economic lines, especially re- lating to the acquiring, use and bequeathing of personal property. Of course there are many who claim that Christianity demands the institution of state socialism, and many feel that it can be practiced only 71 \i through communism or col- lectivism; but I am sure that it does not call for anything of the kind. Although Chris- tianity demands that our every deed, word and thought should be in the interests of the com- munity as a whole and not for our exclusive benefit, yet a study of Christ's teachings shows most clearly that he stood for individual responsi- bility and apparently had little hope of solving the world's problems through legislation or the enforcement of law. Christ's idea apparently was that when men should develop the right spirit with the pas- sionate desire to serve the community to the best of one's ability, proper legislation would ultimately develop and 72 be readily enforced ; but until such time, stringent legislation would be of little effect. The history of the Jewish nation during the centuries preceding the coming of Christ was to him absolute proof that unless men have the spirit of service, the most elaborate legislative program is of no avail. There- fore I am convinced that state socialism or any other en- forced social program is im- practicable, while all attempts at the artificial regulation of wages, interest, rents and prices are doomed to failure. One Suggestion But is there not a happy medium between what the socialists would like to do and 73 the distinctly reactionary atti- tude which the church assumes to-day ? As a matter of inter- est I will explain this without comment one way or the other. Instead of the followers of churches holding property in common, turning over their actual profits for the benefit of the community as did those of the early church, there may be a mutual turning in of infor- mation, facts and other per- sonal records of earnings and expenditures. There may be no secrets among such persons, but each may know the re- ceipts, expenses and the actual property holdings of all others. Personally, the writer be- lieves that mth religion, edu- cation and just inheritance laws, publicity is the only re- 74 maining motive power which can be used to solve our na- tion's problems. To clean the banking system, the publicity of bank loans may be a neces- sity ; to eliminate the trust evil, the publicity of profits, con- tracts and all other details of large corporations may be inevitable ; to solve the wage problem, the posting of wages and earnings may come ; while taxation will probably be just- ly assessed only when the personal business of every citi- zen is public property. In other words, the writer looks upon publicity as a very im- portant cure for the hundreds of evils which beset this and other nations, although such publicity must be coupled with the development of religion 75 J and education. Hence, to the hundreds of societies and or- ganizations existing for various kinds of welfare and other work, it may be said that the best opportunity for the fur- thering of any of these causes comes only through publicity legislation. If the day is coming when a requirement of church mem- bership will demand that each member turn in a list of all his property, the sources of his income together with his ex- penditures, such a movement should cement the members together with the loyalty and brotherly interest impossible in any other way. One effect of such a plan should be the elimination of unfair competi- tion among church people. 76 Competition is not only natu- ral but useful in the develop- ment of civilization, but unfair competition is both wasteful and wrong, economically and morally. The only assurance that one person will give another a square deal will probably come through the insistence that the profits, losses and other so-called per- sonal business of each is the common knowledge of all. Many of the present misunder- standings between men would then soon be eliminated. At any rate, publicity is the first step in the elimination of such misunderstandings. The payment of proper wages to employees may be worked out along some such line as this, rather than through 77 so-called minimum wage legis- lation, which later is bound to react either in throwing many out of employment or in raising prices. When the wages paid and received by the churchmen of any com- munity are recorded and posted for the benefit of the entire membership (which membership would include both employers and em- ployees) together with a state- ment as to the employer's profits, the very troublesome labor question might rapidly solve itself in such a com- munity. When the churchmen who operate stores mark their goods with the cost prices as well as the selling prices, people will begin to take notice. 