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CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS

A Significant Survey of the Early Protestant Movement in Italy. —

Not all of us English-speaking Protestants have known that, about the
time of Martin Luther, Italy, too, was stirred by a mighty spirit of
reform. The movement promised to free the souls of men from the
dominion of the unworthy and oppressive priesthood, but it was
smothered by the power of the Roman church. Scattered in Italian
convents and libraries lie a great number of books and memoirs, many
in manuscript, telling, often at first hand, the experiences of the heroes
of this Italian Reformation, but only a few scholars have known of these
writings.

Now an Italian pastor of Florence, Rev. Pietro ChimineUi, moved
by love of evangelical religion and of his country, has sought out these
documents with research marked by rare devotion, and has compiled a
descriptive catalogue of 2,543 books and pamphlets, in Italian, French,
German, and English, the dates ranging from 1539 to the present.
This work will be a great aid to any student of Europe in the Middle
Ages.

The book is entitled Bibliografia Delia Storia Delia Riforma Rdigiosa
in Italia, and is issued by the Casa Editrice Bilychnis, Roma, Via
Crescenzio 2. Price 5 lire.

The Death of Two Leaders of European Protestantism. — One of

the most brilliant and effective writers on theological subjects in the
English-speaking world was Principal P. T. Forsyth, of Hackney College,
London, who died on November n, 192 1. His religious experience
included a profound consciousness of the power of sin, and his theology
made redemption from sin its central theme. He was considerably influ-
enced by the practical emphasis of the Ritschlian theologians, but differed
from them in making the Cross rather than the inner life of Jesus central.
His style, with its love of rhetorical antithesis and striking phrases, was
not conducive to exact thought, but the whole-souled enthusiasm of
his purpose was unmistakable. Among his most influential books are
Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind, The Person and Place of
Jesus Christ, and The Principle of Authority.

Professor Eugene Menegoz, who died at the age of eighty-three on
October 29, 1921, was associated with Professor Auguste Sabatier in the

197

198 THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

Faculty of Protestant Theology at Paris. His emphasis on the supreme
place of faith (by which he meant a practical attitude of trust and
devotion) in religion was combined with Sabatier's exposition of the
symbolic character of religious knowledge to form the religious move-
ment known as symbolofidHsme. To the interpretation of this vital type
of Protestant liberalism Menegoz gave his life. His important works are
the volumes of Publications diverse sur le fideisme.

A Notable Achievement in Editorship. — When a man serves a church
for thirty years or more it it always an occasion for comment. It should
be equally worthy of note when a man serves the interests of all the
churches in a denomination for that length of time. Dr. Howard A.
Bridgman has just retired after thirty-four years of editorial service in
connection with the Congregationalism It was during his term of editor-
ship that the Congregationalist became officially the one journal repre-
senting the interests of that denomination. Dr. Bridgman had an
extraordinary capacity for positive and constructive editorship, com-
bined with the broadest sympathies, and made the Congregationalist
one of the ablest religious journals in the country.

A Religious Interpretation of the Doctrine of Evolution. — Professor
A. P. Mathews, in an article, "The Road of Evolution," in the Yale
Review, January, 1922, suggests an interpretation of the doctrine of
evolution which is capable of an interesting religious development.
Professor Mathews points out that while struggle for existence has
usually been taken as the most important aspect of the process of evolu-
tion, there is really a much more important factor, which he calls the
struggle for freedom. The course of the development of a species con-
sists not simply in a relative superiority to other species, but also in
the development of an organism which will make the individual less
dependent upon the environment in which he chances to be. Professor
Mathews finds the significant fact in evolution to be the development of
the individual. "Evolution is a splitting-off, if I may put it thus, of
an organism from its environment." The organism develops more and
more mastery over environment as life passes from water animals to
amphibians, and thence to reptiles, and eventually to animals with
circulatory systems so that water supply may be carried about in the
organism. Eventually comes the development of intelligence, which
gives to man his peculiar power to triumph over the natural conditions
of environment. The conclusion is that the evident goal of evolution
is the development of free intelligent personalities such as we see in
man. Professor Mathews intimates that the religious valuation of

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 199

human personality and the hope of immortality are entirely in accord
with this reading of the doctrine of evolution. This interpretation,
coming from a technical scientist, is full of significance.

