Religion Only on Surface

Not all clergymen gain great satisfaction out of noting the increase in church membership in the United States. A few appraise this for what it really is, a surface manifestation that of itself has little significance. One such is Charles Rosengarten, president of the United Synagogue of America. As quoted in the New York Times, November 18, 1955, he had the following to say: “I do not measure growth in numbers but in depth and profundity. Naturally I am pleased with additional numbers, but that must be regarded [at best, it might be added] only as an indication of the need of religious answers to the problems of life—not the fulfillment of that need.” “Religion is more than prayer,” Mr. Rosengarten went on to say. “Religion is more than Lent commitments. It is the dedication of every part of one’s being and every aspect of human existence.” That, it might be added, is what religion meant to the early Christian witnesses of Jehovah who lived nineteen centuries ago and is what it means to their spiritual descendants today.