78 No workman ever begrudg- ed a real producer like Thomas A. Edison the profits of his labor even though those profits should run into the millions; but the man who is becoming wealthy through the exploita- tion of labor naturally is sub- ject to suspicion. Therefore, perhaps the only way that employers in general and labor in general can come together is for each to put its cards on the table and let them be seen by the other. Labor, of course, is now compelled to do it, and the next step is for the em- ployer to do likewise. Perhaps the churches will lead in such a radical movement. Such a system of mutual in- terchange of information among fellow church members 79 would, of course, at once solve the problems of financing the churches and their allied or- ganizations. When each mem- ber turns in a list of his property holdings and income, it will be necessary only for each church to decide on the budget which it needs and make an assess- ment as do the tax authorities in the most progressive states. In this case, each member would pay the same propor- tion, and any reasonable amount could be raised quickly and in a dignified manner. This would mean that preach- ers could be paid a living wage, thus attracting stronger men into the ministry ; that the Sun- day School could be made efficient through the employ- ment of experienced teachers 80 and that the churches could become a real factor in the social development of the com- munity through the employ- ment of experts along desired lines. Some feel that if this step is ever taken it would result in church people pooling their welfare work and using the church as a clearing house for all worth-while objects. Of course, this would immediate- ly put the churches in a most important economic position, enabling them to command the respect of all organizations. Perhaps this is the solution of such problems as relate to temperance, model tenements, industrial education, public hygiene, vocational guidance, supervised playgrounds and 81 many of the other splendid works which are now only feebly developed. Certainly, if after pooling our gifts, we should likewise pool our votes, the churches would surely im- mediately regain their place in the community. When one realizes that organized labor has obtained its tremendous power in legislation through a combination of less than 5% of the people, the tremendous force which the churches will some day exercise in the de- mocracy, through the pooling of interests, readily becomes apparent. There are, of course, hun- dreds of good things which the churches should do which they are not doing. Almost every thinking man has a different 82 solution and a new suggestion. With nearly all of these the writer agrees in the broad sense. The question arises, however, whether most sug- gestions are not results and effects rather than funda- mentals. With the right motive coupled with knowl- edge, every question rapidly solves itself. Therefore, does not the future of the churches depend on the development of the right motive — that is, the ]^,.^ spirit of Christ and a more real knowledge of actual condi- tions, which can come only through the adoption of mutual publicity as above outlined? For this reason, although I have the greatest respect for the many good works which various societies and people 83 S" / are endeavoring to do in order to revive the influence of the churches, yet I do feel that some day the church people of every community may act to- gether and frankly acknowl- edge one another as brothers, each laying his cards face up on the table, thus giving a complete knowledge of his property holdings, income, ex- penses, wages and savings ; and saying to the others, "Now what shall I do?" Only as each of us so gets this spirit and frankly shows his position and honestly asks, " What shall I do?" will we ever do any- thing really worth-while. 84 Conclusion Briefly, the churches will not regain their power in the community until their follow- ers cease being so indifferent and inconsistent. To those of us who are members and act- ively interested in some church does not this mean : — First, that we should select our profession, business or daily work with the sole ob- ject of rendering service. We should engage in the occupa- tion wherein we can render the most service to the com- munity rather than that which will enable us to get the most from the community. We should consider our wages and profits wholly secondary. If we are rendering a real service 85 to the community, we should trust God to see that we are rewarded. Of course, we may not have so much to spend on luxuries as our neighbors who are striving to make money, but what of it ? The downfall of nearly every great nation has been due to confusing luxury with happiness. We should expect to sacrifice and to love not the things of the world, — self-indulgence, fash- ion and wasteful things or habits. So long as our wages enable us to live decently, should we not be satisfied, re- membering the conclusion of the Ten Commandments, viz : " Thou Shalt Not Covet." Next, in buying and selling, we will some day give up our present inconsistent practices. 86 If we are sure that the ultimate good will be the same, we are justified in buying of the one from whom we can get the lowest price and in selling to whom we can get the highest price ; but if we are not sure of this, should we always so purchase ? To the price which we pay for food, clothing, etc., we usually give altogether too much importance. If by pur- chasing goods of some one man, our money will be better used or we shall be encourag- ing better conditions of labor than if we purchased of an- other, shall we some day believe that duty demands that we purchase of the first man, irrespective of the difference in price ? Our reason for fearing that we would not be properly 87 rewarded for doing right our- selves, may be because we know tliat we seldon^ reward others for their right en- deavors. When we take our religion seriously, we will apply its fundamentals to our daily work, our buying, sell- ing, loaning, borrowing and giving. It is entirely possible to sell