Okay, not everybody has a religion, but if you’re looking for
ancestors who lived before the twentieth century they almost
certainly had a religion and if they didn’t you’ve got one
interesting ancestor and you ought to be looking into his/her
life more thoroughly.  According to the 1870 census there were
about 72,459 churches in the U.S. serving a population of
38,558, 371 or one church for every 530 people. Today several
studies indicate about 335, 000 churches serving a population of
about 304, 000, 000 or about one church for 900 people.  These
are approximate numbers, but you get the idea.  Most small towns
in America had a multiplicity of churches and most of them were
fairly small. Mid 19th century America was fertile ground for
new churches.  What we might now consider to be minor
differences in doctrine could often spawn enough disagreement
that someone would stomp off and form a new church. In his book,
Family, Ian Frazier says, “In the United States, after the
Revolutionary War, Protestant sects pr