lpetrich
Contributor
That venerable mainline Protestant church is in decline. It's been happening over some decades, but it's a sizable decline.
Episcopal Church Fadeout - Daylight Atheism by John Haught
noting
The Death of the Episcopal Church is Near – Religion in Public by Ryan Burge
John Haught:
Ryan Burge: "I don't think it's an exaggeration at all to believe that the Episcopalians will no longer exist by 2040."
What might be the future of this church? I suspect merger with some other mainline Protestant denominations. Some United Protestant Church?
Episcopal Church Fadeout - Daylight Atheism by John Haught
noting
The Death of the Episcopal Church is Near – Religion in Public by Ryan Burge
John Haught:
A linear extrapolation means no more Episcopal Church by 2080.When I was young in the 1950s, Episcopalians - the American wing of the Anglican faith founded by Henry VIII - were the pinnacle of the high-steeple elite. Bankers, business presidents, top lawyers, society doctors, Rotarians and other country-clubbers filled the pews and vestries of ornate churches. They sent their sons to Ivy League schools and their daughters to the Junior League. Episcopalians ranked high in intelligence and success.
In the 1960s, when the U.S. population was just over half what it is today, the Episcopal Church had 3.4 million members. Then it began falling like the rest of mainline Protestantism. Now it's down to 1.8 million.
Ryan Burge: "I don't think it's an exaggeration at all to believe that the Episcopalians will no longer exist by 2040."
Linear extrapolations mean no more weddings by 2026 and no more baptisms by 2037.He pointed out that the average Episcopalian today is 69 years old, with death coming. He said average Sunday attendance fell from 725,000 in 2009 to 547,000 in 2019 - a one-fourth drop in a decade. And the denomination had 38,913 weddings in 1980, but the number slipped to 6,148 by 2019, And child baptisms fell from 56,000 in 1980 to 17,713 in 2019. Down, down, down.
The Episcopal Church has oodles of money: $1.3 billion in yearly pledges, $400 million in trust, $11 billion in a pension fund, and $4.5 billion in local assets.
What might be the future of this church? I suspect merger with some other mainline Protestant denominations. Some United Protestant Church?