In response to the question about religions in Virginia, the U.S. census included statistics on religion/churches from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. For details, see "A Brief History of Religion and the U.S. Census."<https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/01/26/a-brief-history-of-religion-and-the-u-s-census/#:~:text=The%20Census%20of%20Religious%20Bodies%20was%20conducted%20every%2010%20years,collected%20in%20the%201946%20census> You can download some of the data from the University of Minnesota's National Historical GIS<https://www.nhgis.org/>, which also has tools available for mapping. From 1850 to 1890, the census included data about churches (though not necessarily the number of members). Here are some links to the Census Bureau's publications: 1870 Statistics of Churches Table XVII<https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-48.pdf> (summarizes 1850, 1860, and 1870) 1870 Statistics of Churches Table VIII<https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-49.pdf> by state and county 1880--I can't find if the church statistics were published; not listed in the table of contents 1890 Statistics of Churches<https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1894/dec/volume-9.html> Every 10 years, from 1906 to 1946, the Census Bureau conducted the "U.S. Census of Religious Bodies" with a vast number of details. The Census Bureau published summary statistics for each of the first four (1946 was never published), the only original schedules that survive are for 1926. 1906 summary<https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/00190438p1ch1.pdf> 1916 summary<https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/00190404p1ch1.pdf> or alternative copy<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044009581232&view=1up&seq=23> 1926 summary<https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/13949806v1ch1.pdf> 1926 schedules<https://omeka.religiousecologies.org/s/census-1926/page/home> at George Mason University's American Religious Ecologies Project 1936 summary<https://books.google.com/books?id=efPf3xB0i4cC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> or alternative<https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/04125308p1.pdf> Bea Hardy Beatriz Betancourt Hardy, Ph.D./pronouns: she/her Dean of Libraries and Instructional Resources Salisbury University 1101 Camden Avenue Salisbury, MD 21801 410-543-6133 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at https://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
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