Editing Christian Science (section)

=== The Christian Science movement after 1910 ===
{{main|History of the Christian Science movement}}
[[File:The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, October 1974.jpg|thumb|[[The First Church of Christ, Scientist]], 1974]]

In the aftermath of Eddy's death, some newspapers speculated that the church would fall apart, while others expected it to continue just as it had before.<ref>{{harvnb|Beasley|1956|p= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/n15/mode/2up 3]}}.</ref> As it was, the movement continued to grow in the first few decades after 1910.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|1998}};{{Page needed|date=May 2023}} {{harvnb|Beasley|1956|p= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/80/mode/2up 80]}}.</ref> The [[Manual of the Mother Church]] prohibits the church from publishing membership figures,{{refn|group=n|''[[Manual of the Mother Church]]'': "Christian Scientists shall not report for publication the number of the members of The Mother Church, nor that of the branch churches. According to the Scripture they shall turn away from personality and numbering the people."<ref>Eddy, [http://christianscience.com/read-online/manual-of-the-mother-church/discipline "Discipline"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724134929/http://christianscience.com/read-online/manual-of-the-mother-church/discipline |date=2013-07-24}}, [[Manual of the Mother Church]], [https://archive.org/details/manualofmotherch0000eddy/page/48/mode/2up Article VIII, Section 28].</ref>}} and it is not clear exactly when the height of the movement was. A 1936 census counted c. 268,915 Christian Scientists in the United States (2,098 per million), and [[Rodney Stark]] believes this to be close to the height.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|1998|pp=190–191}}; Dart, John (20 December 1986). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-20-ss-4390-story.html "Healing Church Shows Signs It May Be Ailing"], ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref> However, the number of Christian Science churches continued to increase until around 1960, at which point there was a reversal and, since then, [[List of former Christian Science churches, societies and buildings|many churches have closed]] their doors.<ref>Stores, Bruce (2004). ''Christian Science: Its Encounter with Lesbian/Gay America''. iUniverse. p. 34</ref> The number of [[Christian Science practitioner]]s in the United States began to decline in the 1940s according to Stark.<ref>Christian Science practitioner figures, and practitioners per million, 1883–1995: {{harvnb|Stark|1998|p=192}}, citing the ''Christian Science Journal''.</ref> According to [[J. Gordon Melton]], in 1972 there were 3,237 congregations worldwide, of which roughly 2,400 were in the United States; and, in the following ten years, about 200 congregations were closed.<ref>{{harvnb|Melton|1992|p= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopedichand0000melt/page/34/mode/2up 34]}}.</ref>

