i TO Contemporary Evolution. 



to diffuse itself over a temporally-supported, honoured 

 and wealthy Church, which has no declared dissidents in 

 the area in which it -exists. 



When such a theocratically organised Christian com- 

 munity becomes, by revolution, exposed to the free 

 assaults of enemies the most varied, with disestablishment 

 and disendowment as a result, the first effect must be 

 the falling away from the Church of those who either 

 morally or intellectually, or both, are out of harmony 

 with her. 



Freedom of inquiry, with all other freedom, as it 

 becomes more and more a settled institution, will more 

 and more incline to diminish the effects of mere traditional 

 adherence to family creed, and the passage to and fro 

 will become more and more easy. Thus those with pro- 

 clivities towards the Church, but who have been brought 

 up from childhood external to her, will more readily find 

 their true level, while those brought up within her pale, 

 but who in spirit have revolted from her sway, will, by 

 becoming manifestly external to her, cease to disgrace her 

 or to lower the moral tone of her community. 



Freedom of marriage, amongst other freedoms, will 

 tend to produce strong hereditary predispositions, both for 

 and in opposition to Christianity, but there will also be 

 a most important action tending to favour the increase 

 in number of those Christianly predisposed. This action 

 is the stringent religious obligation imposed on married 



