Quean Lutibelle's Cyberbook of Numbers

First, the good news: The Episcopal Church Grew almost 10 percent in the Decade of Evangelism, 1990-2000.

Some dioceses did much better than others:

ECUSA Dioceses Ranked by Growth
in 1990-2000, the Decade of Evangelism
Rank by Growth	1990	2000	Difference	Rank by Size in 2000	Diocese
1	6,027	9,057	50.30%	71	Vermont
2	9,154	13,499	47.50%	51	New Hampshire
3	3,367	4,804	42.70%	89	Idaho
4	19,354	27,454	41.90%	23	Florida
5	10,118	14,174	40.10%	50	Western North Carolina
6	21,515	29,546	37.30%	19	Alabama
7	5,317	7,159	34.60%	81	Wyoming
8	33,877	45,462	34.20%	7	Atlanta
9	52,926	70,323	32.90%	1	Virginia
10	9,964	13,142	31.90%	54	Rio Grande
11	9,436	12,329	30.70%	58	Tennessee
12	26,832	34,708	29.40%	14	Dallas
13	4,202	5,393	28.30%	87	Utah
14	19,650	24,890	26.70%	26	Arizona
15	3,605	4,544	26.00%	92	Nevada
16	55,244	69,021	24.90%	2	Texas
17	12,877	16,037	24.50%	40	Northern California
18	27,519	34,234	24.40%	15	Central Florida
19	4,543	5,587	23.00%	85	Montana
20	12,529	15,308	22.20%	45	Georgia
21	32,909	39,868	21.10%	10	North Carolina
22	12,564	15,177	20.80%	46	East Carolina
23	19,098	22,940	20.10%	30	Upper South Carolina
24	30,843	36,881	19.60%	12	Maryland
25	18,418	22,012	19.50%	32	South Carolina
26	23,355	27,852	19.30%	21	Colorado
27	15,155	17,964	18.50%	37	Central Gulf Coast
28	26,878	31,823	18.40%	16	Washington
29	8,334	9,766	17.20%	69	Indianapolis
30	15,836	18,473	16.70%	35	San Diego
31	6,990	8,137	16.40%	77	Hawaii
32	7,733	8,963	15.90%	72	San Joaquin
33	10,069	11,610	15.30%	61	Maine
34	22,677	25,985	14.60%	24	Olympia
35	6,792	7,762	14.30%	79	Lexington
36	15,517	17,636	13.70%	38	Oregon
37	9,955	11,314	13.70%	64	Soutwestern Virginia
38	12,821	14,499	13.10%	48	East Tennessee
39	648	729	12.50%	100	Navajoland
40	21,523	24,119	12.10%	27	California
41	21,305	23,863	12.00%	29	Minnesota
42	10,339	11,570	11.90%	62	Arkansas
43	11,934	13,338	11.80%	52	Missouri
44	14,909	16,607	11.40%	39	Pittsburgh
45	13,949	15,531	11.30%	43	Louisiana
46	7,317	8,115	10.90%	78	Northwest Texas
47	10,771	11,902	10.50%	60	Milwaukee
48	16,382	18,079	10.40%	36	Mississippi
49	11,804	13,017	10.30%	55	Kansas
50	48,042	52,661	9.60%	5	Connecticut
51	26,146	28,567	9.30%	20	Southern Virginia
52	42,726	46,616	9.10%	6	New York
53	9,239	10,022	8.50%	68	Delaware
54	7,857	8,507	8.30%	74	Kentucy
55	14,655	15,788	7.70%	42	Oklahoma
56	33,710	36,297	7.70%	13	Chicago
57	18,808	20,232	7.60%	33	Southern Ohio
58	21,461	22,868	6.60%	31	West Texas
59	28,393	30,038	5.80%	18	Southeast Florida
60	51,569	54,460	5.60%	4	Los Angeles
61	14,106	14,828	5.10%	47	Fort Worth
62	4,244	4,449	4.80%	93	Alaska
63	57,877	60,042	3.70%	3	Massachusetts
64	2,050	2,123	3.60%	97	Eau Claire
65	6,995	7,217	3.20%	80	Easton
66	2,566	2,630	2.50%	95	Quincy
67	10,744	11,010	2.50%	65	Western Michigan
68	5,330	5,442	2.10%	86	Springfield
69	12,586	12,714	1.00%	57	El Camino Real
70	2,351	2,374	1.00%	96	Western Kansas
71	31,649	31,723	0.20%	17	Southwest Florida
72	10,429	10,438	0.10%	67	West Missouri
73	14,328	14,340	0.10%	49	Western Massachusetts
74	11,485	11,366	-1.00%	63	Western Louisiana
75	10,754	10,627	-1.20%	66	Rochester
76	16,213	15,870	-2.10%	41	Central New York
77	28,626	27,745	-3.10%	22	Newark
78	6,097	5,890	-3.40%	84	Northern Indiana
79	9,019	8,695	-3.60%	73	Nebraska
80	13,875	13,260	-4.40%	53	Central Pennsylvania
81	4,895	4,671	-4.60%	90	Northwestern Pennsylvania
82	9,890	9,324	-5.70%	70	Iowa
83	41,998	39,125	-6.80%	11	New Jersey
84	13,193	12,177	-7.70%	59	Bethlehem
85	16,844	15,450	-8.30%	44	Albany
86	28,333	25,902	-8.60%	25	Ohio
87	3,067	2,761	-10.00%	94	Eastern Oregon
88	21,476	19,098	-11.10%	34	Rhode Island
89	50,331	44,123	-12.30%	8	Pennsylvania
90	2,144	1,872	-12.70%	98	North Dakota
91	1,920	1,655	-13.80%	99	Northern Michigan
92	8,279	7,020	-15.20%	82	Spokane
93	10,057	8,396	-16.50%	76	West Virginia
94	15,474	12,757	-17.60%	56	Western New York
95	53,550	44,036	-17.80%	9	Long Island
96	7,262	5,926	-18.40%	83	South Dakota
97	6,634	4,627	-30.30%	91	Fond du Lac
98	8,817	5,297	-39.90%	88	West Tennessee