During the years after Eddy's death, the church has gone through a number of hardships and controversies.<ref>{{harvnb|Melton|1992|pp= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopedichand0000melt/page/34/mode/2up 34–37]}}.</ref> This included attempts to make practicing Christian Science illegal in the United States and elsewhere;<ref>{{harvnb|Melton|1992|p= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopedichand0000melt/page/34/mode/2up 34]}}; {{harvnb|Beasley|1956|pp= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/46/mode/2up 46–77, 81]}}.</ref> a period known as the Great Litigation which involved two intertwined lawsuits regarding church governance;<ref>Simmons, John K. (1991). ''When Prophets Die: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements''. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. [https://archive.org/details/whenprophetsdiep0000unse/page/112/mode/2up 113–115]; {{harvnb|Beasley|1956|pp= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/144/mode/2up 144–181]}}; [https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/the-great-litigation/  The "Great Litigation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093140/https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/the-great-litigation/ |date=2022-01-13 }}. [[Mary Baker Eddy Library]]. March 30, 2012.</ref> persecution under the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] and [[East Germany|Communist]] regimes in Germany<ref>King, Christine Elizabeth. (1982). ''The Nazi State and The New Religions: Five Case Studies in Non-Conformity''. [[Lewiston, New York]]: [[Edwin Mellen Press]]. pp. [https://archive.org/details/nazistatenewreli0004king/page/28/mode/2up 29–57]; {{harvnb|Beasley|1956|pp= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/232/mode/2up 233–246]}}; Sandford, Gregory W. (2014). ''Christian Science in East Germany: The Church that Came in from the Cold''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing.</ref> and the [[Empire of Japan|Imperial]] regime in Japan;<ref>{{harvnb|Beasley|1956|pp= [https://archive.org/details/continuingspirit0000beas/page/244/mode/2up 245–246]}}; Abiko, Emi (1978). ''A Precious Legacy: Christian Science Comes to Japan''. E. D. Abbott Co.<!--need page--></ref> a series of lawsuits involving the deaths of members of the church, most notably some children;<ref>Barns, Linda L.; Plotnikoff, Gregory A.; Fox, Kenneth; Pendleton, Sara (2000). "Spirituality, Religion, and Pediatrics: Intersecting Worlds of Healing". ''Pediatrics'' 104, no. 6: 899–911; DesAutels, Peggy; Battin, Margaret; May, Larry (1999). ''[https://archive.org/details/prayingforcurewh0000desa/mode/2up Praying for a Cure: When Medical and Religious Practices Conflict]''. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers; Kondos, Elena M. (1992). "The Law and Christian Science Healing for Children: A Pathfinder." ''Legal Reference Services Quarterly''. 12: 5–71; {{harvnb|Gill|1998|pp= [https://archive.org/details/marybakereddy0000gill_o3q4/page/n15/mode/2up xv–xvi]}}.</ref> and a controversial decision to publish [[The Destiny of The Mother Church|a book]] by [[Bliss Knapp]].<ref>[http://news.stanford.edu/pr/92/920923Arc2100.html "Court rejects Christian Science motion on bequests"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207095013/https://news.stanford.edu/pr/92/920923Arc2100.html |date=2021-12-07 }} Stanford University. Press release, September 23, 1992; [http://www.equip.org/articles/christian-scientists-charge-their-church-with-violating-its-principles/ "Christian Scientists Charge Their Church with Violating Its Principles"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112174343/https://www.equip.org/articles/christian-scientists-charge-their-church-with-violating-its-principles/ |date=2022-01-12 }} Christian Research Institute, April 9, 2009; [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/14/us/christian-science-church-settles-claim-to-bequest.html "Christian Science Church Settles Claim to Bequest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112174244/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/14/us/christian-science-church-settles-claim-to-bequest.html |date=2022-01-12 }} ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 14, 1993.</ref> In conjunction with the Knapp book controversy, there was controversy within the church involving ''The Monitor Channel'', part of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' which had been losing money, and which eventually led to the channel shutting down.<ref>Bridge, Susan (1998). [https://archive.org/details/monitoringnewsbr0000brid Monitoring the News: The Brilliant Launch and Sudden Collapse of the Monitor Channel]. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe; Gold, Allan R. (November 15, 1988). [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/business/editors-of-monitor-resign-over-cuts.html "Editors of Monitor Resign Over Cuts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112174246/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/15/business/editors-of-monitor-resign-over-cuts.html |date=2022-01-12 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> Acknowledging their earlier mistake, of accepting a multi-million dollar publishing incentive to offset broadcasting losses, The Christian Science Board Of Directors, with the concurrence of the Trustees Of The Christian Science Publishing Society, withdrew Destiny Of The Mother Church from publication in September 2023.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Christian Science Board of Directors |title=A message from the Christian Science Board of Directors |journal=The Christian Science Journal |date=October 2023 |volume=141 |issue=10 |url=https://journal.christianscience.com/issues/2023/10/141-10/a-message-from-the-christian-science-board-of-directors |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref> In addition, it has since its beginning been branded as a cult by more fundamentalist strains of Christianity, and attracted significant opposition as a result.<ref>{{harvnb|Knee|1994|pp= [https://archive.org/details/christianscience0000knee/page/62/mode/2up 62, 134–135]}}; {{harvnb|Melton|1992|pp= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopedichand0000melt/page/4/mode/2up 4, 34–37]}}.</ref> A number of independent teachers and alternative movements of Christian Science have emerged since its founding, but none of these individuals or groups have achieved the prominence of the Christian Science church.<ref>Melton, J. Gordon (1999). ''Encyclopedia of American religions''. Detroit: Gale Research. pp. [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam0000melt_v9m7/page/140/mode/2up 140–142].</ref>

Despite the hardships and controversies, many Christian Science churches and [[Christian Science Reading Room|Reading Rooms]] remain in existence around the world,<ref>[https://directory.christianscience.com/ ''Christian Science Journal'' Directory Search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112174245/https://directory.christianscience.com/ |date=2022-01-12 }}. ''christianscience.com''</ref> and, in recent years, there have been reports of the religion growing in Africa, though it remains significantly behind other evangelical groups.<ref>Christa Case Bryant (June 9, 2009). [http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2009/0609/p02s07-usgn.html "Africa contributes biggest share of new members to Christian Science church"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225011021/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2009/0609/p02s07-usgn.html |date=2012-12-25 }}. ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.</ref>{{sfn|Fraser|1999|p=563}} ''The Christian Science Monitor'' also remains a well-respected non-religious paper which is especially noted for its international reporting and lack of partisanship.<ref>{{harvnb|Fuller|2011|pp=1–8}}; Squires, L. Ashley (2015). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43956374 "All the News Worth Reading: The Christian Science Monitor and the Professionalization of Journalism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112174244/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43956374 |date=2022-01-12 }}.  ''Book History''. 18: 235–272.</ref>