at a profit without buy- ing in the lowest market and selling in the highest irrespec- tive of how or by whom our money or lands are to be used. I suppose we are most in- consistent when investing our money. Our religion teaches very plainly that the rate of interest which we receive should be a consideration en- tirely secondary to the good which our money is to do ; in 88 fact, the literal teaching would seem to forbid the acceptance of interest. The time is com- ing when we will not consider chiefly the interest which our investments yield for a given security, but whether the money is to be used to sewer a city or to build a fashionable apartment house in New York. Some day we may be willing to risk our money to sewer a Central American city rather than buy the average invest- ment offered. As employers of labor and as employees, we have a great opportunity. The great indus- trial struggle of to-day will never be settled through strikes, arbitration or any other artificial means. The solution rests with those of us who 89 profess to have a religion and practice it, whether represent- ing capital or labor. If we are employers, we will consider our employees as a family and fight for them and work for their success as we would for the success of our immediate family. Our greatest pride will be to pay them continually more and more, — certainly more than men who make no religious pretention pay for similar services. On the other hand, if we are employees, we will strive to render better service and let the fruits of our religion boldly appear in our work. This is the way the in- fluence of the churches will be extended ; in fact, it is the only way it ever has been spread in the past. It is the 90 great practical step along edu- cational and economic lines in which religious people have so often led, that has given the church its influence in the past. When our forefathers have sacrificed their properties and even their lives to bring about better conditions, the church has prospered ; but when their children have become lax and less active, the influence of the church has waned. The indifference of the aver- age Protestant Church toward national, state and municipal affairs will not continue much longer. We will close up our little pet charities and devote such time and money toward public improvements and bet- tering political conditions. We complain about graft and the 91 waste of public funds, but is this not largely due to our in- difference ? When we devote to bettering political condi- tions such time and money as we now^ give to societies, charities and other outside or- ganizations, there will soon be a great improvement in government. There is no short cut to prosperity. It will come only through the slow process of education. Moreover, this will be supplied to the coming vo- ters of our nation through the I public school system. Hence, I believe that the best mission- * ary work which we to-day can possibly do is through our public schools. Here is the greatest opportunity for real good and to which we should 92 devote all our spare efforts in- stead of bothering Avith a score of other things, all of which are worthy in their way ; but none of w^hich will accom- plish much until the people are convinced of the need of a change and, when so con- vinced, ^vill themselves bring the change about. With pres- ent methods of representation, the voters of this country are now able to raise funds for any improvements or reforms which they are convinced are worth-while. Therefore, it seems to me that all our efforts should be devoted to develop- ing a really worth-while edu- cational system which alone will create a truly happy and efficient people. The purpose of the churches is to make 93 people truly happy, but must not this be worked out through our school systems ? What does this mean ? First, it necessitates the teaching of a simple, homely religion of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. For teaching this the best charac- ters should bej employed, irre- spective of church or creed, men and women whom the entire community love and respect. Moreover, not until persons of such character are in demand and paid highly for their services, will'such teach- ing be respected. This has been the history of art, music and literature. Spirituality can be developed only in the same way, according to the same economic laws. These per- 94 sons should be allowed to teach no creed ; in fact, they would be too wise to attempt it. They should teach by example and precept how to be happy. Happiness comes through health, knowledge, faith and a reasonable amount of prosper- ity. In connection with the study of health, young people must be taught how to keep well, and all methods of mu- nicipal sanitation. With this study should be combined jus- tice, courtesy, hopefulness and personal relationship with others. When studying ma- terial prosperity, our young people should be taught the fundamentals to which I have above referred; namely, that true success comes only throu gh service. Hence, each boy should select some one thing, however insignificant in itself, and resolve to do this better than anyone else. This, however, requires a knowl- edge of economics, which every citizen should have. The present system, leaving economics to the college course so that its laws are known only by those w^ho are to become employers, is ex- ceedingly unjust to labor and consumers in general. Probably giving the masses such