The Episcopal Church continues to decline both in baptized members and average weekly worship attendance, according to recently released statistics for 2012.
Parochial Reports gathered by The General Convention of TEC show that according to the 2012 report, among its nine provinces, TEC has 2,066,710 baptized members, with 1,894,181 in the United States dioceses and 172,529 in dioceses abroad.
This contrasts with 2011, where TEC had 2,096,389 total baptized members.
Average Sunday attendance during the same time period dropped from approximately 690,000 in 2011 to below 680,000 last year. Keep reporting
In an article posted on Anglican Ink George Conger reports that 33 US dioceses show growth in the number of baptized members; 12 in average Sunday attendence (ASA). While everyone has a pet theory for the decline of the Episcopal Church, has anyone done any solid research into the actual causes for the decline of the denomination and into the contributing factors to the growth in these dioceses? The Episcopal Church is not the only denomination experiencing decline in the United States. It would be useful to identify what causes are particular to the Episcopal Church and what causes are shared with other declining denominations. See William H. Willimon's article, The Tough Truth about Our Small Churches.
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