Concerning Modernism in China. — The Chinese Recorder for Decem-
ber makes a very significant statement that bears on an unsigned letter
which appeared in the Evangelical Christian for September. Here the
statement is made that "the presence of Modernists destroys the faith
of school children and students and gnaws the root which alone can
produce a native ministry and church." "The assumption is, " says the
Recorder, "that the influence of the Modernists is weakening the school
as a religious and Christian force." In reply to such an arraignment the
Recorder states that, "a recent direct study of a large number of these
schools shows, first, that in the middle schools about one-third of the
pupils are church members with a large group of professing Christians
not yet members. Among students in colleges, in grades above the
middle school, two-thirds are in the church. Moreover, whereas the
average increase to the Christian church outside of the Christian School
in China is about 4 to 5 per cent, in the Christian schools it is about
three times that much." Thus it appears that the Christian school is
a stronger factor in the Christian propaganda than other phases of work.
In any event, this influx of "Modernists," if it exists at all, has not had
all the deleterious effects on Christian schools that is sometimes assumed.

The Modern Pharisee. — He is not the hard-hearted and self-con-
ceited hypocrite of the New Testament type, but according to Mr. Blau,
in the January number of the Atlantic Monthly, he is the spiritual driving
force who alone can save the present-day Judaism from bankruptcy.
The distinction between the modern Sadducee and Pharisee is seen in
their different approach to the solution of the Semitic problem. The
Sadducee feels that the problem is social, philanthropic, economic, and
political. To the Pharisee the problem is chiefly spiritual. A new
education, a new understanding, and a new vision are his means. The
condition of Judaism today, according to Mr. Blau, is a lifeless
formalism that no one takes very seriously; here and there a pathetic
bit of folklore in connection with death or marriage customs and a
little ostentatious charity. It is as if the spirit had long fled the husk.
"The Jew is in imminent danger of becoming a Sabbathless, religion-
less devotee of business and pleasure — a being without a sense of God,
with no ear for the vast tender suggestions of Eternity, no understanding
of the spiritual meaning of human life." The Reform movement, which
Mr. Blau designates as " made in Germany, " has not relieved the situation

200 THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

any. It has made no essential contribution to religious thought. "It
has failed to initiate a religion by showing the modern Jew how to rise
above the merely negative phases of criticism to the heights of a glowing
religious affirmation." The cure for all Jewish ills, according to Mr.
Blau, is found in geography. The gradual repatriation of the Jew in
Palestine, where he may avoid foreign contacts, is considered the
solution for the Jewish problem.

Whatever value may be attached to the repatriation of the Jew in
Palestine it will never prove a panacea for modern Jewish ills. A glance
at the Old Testament is sufficient to disprove such an allusion. When
the Jews did occupy Palestine foreign contacts were unavoidable. How
much more would that be true today. Moreover, the very same arraign-
ment that Mr. Blau makes against modern tendencies was made by
the prophets when the Jews were still in Palestine. The crying need is
not geographic isolation but prophetic inspiration.

The Gate Called Beautiful. — We are familiar today with the Chris-
tian propagandists who attempt to lead the world through the gate of
Truth. Even more frequently the attempt is made to bring men to the
gate which is called Righteousness. " But, " says Henry Sloan Coffin in
the January number of the International Review of Missions, "rarely do
we think to lead them to the gate which is called Beautiful." To the
ancients, beauty was a gate which led directly to communion with the
Deity. To this day, even in ruins, the Greeks' symmetrical, white
marble temples, charmingly located, evidence the prominence of beauty
in worship. "We who trace the lineage of our faith through Israel,
have not been wont to use this gate into the temple." "But we cannot
forget that the supreme Interpreter of the Most High was a lover of
beauty." He bade us consider the lilies of the field and himself was
an artist in speech, whose stories and sayings live not only because of
their inherent truth but by reason of their essential loveliness. "We
must not forget the holding power of beauty. When the gate Truth
appears closed and the gate Righteousness loses its appeal, they may be
forsaken; but the gate Beautiful keeps near it even those who claim no
intention of entering by it into the temple." " Many men who have lost
faith in the truth of the Bible, continue to read its pages for their sheer
fascination." The Bible may not be considered a gate to anything, but
let it be esteemed as beautiful. Few who feel its spell can resist passing
through its doors into the temple of faith and consecration.

