Statistics show that the Church is the greatest factor in the worldly success of men, groups and nations. Some readers may have seen a book written by Professor Carver of Harvard entitled, "The Religion Worth Having." In that book the author discusses the various denominations of Christianity. Then he says most conclusively that the religion worth having, the religion that will survive, is the religion which produces the most. Yet this production will not come by seeking production _per se_, but rather by the development of these fundamental characteristics which have been described.
Try as you will you cannot separate the factor of religion from economic development. In the work conducted by my Organization at Wellesley Hills we study the trend of religious interest as closely as we do the condition of the banks or the supply of and demand for commodities. Statistics of church membership form one of the best barometers of business conditions. We have these figures charted back for the past fifty years. Whenever this line of religious interest turns downward and reaches a low level, history shows that it is time to prepare for a reaction and depression in business conditions. Every great panic we have ever had has been foreshadowed by a general decline in observance of religious principles. On the other hand, when the line of religious interest begins to climb and the nation turns again to the simple mode of living laid by in the Bible, then it is time to make ready for a period of business prosperity.
The time is coming when the Church will awake to its great opportunities. The greatest industry in America but the most backward and inefficiently operated, is still in the stage-coach class.
Of course the Church is very far from developed. The Church is in the same position to-day as were the water-powers fifty years ago. The Church has great resources; but these resources are sadly undeveloped. From an efficiency point of view, from an organization point of view, from a production point of view, the Church to-day is in the stage-coach class. It holds within itself the keys of prosperity. It holds within itself the salvation and solution of our industrial, commercial and international problems. Yet it is working, or at least the Protestant branch is open, only three or four hours a week. The Church has the greatest opportunity to-day of any industry. It is the least developed industry, the most inefficiently operated, and the most backward in its methods.