ar to them is wrapped up in the history of these bodies.
At the present time, it is a fact that the Negro is found in every
religious denomination known among men. So it can not be said with
truth that no other than Baptist and Methodist churches are adapted to
the Negro. The needs of the Negro, from a religious point of view,
demand all sects.

How does it come about then that the Baptist and Methodist so largely
predominate to-day? These denominations, just after the War of the
Rebellion, required no educational qualification for the ministry; and
missions were opened by them everywhere an opening was to be found,
and every man, learned or ignorant, who felt himself called to preach,
was licensed and sent forth to preach in his way and to build up
churches. These men were for the most part ignorant and superstitious,
with very vague ideas of religion. Their chief object was to draw the
people and every other consideration was sacrificed to that end. They
pandered to the ignorant and superstitious notions of the Negro,
ridiculed intelligence, and prejudiced their followers against it.
They had no thought of progress, but taught the people to be satisfied
with what their fathers before them did and had; not to believe in
this Bible religion which has sprung up since the war; to prefer the
old-time preacher who, without any learning, gets up and opens his
mouth and lets God fill it with words to utter.

Back of all this there was one ever present motive--the pastor's
support, the running expenses of the church, and the keeping up of a
house of worship. All this had to be collected from the congregation.
Hence the preacher's position hung upon his getting and holding a
congregation. In the Methodist Church, a clergyman's advancement
depends chiefly upon his ability to increase his membership and to
raise money. Therefore, every Baptist and Methodist pastor felt the
very great necessity there was upon him of getting as great a crowd as
possible and gathering all the finance he could from it. This many
did, regardless of the method employed.

Thus it was that these two denominations got hold of the masses and
preoccupied the field.

The other denominations went to work in an entirely different way.
They did not seek in the first place the spread of their sects, but
the _elevation_ of the Negro. They realized that the Negro needed to
be developed into strong, self-reliant, and independent characters;
that the masses wer