The Question of Responsibility.— In the great attempt to establish
an enduring world-peace, there is one particular obstacle that has not

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 201

yet been removed. In an article, "The Question of Responsibility, " that
appeared in the January number of the Hibbert Journal, we are reminded
by H. C. Shawcross that "the dogma of Germany's sole responsibility
is emphasized to camouflage the sinister aims and ambitions which some
of the Allied Powers are pursuing." It is displayed to strengthen the
public in its resolve to make Germany pay and to exclude from the
consciousness of the Allied peoples any suspicion of the possibility that
other powers may share the guilt of Germany. The authors of the
Versailles Treaty prefaced their conditions with the same assumption.
"A change of heart must come," says Mr. Shawcross, "and with it a
spirit of friendliness and toleration in the intercourse of the nations,
strong enough to move us to acknowledge our mutual errors. In 1914
all the big powers were watching each other in distrust and fear. France
had passed its three years' conscription bill; Russia was intent on Pan-
Slavonic supremacy and was looking to Constantinople; England,
secure in her naval strength, was waiting. This was the mine that
existed in 1914. It is true that Germany first fired the mine, but
Germany was not alone in the race of armaments that produced the
mine. If under such conditions we continue to place the whole responsi-
bility of the war on Germany, she is thrown back upon herself to nurse
a sullen resentment at the senseless verdict. From such feelings of
resentment it is but a short step to the desire for revenge.

Even now the world is troubled by the same ambitions and passions
which led to the catastrophe of 19 14. To avert this storm from bursting
out again, we must believe in the good will of other peoples and earnestly
desire their co-operation in the work of promoting well-being for all.

Hypocrisy and Dogmatism. — The habit of affirming that we believe
what we do not believe is a pathological symptom which is called hypoc-
risy by Benjamin Ginzburg in the January number of the International
Journal of Ethics. In the past the traditional school of ethics spent
much time in denouncing the hypocrite. The attacks should rather
have been directed to a society in which a man often cannot help being
a hypocrite. A careful study of the social sciences reveals that hypocrisy
often results when a mode of thought or standard of life is not in vogue,
or else is no longer in accord with the precise needs of living men
"For the trained sociologist, the appearance of hypocrisy is in itself a
sufficient warning of the need of a readjustment." It is a readjustment
to avoid contradiction. That such a process is now going on is witnessed
by the laborious attempts that have been made in England and in
America to reconcile the Old Testament version of creation with the

202 THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

scientific theory of evolution. Such a revision is indeed encouraging
since it is an indication of the moral evolution of society. It is an indi-
cation of an attempt to remove this phase of contradiction and attain
a higher level of unity.

Present-Day Occultism. — What are the phenomena involved in such
modem cults as telepathy, dowsery, spiritualism, palmistry and faith-
healing or psychotherapism ? In an article on occultism in the January
number of the Hibbert Journal, Edward Clodd explains these phenomena
in the light of scientific research. Regarding telepathy he says, "That
one mind can communicate with another mind, no matter what distance
in space divides them" is a conclusion often arrived at when "one
startling incident, one dream fulfilled, suffices as the swallow to make the
summer. " Coincidences are very likely to impress a sensitive imagina-
tion and beguile those who are prone to take the line of least resistance.
Francis Bacon's shrewd comment on the inferences drawn from "Dreams
and Predictions of Astrologie" hits the bull's-eye. "In prophecies,"
he says, "first that men marke when they hit and never marke when
they miss." "The myriad number of dreams unfulfilled count as
nothing against one dream that comes true." And the same indict-
ment is equally effective against the other branches of modern occultism.
By a mass of gratuitous assumptions, the propagators of these super-
stitions retard the approach to the discovery of truth. Hume's axiom
is quite applicable in this field: "As finite added to finite never
approaches a hair's-breadth nearer to infinite, so a thing incredible in
itself acquires not the smallest accession of probability by the accumula-
tion of testimony."

Are Theological Seminaries Disintegrating? — In 1918 the official
report of the United States Bureau of Education showed an attendance
of 9,354 students at reporting theological institutions. In 1916 the
attendance was 12,051. Thus the year 1918 had witnessed a decrease
of 2,697 students in theology. Without further analysis, such statistics
would indicate a very serious setback for the Christian church. How-
ever, a sounder analysis of this situation has been offered by Professor C.
H. Moehlman in the November number of the Rochester Seminary Bulletin.
It reveals the significant fact that, although there was a decrease of 2,697
students, due largely to the demand for "Y" men and chaplains in the
world-war, the attendance of college-degree students in seminaries was
almost doubled from 1905 to 1918 and the increase in theological gradu-
ates during that period was 572. This constant rise in the level of the
educated ministry is one of the most hopeful facts in the general theo-

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 203

logical situation. This is particularly true of the Protestant theological
schools. In 1916 the percentage of college-degree men in Roman Catho-
lic theological schools was 24 while Protestantism had a percentage of
40. This favorable Protestant balance has been constantly maintained.
Moreover, the decline in the total number of theological students for
1918 was not singular for the seminaries. There was a decline through-
out all the professional schools and colleges as well. In the case of law
the decline exceeded that of theology by 34 per cent and when we notice
a retardation of 13 per cent in case of even college graduates, the wonder
is that theology did not suffer at a far greater rate.

