Methodology and Definitions

The method used in the Town and Country Surveys of the Interchurch World Movement and of the Committee on Social and Religious Surveys differs from the method of earlier surveys in this field chiefly in the following particulars:

1. “Rural” was defined as including all population living outside incorporated places of over 5,000. Previous surveys usually excluded all places of 2,500 population or over, which follows the United States Census definition of “rural.”

2. The local unit for the assembling of material was the community, regarded, usually, as the trade area of a town or village center. Previous surveys usually took the minor civil division as the local unit. The disadvantage of the community unit is that census and other statistical data are seldom available on that basis, thus increasing both the labor involved and the possibility of error. The great advantage is that it presents its results assembled on the basis of units which have real social significance, which the minor civil division seldom has. This advantage is considered as more than compensating for the disadvantage.

3. The actual service area of each church as indicated by the residences of its members and adherents was mapped and studied. This was an entirely new departure in rural surveys.

Four chief processes were involved in the actual field work of these surveys:

1. The determination of the community units and of any subsidiary neighborhood units included within them. The community boundaries were ascertained by noting the location of the last family on each road leading out from a given center who regularly traded at that center. These points, indicated on a map, were connected with each other by straight lines. The area about the given center thus enclosed was regarded as the community.

2. The study of the economic, social and institutional life of each community as thus defined.

3. The location of each church in the county, the determination of its parish area, and the detailed study of its equipment, finance, membership, organization, program and leadership.

4. The preparation of a map showing, in addition to the usual physical features, the boundaries of each community, the location, parish area and circuit connections of each church, and the residence of each minister.

The following are the more important definitions used in the making of these surveys and the preparation of the reports:

Geographical

City—A center of over 5,000 population. Not included within the scope of these surveys except as specifically noted.

Town—A center with a population of from 2,501 to 5,000.

Village—A center with a population of from 251 to 2,500.

Hamlet—Any clustered group of people not living on farms whose numbers do not exceed 250.

Open Country—The farming area, excluding hamlets and other centers.

Country—Used in a three-fold division of population included in scope of survey into Town, Village and Country. Includes Hamlets and Open Country.

Town and Country—The whole area covered by these surveys, i.e., all population living outside cities.

Rural—Used interchangeably with Town and Country.

Community—That unit of territory and of population characterized by common social and economic interests and experiences; an “aggregation of people the majority of whose interests have a common center.” Usually ascertained by determining the normal trade area of each given center. The primary social grouping of sufficient size and diversity of interests to be practically self-sufficing in ordinary affairs of business, civil and social life.

Neutral Territory—Any area not definitely included within the area of one community. Usually an area between two or more centers, and somewhat influenced by each, but whose interests are so scattered that it cannot definitely be assigned to the sphere of influence of any one center.

Neighborhood—A recognizable social grouping having certain interests in common, but dependent for certain elemental needs upon some adjacent center within the community area of which it is located.

Rural Industrial—Pertaining to any industry other than farming within the Town and Country area.

Population

Foreigner—Refers to foreign-born and native-born of foreign parentage.

New Americans—Usually includes foreign-born and native-born of foreign or mixed parentage, but sometimes refers only to more recent immigration. In each case the exact meaning is clear from the context.

The Church

Parish—The area within which the members and regular attendants of a given church live.

Circuit—Two or more churches combined under the direction of one minister.

Resident Pastor—A church whose minister lives within its parish area is said to have a resident pastor.

Full-time Resident Pastor—A church with a resident pastor who serves no other church, and follows no other occupation than the ministry, is said to have a full-time resident pastor.

Part-time Pastor—A church whose minister either serves another church also, or devotes part of his time to some regular occupation other than the ministry, or both, is said to have a part-time minister.

Non-Resident Member—One carried on the rolls of a given church but living too far away to permit regular attendance; generally, any member living outside the community in which the church is located unless he is a regular attendant.

Inactive Member—One who resides within the parish area of the church, but who neither attends its services nor contributes to its support.

Net Active Membership—The resultant membership of a given church after the number of non-resident and inactive members is deducted from the total on the church roll.

Per Capita Contributions or Expenditures—The total amount contributed or expended, divided by the number of the net active membership.

Budget System—A church which, at the beginning of the fiscal year, makes an itemized forecast of the entire amount of money required for its maintenance during the year as a basis for a canvass of its membership for funds, is said to operate on a budget system with respect to its local finances. If amounts to be raised for denominational or other benevolences are included in the forecast and canvass, it is said to operate on a budget system for all monies raised.

Adequate Financial System—Three chief elements are recognized in an adequate financial system: a budget system, an annual every-member canvass, and the use of envelopes for the weekly payment of subscriptions.

Receipts—Receipts have been divided under three heads:

Salary of Minister—Inasmuch as some ministers receive, in addition to their cash salary, the free use of a house while others do not, a comparison of the cash salaries paid is misleading. In all salary comparisons, therefore, the cash value of a free parsonage is arbitrarily stated as $250 a year, and that amount is added to the cash salary of each minister with free parsonage privileges. Thus an average salary stated as $1,450 is equivalent to $1,200 cash and the free use of a house.