count the vast interplay of forces which have acted upon and through
ecclesiastical institutions.

One of the perennial problems in scholarly publication is documenta-
tion. In a comprehensive volume, in which the author has drawn upon
the works of literally hundreds of scholars, a rather liberal use of footnotes
may seem desirable. Publication costs, however, render this impractical.
The decision in this case was to document only quotations of a paragraph
or more taken from primary sources.

It is my pleasant duty to thank publicly the many kind friends and
fellow students of American religion who have contributed much to the
authorship and production of this work. For their helpful criticisms and
suggestions at various stages of the writing process I wish to express ap-
preciation to my esteemed colleague, Wood Gray, The George Washing-
ton University; Leland Jamison, Syracuse University; Howard Kee, Drew
University; and especially to my greatly admired friend and former men-
tor in graduate study, Lefferts A. Loetscher, Princeton Theological Semi-
nary. Thanks are also due to the Office of Publication and Distribution
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America for permission to quote statistical data found in the 1959 edi-
tion of the Yearbook of American Churches. Finally, I am grateful to my
wife for her valued assistance during the years of manuscript preparation,
especially for typing the entire final draft, and to Dick Hansen, Maurine
Lewis, Don Martinetti, and George Karydes of the Prentice-Hall staff,
who have given unstintingly of their time and talent in preparing the vol-
ume for publication.

CLIFTON E. OLMSTEAD

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