an education would in- evitably result in a gradual redistribution of property. Although property does 'not mean happiness, yet for any nation to be happy there must be a much more equal distribu- 96 tion of property than is now witnessed. Tliis great gap will, however, constantly be reduced in size, and manual la- bor will gradually be rewarded more. I even believe that the church will some day encour- age the masses in their at- tempts to become factors in the management of industries. However, the discussion of this must be left to another book in this series, viz : The Future of Corporations. This present book is devoted to the future of the churches, which future to me is bright. In fact, my closing word is to urge all readers to unite actively in the work of some church, and with this new vision become a real factor in equalizing opportu- 97 nity through the new develop- ment of religion, education, publicity and co-operation by means of the public schools. 98 APPENDIX Outline of Church History 975 B.C. to 1900 A. D. To accompany Chart between pages 40 and 41. 975 B. C— Death of Solomon. Revolt of the Ten Tribes. 716-712 B. C— Romulus reputed murdered. Sennacharib invades Judah. 664 B. C— First sea-fight on record. 588-578 B. C— Captivity of Judah completed and Jerusalem destroyed. Servius Tullius, King of Rome. Money coined. 567-565 B. C— Conquest of the Etrurians. First Census of Rome. 509-507 B. C— Brutus and CoUatinus first Consuls. The capitol finished. 456-451 B. C— Cincinnatus, Dictator. Laws of the twelve tables. 413-411 B. C— Egypt regains independence. Roman famine. 390-376 B. C— Rome destroyed by the Gauls. War between patricians and plebians. 337 B. C. — First plebian praetor. 99 286 B. C— Law of Hortensius, by which the decrees of the people had the force of those of the senate. 266 B. C. — Rome mistress of all Italy. 204-202 B. C— Scipio carries the war into Africa with great applause. 181 B. C— Plague at Rome. 133 B. C— Spain becomes a Roman prov- ince. 104-91 B. C— Teutons defeat 80,000 Romans on the banks of the Rhone. Birth of Julius Caesar. Social War in Italy. 55-30 B. C— Caesar passes the Rhine, de- feats the Germans and Gauls, and invades Britain. Civil War between Caesar and Pompey. Pompey defeated. Caesar, Dictator. Caesar takes Alexandria and conquers Egypt. Republic of Rome becomes a mon* archy. 54 A. D.— Nero, Emperor. 60 A. D.— Paul imprisoned in Rome. 77 A. D.— A great plague at Rome, 10,000 dying in one day. 117 A. D.— Great persecution of the Chris- tians. Hadrian, Emperor. 100 193 A. D.— Septimus Severus, Emperor. A vigorous ruler but persecutes the Christians. 270-272 A. D.— Aurelian becomes Emperor. Great persecution of Christians. 306 A. D.— Constantine the Great, Emperor. Persecution of Christians stopped. 475 A. D. — OHgarchy of the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Church now begins to assume a political aspect. 502-511 A. D.— Invasions by the Persians. Great insurrection in Constantinople. 558 A. D.— A plague extends over Europe and Asia and lasts about 50 years. 600 A. D.— Introduction of Christianity into Britain and throughout Europe. 650 A. D.— The Christian Church very use* f ul and influential in all matters. 755 A. D.— Beginning of the Pope's tempo- ral power. 800 A. D. — A period of great prosperity. 840 A. D. — Feudal system at its height. 841-858 A. D.— Hereditary nobility and the clergy dominant in matters of state. Alfred the Great born. Nicholas I first Pope to be crowned. 890 A. D.— Oxford University founded by Alfred the Great. Trial by Jury instituted. 101 912-915 A. D.— The NormaM in France embrace Christianity. University of Cambridge founded. 940-955 A. D.— Mints established in Eng- land. Baptism of Olga, and conversion of Russia to Christianity. 999 A. D.— Hungary becomes a fief of the Church. 1059 A. D.— Quarrel between the Popes and the German Emperors. 1096 A. D.— Peter the Hermit preaches against the Turks. The First Crusade. 1100 A. D.— Study of theology receives new impulse. 1150 A. D. — Another period of great pros- perity. 1198 A. D.— Power of the Pope Supreme in temporal matters. 1265 A. D.— Dominion of Italy passes to the Pope, who greatly abuses his power. 1303-1309 A. D.— Papal power broken. Seat of the Popes transferred to Avignon. 1416 A. D.— Huss burned for heresy. Re- vival of real Christianity. 1434 A. D. — Invention of printing at May- ence. 1450 A. D. — Flourishing period of trade in Western Europe. 102 1493 A. D.— Era of discovery in the New World. (Columbus.) 1502-1517 A. D.— St. Peter's and other great churches built. Beginning of the Reformation. 1530 A. D.— Luther at his height. 1551-1558 A. D. — Treaty of Passau secures religious liberty to the Protestants in Germany. Elizabeth, Queen. Rise of the Puritans. 1588 A. D.— First newspaper in England. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 1592 A. D.— The Rialto and Piazza di San Marco built at Venice. 1620 A. D. — Pilgrims sail in Mayflower. 1649 A. D. — England under Cromwell. 1692-1693 A. D.— First opera house opened. Bank of England founded. 1697 A. D.— General peace throughout the world. 1703 A. D.— Flourishing period of French literature. 1783 A. D. — Independence of the United States acknowledged. 1789 A. D. — French Revolution begins. 1797 A. D.— Swiss Revolution. 1813 A. D. — War of German independence. 1814 A. D.— Fall of Napoleon. 1846 A. D. — Repeal of the English corn laws. 1900 A. 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