Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/623

 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHURCH TO THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT.

Whatever inspiration there may lie in a literature that just now seems swinging from love to theology ; whatever instruc- tion there may be in the researches into religion now being conducted by psychologists ; whatever confirmation of the hope of immortality there may lie in the recent report of the Society for Psychical Research — so far as organized Christianity is con- cerned, there is nothing comparable in importance with that uprising against social miseries that already amounts to a new crusade, and which, from every point of view, is critical for both the church and society.

What is a church ? The word means today almost every sort of religious organization, from a mission to the Roman Catholic empire ; but the proper meaning of the word is two- fold. It is, first, that of a localized social group of men and women more or less organized, composed (at least construct- ively) of religious persons, who have associated themselves together for the purpose of incorporating the spirit and diffus- ing the teachings of Jesus. Its second use is that of a general conception which stands for organized Christianity in its uni- versal and historical aspects. Whether such a definition as the first would include all forms of organized Christian activity as well as those popularly termed churches, we need not stop to inquire. It is enough to set forth the definition in broad lines, for such is and has been the expression of the ecclesiastical self-consciousness for centuries.

And what is the social movement ? Without attempting to define all its various phases, it may be said to be the attempt now being made throughout Europe and America to bring greater happiness and possibility to the life of the so-called masses. In its most energetic form it appears as labor agita- tion, labor organization, philanthropic institutions like social

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