Notes

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 3, 17 January 1907, Page 23

Note s

N.Z. Religious Statistics The' grpair mass of returns--, that were fed pell-mell 'into the statistical hopper at ..the census in April, " 1906, has been gradually coming out at the other end of the machine assorted, catalogued, labelled, and tied up- (so to speak) in "bundles. The latest batch of assorted figures published in the 'Gazette' refers to the, religious professions, of -the, people." The .total population of -the Colony" (exclusive of Maoris) was 888,589_ We may throw into tabular form as follows^the extent to which the principal religious denominations are represented in the country, together , with their numerical and centesimal increase since-the. census' of 1901 :—: —

Between the census of 1901 and ,that of 1906 the general population of New Zealand increased- numerically by 115,870 (equal to 13.30 per cent.).- Presbyterians h&ve increased in exact proportion to the population ; Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists at a higher, rate ; while Baptists and Salvationists show, with an absolutte increase, a comparative decline. Judging by the sources from which : the vastly greater part of our immigration has come, Catholics have probably gained., most of all these creeds by natural increase and least by new blood from the older lands. Our proportion of total population has for thirty years kept almost constantly at 14 per cent.— rising slowly- from 13.94 in 1886 to 14.19 in. the year of grace 1906.

Denomination. Church of England Presbyterians ... Roman Catholics Methodists ... Baptists Salvation Army •Number of - Adherents in 1906. ... , 366,828 ..«. 203,597 ... 126,109 89,038 , - ... - 31,086 8,369 Inorease sinee 'Census of - 1901. Numerical. Centesimal. 52,804 1433 27,094 . 13 30 17,149 , 13-59 12,857 1443 2,748 - 8-84 417 4-98