The Churches of Allentown; A Study in Statistics (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1918. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER n. THE DENOMINATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THE CITY. In our characterization of the Pennsylvania Germans, one essential characteristic was omitted intentionally and reserved for this chapter. It is their piety. On this point Kuhns writes: "No one who has made a careful study of the habits and customs of the German and Swiss settlers of Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century can resist the conclusion that they were essentially a deeply religious people." 1 Again, a page or two farther: "We have ample evidence that, scattered as they were in the wilderness which then formed the interior counties of Pennsylvania, the people hungered and thirsted for the word of God. In fact no people in America were so subject to religious excitements as the Germans of Pennsylvania during the eighteenth century." 2 Allentown, as a center of Pennsylvania German activity, was influenced by the prevailing activity. As a city which in its origin was almost exclusively Germanic, it is clear that the earliest religious activities were those of the pietistic Germans. What was the denominational bias of these early German settlers? What imprint was given to the little town at its origin? Let us survey the background of the city, religiously speaking, so that we may have the proper light for the study of today. The 16th and 17th centuries were an age of great religious activity. Men's minds were pre-occupied with religious questions. In breaking with the old and historic Roman church, ancient standards were broken down, and time-honored authority disappeared. It was inevitable that in the evolution of new religious orders, sharp differences of opinion should appear as to the trend which the new development should take. Now here, now there, a man would begin to teach religious fai...