Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/36

 THE AMERICA* JOURXAL OF SOCIOLOGY

daily The churches have as much interest in looking

r the permanence and prosperity of this class as the German peasant along the Rhine has in keeping intact the thin layer of ground on his hillsides from which his vines draw their sus- tenance.

If we come to have a well-defined wealthy class and a per- manently poor class, we shall also have rich churches and poor churches, with a gulf fixed between them. Wealthy families will drift together. No amount of gush about rich and poor meeting together in the church, no amount even of real Christian sacrifice will be sufficient to overcome the silent social forces which will stratify people in the churches according to their wealth. The life of a wealthy man in a church of poor people is not altogether pleasant. Much is expected of him and little grat- itude is given him. If he uses his managing capacity and the influence of his wealth he is accused of domineering and carrying the church in his pocket. If he is morally sensitive, the contrast between the poverty of his brethren and his own wealth will cause him constant social compunction and spiritual unrest, and after all he will not feel that he and his family sustain real Christian fellowship with those about him. If his natural mas- culine democracy can overcome the hindrances, it is a question if his wife will do the same. Sooner or later there will be a turn and the family will pass gracefully into a church composed of their social equals and ministering to the aesthetic tastes created by wealth. As surely as great differences in wealth exist, so surely will they manifest themselves in church life too.

As the poorer churches lose their best contributors they find it harder to pay their way. Even now it is almost impossible for a church in New York composed entirely of working people to equip and maintain its own worship, especially against the com- petition of wealthier neighbors. Outside aid is called in. But where permanent financial help is given some degree of control usually has to be conceded. The weak church is turned into a "mission" or reduced to some form of vassalage. Or it comes under the control of some larger organization and that again is