union has extended only to the government, and not to worship or doctrine; in Rhenish Bavaria, in the union deed, stress is laid on the common scriptural ground of the churches.
^\* i 1 1» the accession of king William [, Prussia's most brilliant page of history opens. The civil and ecclesi- astical affairs of that country now became the history of a united, prosperous, and powerful people. Though Bismarck, a- premier, himself controls pretty much all the measures civil and ecclesiastical: though he at tir.-t indicated by bis lines of action a policy of absolutism
and bureaucracy, time has unfolded a liberal and prac- tical tendency in the government, and the only Bevere opposition now encountered i- from the low social de- mocracy in this country known a- Communism and from the ultra-Romish subjects, who wage war against the repressive measures adopted by the government against Ultramontanism and Jesuitism, because of the
dangers they brood against the Stale. Sic IT.TKA- MONTANI8M. The war of 1866 w ilh Austria established
the superiority of Prussia in Germany; the war with
fiance in 1870 solidified the work of the intervening year-, and gave to the little kingdom the imperial power on the L70tfa anniversary of the day when the i lector of Brandenburg assumed the crow n ol Prussia.
II. Religious Statistics. — 1. General. According to the census Of 1875, of the 25,742,404 inhabitants of
PRUSSIA
729
PRUSSIA
Frussia, 16,636,990 returned themselves as belonging to the Evangelical National Chinch ; of these, 13,266,620 are of the United Church, 2, 905,250 Lutherans, and 465,120 of the Reformed Church. Of those who are not of the National Church, there are 40,630 Luther- ans, 35,080 Reformed, 3710 Moravians, 2620 Irving- ites, 12,210 Baptists, 14,650 Mennonites, 2080 Angli- cans, Methodists, etc., 8,625,840 Catholics, 1450 Greek Church, 4800 German Catholics, 17,880 Freethinkers, etc., 339,790 Jews, and 4674 of various other beliefs. The Old Catholics are mentioned below. The Roman Catholic population of Prussia decreased so rapidly after the introduction of Protestantism that at the accession of Frederick II in 1740 there were only 50,000 Catholics in a population of 2,150,000 souls; the proportion of the Catholics to the Protestants was, in other words, one to forty-three. The kings did not recur to coercive meas- ures, but the majority of the inhabitants of Prussia hated Romanism, and caused it to undergo heavy tri- als. When Prussia acquired Silesia, and after the divi- sion of Poland, it was less of a Protestant power. The number of the Catholics was so considerably increased, especially after the treaty of Luncville (1801 ). that both communions were represented by nearly equal num- bers. This was again changed by the treaty of Tilsit, the two treaties of Paris, and the congress of Vienna, At present the Evangelical Church constitutes a major- ity in the provinces of Schleswig- Holstein (99 per cent.), Pomerania (97), Brandenburg (95), Saxony (93), Hanover (87), Hesse-Nassau (70), and Prussia (70) ; the Roman Catholic Church in Hohenzollem (93 per cent.). the Rhine provinces (73), Poseu (64), Westphalia (63), and Silesia (51). Of the Jews, fully one half live in the eastern (formerly Polish) provinces. The members of all churches recognised by the government enjoy equal civil rights. The Old Catholics (q.v.) have been recog- nised as a part, of the Roman Catholic Church, and the bishop elected by them as a bishop of the Catholic Church. Other denominations (Baptists, Methodists, German Catholics, and Free Congregationaiists) are barely tol- erated, though the constitution guarantees full religious liberty. The Greek Church is also represented in Prussia. One of the Greek communities belongs to the I'/iilijijiiiis (q.v.), a branch of the Greek Raskolniks, who seceded in the 17th century from the Orthodox Greek Church. Like the Mennonites, they refuse the military service. Their principal colony is at Alt-LTkta, in the kingdom of Poland. The Mennonites are tolerated, with some restrictions : they cannot increase their real estate, be- cause the military service is in contradiction with their religious opinions. They are in consequence in a state of emigration, and their number decreases. Since 1830 they enjoy the same civil rights as all other Christian subjects. The Roman Catholic Church is directed by the two archbishops of Posen and Gnesen, and Cologne, under whom stand the four bishoprics of Culm, Mini- ster, Paderborn, and Treves. The two episcopal sees of Breslau and Ermland are directly under the jurisdiction of the pope; while the district of Glatz, in Silesia, be- longs to the archbishopric of Prague, and Katscher, in Upper Silesia, to that of Olmutz. In 1864 the Protes- tants had rather more than 9000 licensed places of wor- ship, with 6500 ordained clergymen; and the Roman Catholic Church nearly 8000 churches and chapels, with upwards of 6000 priests. In 1867 there were 24,382 churches of all denominations, and 224 monastic or con- ventual establishments, with 5613 inmates, mostly de- voted to purposes of education, or nursing the sick.
2. Education. — Education is compulsory in Prussia, and its management and direction are under the control of the State. In no country are better or ampler means supplied for the diffusion of knowledge among all classes of the community. Prussia has nine universities, viz. Konigsberg, Berlin, Greifsvvald, Breslau, Halle, Bonn, Kiel, Giittingen. and Marburg, with 5673 students, and two Catholic colleges at Braunsberg and Minister. At the close of 1867 there were in Prussia 33,942 schools