NEW STUDY SHOWS DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN EPISCOPALIANS
AND ANGLICANS

The universally esteemed non-partisan Pew Research Center recently released its "Religious Landscape Study" in which it surveyed 35,000 Americans about their religious beliefs (find it here ). The study considered general factors then broke down respondents by denomination. "Episcopalians" and "Anglicans" were treated as separate denominations in the study. This new study gives us the first scientific survey of the differences of Americans who identify with these two entities.

The meaning of "Episcopalian" is obvious, a member of the Episcopal Church. However, Pew did not define "Anglican." Presumably they meant members of the various independent churches in America that use the word "Anglican" in heir titles even though they are not officially Anglican. To be an Anglican, one has to be in communion withe the Archbishop of Canterbury. As we all know the Archbishop has said he is not in communion with the Anglican Church in North America. Thus, the ACNA and the several dozen other small churches that call themselves Anglican, are not Anglican. Nevertheless, for the sake of the survey, Pew considered these respondents as Anglicans.

The study divided its questions into four broad areas: demography, religion, politics, and society.

Thus, how do the two groups, "Episcopalians" (TEC) and "Anglicans" (A) compare in these four categories? (find Episcopalians here ; find Anglicans here .)

DEMOGRAPHY

On demographics, the two are quite similar. Both are aging populations. TEC is 35% over the age of 65; A is 33%. The largest group in each was "Baby Boomers." On gender, they are about the same, 55% women in TEC, 56% in A. In education, about the same, both mostly college educated. As for young families, A had a slight edge over TEC, 29% to 21%. There is no significant difference between TEC and A in the make-up of the populations.

RELIGION

There are noticeable, but not great differences on issues concerning personal beliefs and practices. Anglican respondents tended to attend church more often (29% weekly in TEC) (41% weekly in A) and to see the Bible as more important. As for sources of guidance in life, "common sense" came in first place on both sides (54% in TEC) (44% in A).

On what they believe about "absolute standards of right and wrong," both said it is mostly situational (70% in TEC) (52% in A). Both groups put a lot of faith in Heaven (72% in TEC) (77% in A), but not in Hell (42% in TEC) (55% in A). Thus, Episcopalians and Anglicans are not far apart on religious understandings and practices.

POLITICS

While demographics and religion did not show great differences, political views did.

In terms of party membership, TEC tends to be more Democratic while A is Republican. In TEC, 49% are Democrats and 39% Republicans. In A, 58% are Republicans and 37% Democrats.

On "political ideology," the split was also clear. In TEC, 37% are moderates, 31% conservative, and 29% liberal [note, more conservatives than liberals in TEC] while in A, 50% identify as conservative, 29% as moderate, and 19% as liberal. TEC is roughly divided into thirds on liberal/moderate/conservative while A is conservative. This is a key difference.

On size of the government, both agreed it should be smaller, 56% in TEC, and 64% in A.

A big split comes on the issue of government aid to the poor. In TEC, 55% said it does more good than harm. In A, 64% said it did more harm than good. Clearly, TEC favors government programs to help the poor while A opposes them.

Thus, in politics, there is a significant difference between Episcopalians and Anglicans. Episcopalians are diverse, Anglicans distinctly conservative. Episcopalians support programs for the poor, Anglicans oppose them.

SOCIETY

Episcopalians and Anglicans are surprisingly agreeable on social/cultural issues.

On abortion, both agree it should be legal (79% in TEC) (56% in A).

On homosexuality, both agreed it should be "accepted" (83% in TEC) (67% in A).

On same-sex marriage, both agreed it should be legal (74% in TEC strongly favor/favor) (60% in A strongly favor/favor). These are the most stunning data in the survey. In the entire survey, 53% of all denominations favored s-s marriage. This means the people of ACNA have an above average support for s-s marriage.

The two groups also agreed on regulation of the environment (67% in TEC favor) (54% in A favor).

So, what can we take away from this Pew study in terms of the schisms in the Episcopal Church? Here are my conclusions:

1---The division between Episcopalians and independent Anglicans is basically political. Anglicans tend to be conservative Republicans supporting a conservative economic agenda while Episcopalians tend to be moderate and liberal Democrats who support continued governmental democratization of economics. Politics forms the distinct difference between Episcopalians and independent Anglicans.

