Decline of Wesleyanism

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 70, 21 November 1885, Page 3

Decline of Wesleyanism

In our issue of the 14th iust. we published an extract from the Banner, an Episcopalian paper, headed as above. The following extract from the New Zealand Methodist has been handed to us for publication, in order that the question may be viewed from the stand point of the Methodists themselves "--^The animating spirit of the original .writer may gathered from his use of tihe reproachful term " Wes-leyanism"—-a term which has no existence in the ecclesiastical nomenclature of Methodism, nor in any of the legal documents of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. A short time ago a parliamentary Blue-book was issued containing a return, moved for by Mr H. H. Fowler, M.P.; for Wolverhampton, of ; the* " churches, chapels, and buildings registered for religious worship iv the registration districts of Great Britain, showing the religious denomination to which such churches, chapels, aud buildings belong." This return shows that iv England and Wales the churches and chapels belonging to tho Established Church numbered 14,573; and those belonging to the Wesleyan Methodist Church 12,375. In view of this high official return, it would appear that an estimate which appeared in the Nonconformist and Independent is rather below than above the mark, viz., that the various branches of the Methodist Family do now provide for the spiritual wants of about one in eight of the whole population of England aud Wales. In the Australian Colonies, the Methodist Churches occupy numerically the third position, the first S_*d second being occupied by the Episcopalian and Presbyterian Churches. In the Canadian Dominion, Methodism occupies the first* place, being followed by the Presbyterian and Episcopalian Churches in this order. In the United States, the premier position of the Methodist Churches is still more pronounced, the following being the numerical order of the other churches :— Baptists, Pi*e_byterian, Congregational, Episcopalian. A world-wide view of Methodism,'based on statistics furnished to. the : : Ecumenical Methodist Conference of 1881, gives the following results: — Ministers, 32,652; local preachers, 89,292 ; church members, 4,999,541 ; Sunday School scholars, 4,803,022 ; adherents, twentythree millions 7At Wesley's; death, in 1791, there were in Great Britain and Ireland 227 ministers and 57,562 chiirch members; What remarkable progress since that time ! -