MEMBERSHIP TRENDS
SINCE THE SCHISMS
On yesterday, the Episcopal Church published its latest membership statistics, including the year 2020. They revealed that both the national church and the Diocese of South Carolina lost members between 2019 and 2020. Trying to quantify membership, attendance, services and the like in the 2020 is highly problematical considering that churches were either closed or reduced greatly for ten of the twelve months of the year. However, since the subject of church membership has reemerged into the public discourse, this is an appropriate moment to review the effects of the five schisms on membership and attendance.
First, let us look at the figures from the two parts that came out of the schism in South Carolina in 2012 (all numbers are official statistics published by the dioceses).
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA:
Members:
2013---5,781
2014---6,387
2015---6,706
2016---7,053
2017---7,309
2018---7,587
2019---7,763
2020---7,467
The only decline is from 2019 to 2020. Overall, EDSC gained 1,686 members, or 29% after the schism of 2012.
ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA:
Communicants:
2013---17,798
2014---16,361
2015---15,556
2016---14,694
2017---13,291
2018---12,126
2019---11,457
From 2013 to 2019, ADSC lost 6,341 communicants, or 35.6%. I do not have the number for the year 2020.
Average Sunday Attendance:
2013---9,292
2014---9,325
2015---9,085
2016---9,014
2017---8,905
2018---8,875
2019---9,105
2020---8,154
ASA declined from 2013 to 2020 by 1,138, or 12.2%.
From 2019 to 2020, ASA fell 951, or 11.4%.
The ADSC has seen significant declines in both membership and attendance at services since the schism of 2012.
NOTE: The ADSC still claims some 20,000 baptized members. This is not credible. The "Communicant" number (above) is a meaningful measurement.
How does what has happened in the schismatic entity of South Carolina compare with the other four breakaway groups, San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, Quincy, and Ft. Worth?
DIOCESES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
SAN JOAQUIN
Membership
2013---5,543
2015---5,118
2016---4,848
2017---3,981
2019---3,172
2020---2,912
From 2013 to 2020, SJ lost 2,631 members, or 47.5%.
Average Sunday Attendance:
2019---1,662
2020---1,479
Decline of 183, or 11%.
PITTSBURGH
Membership
2014---7,937
2017---7,720
2019---6,933
2020---6,473
2014-2020 loss of 1,464 members, or 18.4%.
Average Sunday Attendance:
2019---4,199
2020---3,845
Drop of 354, or 8%.
QUINCY
Membership
2015---2,105
2016---2,080
2017---2,493
2019---1,956
2020---1,743
From 2015 to 2020, Quincy lost 362 members, or 17%.
Average Sunday Attendance:
2019---1,235
2020---1,027
A loss of 208, or 17%.
FORT WORTH
Membership
2014---11,758
2015---10,939
2017---10,667
2019---9,556
2020---9,919
Between 2014 and 2020, loss of 1,839 members, or 15.6%.
Average Sunday Attendance:
2019---4,784
2020---4,871
Gain of 81, or 2%.
NOTE: Approximately 20% of the churches of this diocese are outside the old boundaries of the Diocese of FT. Worth.
SUMMARY. Every one of the five cases where the majorities voted to leave the Episcopal Church lost members. The largest percentage loss was in San Joaquin where nearly half the old membership disappeared. The next largest percentage loss was in South Carolina where the Anglican Diocese of SC lost more than a third of its active members just since 2014. The breakaway entities in Pittsburgh (-18.4%), Quincy (-17%), and Fort Worth (-15.6%) also saw significant losses of members.
The anti-Episcopal Church crowd is making a big deal of the declining numbers of the Episcopal Church. They are crowing about the report on all their websites. One should recall that the original impetus of the anti-Episcopal movement in the 1990's was to destroy the Episcopal Church or weaken it so greatly that it would no longer be a significant liberal force in American society. Thus, the enemies of TEC rejoice at every piece of evidence that points to their hope. They need not exaggerate the death of the Episcopal Church in view of the fact that the five schismatic dioceses have declined in membership faster than the Episcopal Church.
The fact is that religion in general is declining in America. All of the statistical studies show that. This is especially true among young people. We do not know exactly what is causing the relentless decline of Episcopal Church membership. It is probably from a coalition of adverse factors such as low birth rates and low retention.
The five schismatic dioceses were formed to prevent homosexuals and women from having equality and inclusion in the church. Since the overwhelming majority of Americans under thirty embrace equality and inclusion, the possibility that the schismatics will attract a young crowd is practically non-existent. The future of the Episcopal Church is problematical for sure, but the future of the socially and culturally reactionary schismatics is much more so. They have only to look at their own data to be alarmed at their own fates.