2---There is broad agreement between Episcopalians and independent Anglicans on social issues. Both favor rights for women and homosexuals. Most importantly, both clearly favor same-sex marriage.

3---There are significant but not great differences on the way the two groups see religious beliefs, values, and practices with A tending toward more evangelical/fundamentalist stands than TEC.

4---There is no real difference between the two groups on demographics.

Admittedly, this is only one study and we should not make too much of it. However, until we get scientific evidence that shows otherwise, we may assume the Pew study reveals the fundamental differences between the two adversarial groups.

It is true that the Anglican Realignment movement swelling up in the 1990s originated as a political event. The right-wing Institute on Religion and Democracy was devoted to advancing conservative causes and diminishing the Episcopal Church as a significant institution in American society because of its perceived liberal policies. The IRD set up the American Anglican Council in 1996 explicitly to diminish or destroy the Episcopal Church as a national institution. Since the roots of the schismatic movement in the Episcopal Church were political, it should come then as no surprise that "Anglicans" tend to be politically conservative while Episcopalians remain evenly divided.

Under the evolving circumstances in the 1990s and 2000s, the AAC used homosexuality as the wedge issue to push its conservative stance. The Robinson affair in 2003 presented the AAC with a rich opportunity to work on splitting off conservatives from TEC. This trend linked up with Third World Anglican fundamentalism largely coming out of equatorial Africa with its traditionally anti-homosexual-rights cultures. GAFCON emerged in 2008 explicitly to oppose pro-homosexual moves in parts of the Anglican Communion. In 2009, the coalition of GAFCON and American schismatics formed the Anglican Church in North America specifically to be the replacement church for the Untied States in the Anglican Communion. Its charter explicitly opposed rights for homosexuals. 

Thus, there is a split in the "Anglican" community of America over social issues. The leadership adamantly opposes equality for women (women cannot be bishops in ACNA) and equality for and inclusion of homosexual and transgendered people. The Pew study shows that Anglican communicants do not support their leadership's positions on these social issues. Bishop Iker, of Fort Worth, has made a major point of blocking any new bishop in ACNA who supports the ordination of women. The ACNA has already divided up on the issue of women's ordination. There is more division to come. 

The Pew study suggests there is a major internal division in the Anglican community in America. The people-in-the-pews favor rights for women and gays. The leadership opposes this, in fact, has made this the raison d'être of ACNA. In South Carolina, the clergy-leadership imposed on the diocese in 2015 a strict and harsh policy banning same-sex marriage in the diocese and requiring oaths of allegiance.

The Pew study may help us understand what is happening now in South Carolina. The DSC leadership is working hard to identify the schism as a religious event ("It's about God not Gays"). They have conducted numerous high-profile campaigns in the last year in an attempt to frame the schism as a counter revolution to save true religion from the corrupt Episcopal Church. To identify themselves as the religious good guys, they have slammed the TEC side as the religious bad guys. The obvious aim is to keep as many people from returning to TEC as possible. The Church diocese, meanwhile, is framing the schism more as an administrative event, not fundamentally religious in nature. To the Church side, it is a matter of getting back the "returning congregations." The same buildings will have the same liturgies. Only time will tell which side has the greater effect on the communicants. 

In conclusion, the new Pew study suggests a stunning point about the schisms in the Episcopal Church. They were not motivated primarily by religion. The ordinary people saw the breaks as political statements against the great democratic revolution that occurred in America beginning in the 1950s in which the Episcopal Church played a highly visible role. Conservative Republicans began fleeing from the Church in this counter-revolution. The clergy-leaders of the schisms, however, had more than political aims. They wanted to keep traditional understandings of society and so promoted a reactionary stance on women, homosexuals, and the transgendered. The laity and the clergy were not altogether on the same page. This internal division portends trouble down the road for the schismatic movement in America. Schism leads to schism. 

This internal contradiction in ACNA is the great takeaway from the new Pew study.

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It would be interesting to have some responses from people on both sides. How do the results of the Pew study correspond to your experiences in the schism? Do you see the schism in SC as mostly political, religious, social, or something else? I would like to hear from you. Email me the thoughts you want to share with the cyberworld.