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Women Dominate Episcopal Church Pews by almost Two Thirds of All Parishioners -- Survey

Women Dominate Episcopal Church Pews by almost Two Thirds of All Parishioners -- Survey
More than 32% of all Episcopal parishes are served by women priests

SPECIAL REPORT

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
August 5, 2015

A survey, commissioned by VIRTUEONLINE, and conducted by an independent survey group - Joshua de Gastyne and funded by an outside donor, reveals that women disproportionately attend Episcopal churches by almost two to one over men and children.

651 surveys were collected from 7,128 Episcopal churches in the United States, giving 95% confidence that cohort answers are representative with a 3.7% margin of error.

Regional Demographics

181 were from the NORTHEAST -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, District of Columbia, and West Virginia.

201 were from the SOUTHEAST -- Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Maryland and Virginia.

139 were from the MIDWEST -- Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Kentucky.

130 were from the WEST -- Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico.

Furthermore, 32% of all parishes are served by women priests with the average attendance of women slightly more than 62%. The remaining 38% were mostly men with a sprinkling of children.

RESULTS

Proportion of female priests:

Northeast 36.9% with average female attendance of 63.2%
Southeast 27.2% with average female attendance of 61.3%
Midwest 30.1% with average female attendance of 61.8%
West 34.5% with average female attendance of 64.3%
OVERALL 32% with average female attendance of 62%

• The proportion of female priests is significantly higher in the West and Northeast regions and lower in the Southeast and Midwest, with the highest number in Connecticut and Washington (over 50% of churches) and the lowest number in Louisiana and Wisconsin (both 17%).

• The average attendance in church congregations is also proportionally higher for females than males in the West and Northeast regions (though not statistically significant), with the highest number in Oregon and Colorado (both 67%) and the lowest number in Georgia and Mississippi (58% and 59%, respectively).

• There is still no semblance of a gender similarity effect. The percentage of female attendance at churches in each state does not deviate from the mean and is not significantly affected by the priest's gender.

Episcopal Province Breakdown in TheRedBook.org

Province I (Northeast) -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire
Province II -- New York, New Jersey
Province III (Mid-Atlantic) -- Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, West Virginia
Province IV (Southeast) -- Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee
Province V (Midwest) -- Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri
Province VI (Northwest) -- Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Province VII (Southwest) -- Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Missouri
Province VIII (West & Pacific Rim) -- Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Utah

Some 45% of all Episcopal parishes in the Episcopal Church no longer have a full time paid priest or only a part-time non-stipendiary priest officiating. That's almost one in two parishes with no discernible Episcopal leadership.

END

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