However, in one respect the Roman Catholic church has a tre-
mendous advantage. "Given a religious community of 1,500, Roman
Catholicism would erect one church, while Protestantism would be
represented by at least one Congregationalist, one Northern Baptist,
one Methodist, and one Presbyterian." "If the era of competition and
waste for Protestants were to terminate, there would be more than
sufficient Protestant ministers to care for all the Protestant churches."

The League of Nations and the Health of the World. — "It is a war
that never ends, but unlike other conflicts it turns science from the
destruction to the healing of the nations." In Current Opinion (Febru-
ary, 1922) George E. Vincent, president of the Rockefeller Foundation,
tells of the great work which the League of Nations is doing in helping
science battle with disease. Through the League of Nations we are
approximating a world-organization and campaign against disease. The
Health Committee of the League of Nations is standardizing inter-
nationally the products which are used for protection against the more
deadly diseases. Through this same organization vital statistics are
now being assembled internationally. Scientific knowledge is being
effectively and promptly diffused where it is most needed. "One of the
aims of the League of Nations' Health Committee is to centralize all
current information and to distribute this to the chief health offices of the
fifty-one nations which are its members." This great campaign against
disease in every quarter of the world more than justifies the existence of
the League. As it continues ministering to the body of mankind it
may also have a larger opportunity for ministering to the soul of the
world.

Christianizing Penal Methods. — Revenge and retribution in the
treatment of criminals are being replaced by saner methods based upon
justice and good will. Charles L. Chute, Secretary of the National
Probation Association, writing for the Survey (January 21, 1922) tells

204 THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

of the success of probation as a method of treatment for offenders. In
1921 in New York State 19,637 persons were released on probation;
79.6 per cent completed their probation terms without committing
other offenses and were honorably discharged; 8.2 per cent were arrested
for violating probation or committing other offenses and were imprisoned.
Only 6.1 per cent escaped supervision. Pointing out that long prison
terms do not reform criminals the writer says, "For the protection of
society and the solution of the crime problem we must strengthen every
available method for reforming the offender in and out of the institution.
Most important of all, we must begin with the young, giving the greatest
attention to the early and first offender, and we must discriminate
between the entirely different types of delinquents appearing in our
courts." The writer concludes this encouraging discussion with a plea
for popular support of the reformatory methods now being tried and
proving a success. "Public criticism should be directed away from the
indiscriminate attack on probation, parole, and other approved methods
of treatment for the offender. The need today is to strengthen these
systems to the end that individual justice may be done and society
bettered."

Signs of the Times in Moslem Lands. — A very illuminating and
readable description of present conditions in Turkey and an interpreta-
tion of the present outlook is presented in the Missionary Review of the
World (January, 1922). The writer of this description has lived in
Turkey forty years and gives us first-hand information on the status of
Mohammedanism in Turkey.

Today the very pillars of Islam are neglected by the average Moslem.
The annual pilgrimage to Mecca used to be one of the first duties of
every true believer. But because of the political situation no Turk has
gone to Mecca since 1914. Consequently he feels his world shrunken
and disgraced; for it was at Mecca that the Turk met his brethren
from other lands and felt the tremendous strength of Islam as a world-
power. The annual fast of Ramazan, once strictly observed by all good
Moslems, is today very generally ignored. The duty of praying five
times daily toward Mecca used to be strictly observed by all Turks.
But today this is a rule more honored in breaking than in keeping.
Such disregard for the very pillars of Moslem faith indicates that here,
as in Christian lands, the exigencies of the new world are making signifi-
cant changes in religious sentiment.

How Prohibition Is Working. — What is claimed to be an acute
observer's survey and forecast with reference to the working of prohibi-

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 205

tion in the United States is given in the Independent for January 14, 1922.
The writer, Chester T. Crowell, who has been in nearly all of our states
during the past twelve months, gives us these observations on the liquor
situation as it exists today:

1. This country still has local option because there are large parts
of its most populous states where the people do not desire prohibition
and sentiment is not adequate to make its enforcement possible.

