It appears that of the 6,060 churches in the 1,170 strictly rural townships of Ohio no less than 1,793, or nearly 30 per cent, are of the Methodist Episcopal denomination (see Table D and Maps 14-25); 521 are of the United Brethren in Christ; 396 are Presbyterian; 379 are Baptist, including Free Will, Free, and Missionary; 367 Disciples; 362 Lutheran; 248 Roman Catholic; 228 Christian; 211 Methodist Protestant; 175 Reformed; 135 Congregational; 129 Evangelical Association; 113 Brethren or German Baptists; 95 Radical United Brethren; 92 Christian Union; 84 Societies of Friends; and 77 United Presbyterian. None of the other denominations has more than 1 per cent of the total number.

The denominations are represented in about the same proportion in the suburban rural districts.

TABLE D

Number of Churches in Each Denomination

Map 14

Map 15

Map 16

Map 17

Map 18

Map 19

Map 20

Map 21

Map 22

Map 23

Map 24

Map 25

In Table E the Protestant churches are grouped according to their polity. It will be seen that about 1,600 have a Congregational form of government, in which authority rests in the local church; that in nearly 1,200 churches the polity is Presbyterian, in which authority is largely in the local church, but partly in a representative body of several churches grouped in districts. Under the title of “Episcopal Bodies” are grouped denominations comprising 2,721 churches, or more than the total number of the Presbyterian and Congregational combined.

The Methodist Protestant Churches are not placed in either of these groups because their polity resembles, in some respects, that of the Congregational and in others that of the Episcopal churches. Authority with them rests largely in the local church, which owns its property and has authority to receive and dismiss its own members, but in other respects resembles closely the churches of the Episcopal order. In the fourth group are 82 other churches or religious organizations which we have failed to classify. The Catholic bodies, including Greek and Russian, number 253.

Differences as to church polity are not sufficiently great to constitute a dangerous obstacle to the progress of church unity among the Protestant rural churches of Ohio. Our system of universities and public schools, together with the custom of reading religious articles, books, and other literature without regard to the denomination of the author, is tending to remove theological differences as between denominations. It may be said it has already removed them in the eleven denominations represented in the Committee of Interchurch CoÖperation. This is true whatever differences may still exist between individuals.

TABLE E

Churches Grouped According to Their Polity