NEW MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS FROM THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

The independent Diocese of South Carolina has just released its latest membership statistics, for the year 2016. This was in the journal of the 2017 diocesan convention which is posted here . The local churches' reports are on pages 149-52. Recently, I pointed out the ongoing financial decline of the DSC in my post of Feb. 26, "The Financial Troubles of the Diocese of South Carolina." Financially, DSC is going downhill steadily. Now we know it is the same for membership. In income, DSC fell by a third in the decade since Mark Lawrence became bishop. Membership decline is even worse.

On Wednesday, January 4, 2017, I provided a detailed analysis of DSC's statistics up to 2015. See "The Continuing Decline of the Diocese of South Carolina." With the new figures for the year 2016, we can see a broader picture. Yet, it is the same, decline.

When Lawrence became bishop, in 2008, the Diocese of South Carolina counted 27,670 communicants. A "communicant" is one who attends church at least once a year. It is not the only category available, but it is the most meaningful. We will continue to use it as our gauge. In 2016, DSC listed 14,694 communicants. This is a loss in the 8 years between 2008 and 2016 of 12,976 people, or -47%. In other words, the membership in DSC is now about half as much as when Lawrence became bishop ten years ago.

Of the 71 parishes and missions of the pre-schism diocese, 50 adhered to Lawrence in the schism. Since the schism, 4 have been added. Considering just these local churches, there were 21,993 communicants in 2011, the last full year before the schism of 2012. In 2016, there were 14,694 communicants. In the 5 years between 2011 and 2016, the 50 (54) local churches of DSC lost 7,499 communicants, or -34%. In other words, DSC lost a third of its members soon after the schism. In just five years, the diocese has lost a third of its people. 

The year-by-year breakdown shows the steady decline:

2011 - 21,993 communicants in the 50 DSC churches

2013 - 17,798 (-19% 2011-13)

2014 - 16,351 (-8% 2013-14; -26% 2011-14)

2015 - 15,556 (-5% 2014-15; -29% 2011-15)

2016 - 14,694 (-6% 2015-16; -33% 2011-16)

If we look at the individual parishes and missions of DSC we see that most remained about the same in the year 2015-16. However, numerous large and famous churches suffered severe declines in membership if DSC's published statistics are to be believed. 

In the one year of 2015-2016:

St. Helena's of Beaufort went from 951 communicants to 880.

St. Michael's of Charleston, 1,351 to 919.

St. Philip's of Charleston, 1,974 to 1,069.

Christ Church of Mt. Pleasant, 780 to 328.

Holy Cross of Sullivans Island, 1,354 to 900.

Old Saint Andrews, 546 to 446.

Holy Comforter of Sumter, 271 to 183.

Prince George Winyah of Georgetown, 630 to 545.

In the 5 years from 2011 to 2016:

St. Helena's of Beaufort went from 1,737 to 880 (-49%).

St. Michael's of Charleston, 1,847 to 919 (-50%).

St. Philip's of Charleston, 2,677 to 1,069 (-60%).

Christ Church of Mt. Pleasant, 925 to 328 (-65%).

Holy Cross of Sullivans Island, 2,540 to 900 (-65%).

Old Saint Andrews, 962 to 446 (-54%).

Holy Comforter of Sumter, 525 to 183 (-65%).

The only local DSC church to show significant gain was Church of the Cross in Bluffton. It counted 1,702 in 2011, 1775 in 2015, and 1790 in 2016, for an overall gain of 1%.

Conclusions:

---The Diocese of South Carolina has only slightly more than half as many people as it had in 2008 when Mark Lawrence became its bishop.

---The 50 churches of the DSC that adhered to Lawrence in the schism of 2012 lost a third of their members as a result of the schism.

---The DSC has lost members steadily ever year since the schism.

If anything, these figures disprove two points:

---The schism was a popular event that arose from the communicants. In fact, thousands of people have fled from the schismatic churches of SC. The schism was not a popular uprising. Instead, it was the work of a small group of diocesan leaders and presented to the people as an accomplished fact. 

---"Orthodox" religion is more popular than "modernist" religion. For years before the schism, Bp Lawrence called the Episcopal Church a comatose patient on life support. In other words, it was dying because it had abandoned true religion. Turns out that the TEC diocese in SC is steadily rising in membership, up 22% since the schism. It is "orthodox" religion that is dying, at least in SC.

Given the SC supreme court decision and the state of the litigation and given the financial and membership decline of the DSC, the future for the independent diocese is grim. At present it holds 6 parishes, at least according to the SC supreme court. Chances are it will lose the legal entity and assets of the pre-schism diocese in the federal court. If so, this will leave DSC in dire straits. An idea that sounded so promising in 2012 to so many people in eastern South Carolina has not turned out so well. 

But then, we should recall that the Anglican Realignment movement that started in earnest with the formation of the American Anglican Council in 1996, originally aimed to diminish or destroy the Episcopal Church as a significant cultural institution in American life. In this regard, we would have to regard the schism in South Carolina as something of a success. The diminution of the old Church in eastern South Carolina is evident even if there is really nothing arising to replace it.