2. Taking the country as a whole the progress made toward actual
enforcement of prohibition is certainly as great as a sanely optimistic
person could have expected.

3. Intoxicants can be obtained in every state in the Union — and in
the larger cities with comparative ease.

4. It is still too early to predict whether the general tendency is
dry or wet.

5. Efforts to launch campaigns for the repeal of the Eighteenth
Amendment have received very little support.

Preaching the Gospel by Wireless. — An interesting experiment
conducted by Paulist Fathers is described in the Catholic World for
January, 1922. During a mission in Old St. Patrick's Church in Pitts-
burgh a wireless telephone was installed in the pulpit of the church.
After preaching to their unseen audiences the speakers invited the
listeners to send in their questions by telegraph or mail, promising to
answer the questions on the following evening. The second day after
the use of the wireless, inquiries began to come in from very distant
points. People in cities four hundred miles away wrote in for informa-
tion and literature bearing upon the doctrines of the church. The
sermons were heard in twenty different states and it was estimated that
the listeners every night numbered a million.

Receiving instruments for wireless messages can be installed almost
anywhere at but a few dollars cost. This makes the possibilities for the
use of wireless very great. If the church begins to use wireless there is
no danger that printers' ink will eliminate the spoken word, and preach-
ing become a lost art.

Emperor-Worship in Japan.— In an interesting article, "The Shifting
'Thoughts' of Japan," in the Missionary Review of the World, December
1921, Robert E. Speer, who has just been in Japan, tells of the political-
religious movement in the Islands. Buddhism has now very little
influence among the educated and intelligent classes. But there are
some powerful forces that are trying to change it into a pure Emperor-
worship cult. A new Meiji shrine has just been erected at Tokyo.

206 THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

Toward this magnificent shrine the devotion and worship of the people,
more especially the youth, are being directed with the highest skill and
authority.

What about the Church in Soviet Russia? — Though the constitution
of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic says, "with a view
to insuring real freedom of conscience for the laborers, the church is
separated from the state, and the school from the church, and the free-
dom of religious and anti-religious propaganda is the recognized right
of all citizens, " yet the Russian Communist party and the state authori-
ties still invite the people in the name of prosperity and happiness to
forsake and to persecute their ministers. Anti-religious propaganda
exists on a most extensive scale. But the significant fact is that the
people, the masses of them, cannot renounce the religion of their fathers.
It is too precious to them. Persecution here, as always, means a revival
of interest in religion. The outcome of this struggle between a new
state policy based on materialism and the old religious devotion will be
watched with interest. {American Review of Reviews, November, 1021.)

A Unique Missionary Magazine. — Outward Bound is an illustrated
monthly edited by Basil Mathews, similar to any other popular magazine
in appearance. Its style is pictorial throughout and its contents cover the
whole living and moving world of non-Christian peoples. It is the ambi-
tion of the editor to make the monthly such that it will appeal to the
man in the street who fights shy of the conventional missionary maga-
zines. It will challenge men to think of religion on as broad a plane as
matters of business and politics. This new monthly is for sale at every
railway book-stall in England.

Should American Denominations Exist in Europe? — This question is
raised in an article, " The World of To-Day, " in Christian Work, December
10, 1921. In these days of physical suffering and spiritual starvation in
every land, the American churches are eager to do what they can in
helping others. But the great danger there is that they will incidentally
strive to spread their own denominational interests. When years ago
the first missionaries went to China, Japan, or India, they started their
own churches, as was natural, since no churches existed in those lands.
But Europe has her own Protestant churches. Why should the
Americans today start their own denominational churches there instead
of co-operating to the best of their ability with the native Protestant
churches ? A few sentences from M. Jezequel, the general secretary of
the National Union of the Reformed Church in France, will illustrate
the attitude of European Protestants toward this question:

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 207

They say that one of the (American) important religious bodies intends
to undertake evangelization in France. It is said to have already begun its
program. This is well enough, but on one condition, which is that the body
in question does not venture to conduct this movement itself. If it gets in
touch with all those who, among us, are qualified to conduct evangelistic work,
if it associates itself with them, giving them co-operation and its resources,
but accepting their counsel and direction, then we can predict magnificent
results. But if our American friends want to direct themselves, to chose
their agents without consultation, to impose upon us their men, their methods,
and their program, then in all brotherliness we must warn them of disaster,
and stand aloof from a venture which can only end miserably.

