Sociology and Modern Social ProblemsEllwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)
General
Sociology and Modern Social Problems
Ellwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)
Social problems; Sociology
The census of 1890 included a religious census, and it seemed to show
that on the whole religious conditions were better in our cities than in
the country districts. In cities above 25,000 the church membership was
37.9 per cent of the population, while it was only 32.85 per cent of the
total population. Again, in cities above 100,000 it was 39.1 per cent of
their total population, although in the four largest cities--New York,
Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis--it was only 35.6 per cent of the
total population. [Footnote: The special religious census of 1906, the
results of which are not yet fully published, shows an even greater
preponderance of church membership in cities.] Some recent studies,
however, while not extensive enough to justify a conclusion, seem to
indicate that in some of the largest cities the church is losing its
hold, and that more and more the population of our largest urban centers
is becoming churchless, if not without religion. Even if this is so,
however, it also remains a fact that the various religious denominations
put forth their best efforts in these largest urban centers, and that
more is being done for the people religiously and morally in these
centers than perhaps for any other portion of the world's population.
Proposed Remedies for the Evils of City Life.--The proposed remedies for
the evils of city life are well worth attention, not only that we may
understand the problem of the city better, but also that we may
understand social conditions in general better. Of the remedies which we
shall discuss it may be said that four are foolish and two are wise. The
foolish ones are those that try to check the growth of the cities; the
wise ones are those that recognize that the cities are here to stay and
must be dealt with as permanent and even increasingly important factors
in our civilization.
(1) The first remedy is to make agriculture more attractive and
remunerative. This is a good thing in itself, but, as we have seen, it
will not check the growth of the cities; rather, every improvement in
the conditions of agriculture in the way of making it more productive
and remunerative will drive more to the cities.
(2) A second remedy, akin to the first, is to make village life more
attractive. Like the first remedy, this is good in itself, but it is
hardly probable that it will stop the growth of cities; rather, it might
be urged that village improvement will give people a taste of the higher
comforts and conveniences to be found in cities and will tend to send
them to the city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account