The infamously progressive Episcopal Church released baptism and parish numbers in its annual report for 2024, but omitted membership as the denomination struggles with decline.
Even though past annual reports included membership totals, the 2024 report did not, according to The Christian Post.
“The committee experimented with new ways to ask about and count total churchwide membership, and the data collected revealed confusion in how churches understood and reported this topline number,” the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs said in a statement.
“The presiding officers are collaborating to devise a process that provides clearer data on total membership in future years.”
The statistics that were included for the Episcopal Church continued to tell a story of decline.
There were only 19,624 baptisms of children and adults last year, a significant decline from over 28,000 baptisms in 2014, according to the report.
Because 2024 was the first year in which online worship was counted toward attendance, there was a slight uptick in that metric, with 413,000 attending services in 2024, an increase from 411,000 in 2023.
But there were 600,000 attendees just one decade earlier.
The Episcopal Church has a reputation for theological and political progressivism, a factor many say contributed to its decline.
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde drew national attention earlier this year for lecturing President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance as they entered office.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors,” she chided.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde: “The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors…may I ask you to have mercy Mr. President on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.” pic.twitter.com/iXaHJrPsof
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 21, 2025
“May I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.”
The Episcopal Church is also one of the mainline denominations with affirms homosexuality and transgenderism.
“In 2026, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our church affirming that LGBTQ+ people have a full and equal claim to the love, acceptance, and pastoral care of the church,” the church said on its website.
“The journey to make that promise a reality continues today, as we remember the struggles, celebrate the joy, and give thanks for love and for lives that refuse to be erased.”
The denomination offers an entire page of liturgies related to LGBT celebrations.
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