Religious Doubts of Chinese Students. — In the Methodist Review,
November, 1921, Paul Hutchinson tells of "The Awakening Student
Mind of China." This is his conclusion from a special study he made
last summer of the mission-school students. The latter, like the
government-school students, have been very much interested in social,
economic, and religious problems. But the mission-school students are
having real difficulties with the problems of Christianity. There is very
little Western influence in this matter. The students are just thinking
for themselves along the line of religious interest. They are skeptical
toward the miraculous elements in the Bible. They question whether
hell and heaven exist. They ask why God lets Satan tempt people
when he commands them not to tempt each other. They have learned
the doctrine of Trinity; but are now asking why it says in the Bible that
the Son does not know what the Father intends, since God and Son are
one. However, the students are open-minded. If Christian teachers
will approach them "in a fair manner, showing that they know and
respect the results of modern science, and yet advocating a Christianity
that is compelling in its ethical power and has deep social implications,
they will find an army of eager recruits."

A New Era of Two Old Religious Journals.— The Reformed Church
Review began with its January issue a new series. The journal was
founded in i848,and has had a continuous existence since that time, except
for a gap of five years at the period of the Civil War. Originally called the
Mercersburg Review, it undertook to promote the vital, Christocentric type
of theological thinking which characterized the Mercersburg School. It
has since become more broadly the organ of the religious thinking of
the Reformed church. It has always been marked by a fine spirit of
loyalty to truth as well as to the Gospel of Christ, and has been a real
influence for sanity and sweetness of temper in theological discussion.
The new managing editors, Professor Theodore F. Herman and Presi-

208 TEE JOURNAL OF RELIGION

dent George W. Richards, have a noble inheritance and an enviable op-
portunity.

The Bibliotheca Sacra has an even longer history. It was founded
in 1843, and was for years the leading theological journal in this country,
being edited with unusual vigor by the noted Andover theologian,
Dr. Edwards A. Park. At Dr. Park's death in 1883, it was transferred
to Oberlin, Ohio, where Professor G. Frederick Wright was editor. It
has recently been more and more devoted to the defense of conservative
views. With the death of Professor Wright the journal passes to the
faculty of Xenia Theological Seminary, with Professor Melvin G.
Kyle as editor-in-chief. It thus continues to be a scholarly exponent
of conservative theology.

An Inquiry by Chinese Students Concerning American Religion. —
About a year ago a group of Chinese students in two or three American
universities carefully planned a questionnaire with the purpose of gaining
what information they could in this way concerning the status of belief
in God in this country. They sent out to practically one thousand people
the following three questions: (1) What is your idea of God? (2) Do
you believe in God? (3) Why? They received 580 letters in reply,
over 100 of these being volunteer statements made by those who had
heard of the questionnaire. The committee of students attempted to
organize and classify the answers to the questions. In reply to the
first, the ideas of Creator, Supreme Being, Personality, Spirit, and
Force are the dominant ideas. In reply to the second question it was
found that there were 399 persons who professed belief in God, 15 who
were agnostic or neutral, and 30 who definitely disbelieved in God.
The answers to the third question are so variable that any classification
proved to be almost impossible. The answers vary all the way from a
mere conventional repetition of what had been taught to a reasoned
explanation of the person's belief.

Among the various classes of people it is interesting to note that
there are 42 believers in God and 1 agnostic among criminals, while of
natural scientists there are 61 believers, 8 unbelievers, and 8 agnostics.
In fact, it is only among natural scientists and philosophers that any
significant number of unbelievers appears.

It is to be feared that the students who made this inquiry will
perhaps be as much bewildered after reading the replies as they were
before. In the nature of the case the answer to a questionnaire depends
very largely on the amount of thought which the person interrogated has
given to the subject. If, for example, the ordinary clergyman were to

CURRENT EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 209

be asked three questions as follows: (1) What is your idea of theory of
gravitation? (2) Do you believe in the theory of gravitation? (3)
Why ? it will readily be seen that the answers would furnish information
concerning the limitations of a clergyman's knowledge of science, rather
than any suggestions of value concerning the theory of gravitation.
Analogously, it is hardly to be expected that men busy in other lines of
work who have not devoted any specific attention to theology should be
able to throw much light on theological problems by their remarks.
On the whole, the questionnaire seems to indicate that the majority
of people believe just about what they have been taught in the con-
ventional society in which they are. A very few have done some
critical thinking on the subject.