Note: The Diocese of Eastern Michigan did not exist in 1990, but was created out of the Diocese of Michigan The two together in 2000 (E. Mich 8,477+ Mich. 24,107=32,584) are down 7.6% of the size of the Diocese of Michigan in 1990 (35,265).

Caveat re: this report!

A correspondent asked both Dr. Kirk Hadaway (chief researcher at the Episcopal Church Center) and me:
> Hadaway's statistics from the Church Missionary Society show a continued
> decline in membership over the last ten years, while Crew has the
> Church gaining over 250,000 in the last five years of the Decade of
> Evangelism.
Dr. Hadaway has graciously given me permission to share his reply:
Louie and ****,
I have posted a long report [in pdf format; it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. -- LC] on this issue on the Episcopal Church web site (under Research and Statistics in the Congregational Development pages).
There have been some data cleaning problems during the past decade, which I have corrected. Thus, the data reported do not exactly match up with the Red Book statistics. But the biggest problem is with changes in definition and the removal of non-domestic dioceses. This is something that some have chosen to ignore in their reports on the decline of the Episcopal Church.
During the past ten years membership showed a slow decline. Attendance showed some overall growth, but last year was not a good year. Communicants are up strongly, as Louie reports. However, as you will see in the report there was a major change in the way communicants are reported that makes the growth in this area suspect.
Essentially, I think we have been on a plateau during the past decade. This is not something to cheer about, but it is better than any other mainline Protestant denomination.
Kirk
Note: If you are interested in having a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of data for your parish or diocese, visit Church Reports. -- LC

Now the bad news: In the three decades from 1970-2000 the country grew by 41.2 percent, but the Episcopal Church shrank by 15.9 percent:

In 1970 we in the Episcopal Church were 1.11% of the US population. By 2000 we were only .66% of the USA population, or only 59.5% of the share we had thirty years ago:

Yet, the Episcopal Church has not shrunk equally everywhere. At first glance, at the raw numbers, the hardest hit areas seem to be the so-called "liberal areas"--the Northeast (Provinces 1 and 2) and the west coast (Province 8). The conservative South (Province 4) and Southwest (Province 7) appear to be hit the least:

Click here to see a map of the provinces

> Reviewing this depressing data, it is tempting to draw the conclusion that if we would all just huddle more closely together with a conservative agenda, we would see out this storm with minimal attrition.

However, looked at more closely, the data suggest that we should resist that huddle! Just as not all provinces of the church have equally declined in membership, so the population of the nation has not grown equally:

Enter the Sunbelt! Millions have moved to the South and the Southwest during the last twenty years. How well have conservative Episcopalians fared in welcoming these migrants? The Southwest, which above seemed to have had the largest growth, has in fact, experienced the fourth largest decline, when population shifts are factored:

ECUSA Decline
in Percent of the US Population
In order of greatest to least decline
Province 1 -0.796%

Province 2 -0.699%

Province 8 -0.502%

Province 7 -0.472%

Province 6 -0.460%

Province 3 -0.418%

Province 5 -0.278%

Province 4 -0.222%

ECUSA Decline
in Percent of the US Population
*In order of greatest to least decline*
Province 1	-0.796%
Province 2	-0.699%
Province 8	-0.502%
Province 7	-0.472%
Province 6	-0.460%
Province 3	-0.418%
Province 5	-0.278%
Province 4	-0.222%

I take little comfort that the same fate is happening to all mainline denominations.

Evangelize whom?

It is madness for the Episcopal Church to talk about wanting to grow and at the same time systematically to underrepresent groups previously excluded or ignored. Often we seem to long for the keys to the country club again, rather than for the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. It's easy to see where the people are who could fill our pews. Jesus said that if those whom we invite don't show up, we should go into the "highways and hedges," -- i.e., not the usual venues of the Episcopal Church:

What would the Episcopal Church look like if it began to take the Great Commission more seriously? Is the Episcopal Church capable of God's love to begin to look as red, yellow, black and white as the nation itself?

According to the 2000 US census, persons of color constitute 29.4% of the United States.

Asians	3.60%
Blacks	12.30%
Hawaian Natives	.10%
Hispanic or Latino Origin	12.5%
American Indians	.9%
Total	29.4%

How long will it take white Episcopalians to love and welcome their varied neighbors as they love and welcome themselves? For example, over 10 million black people live in Province 4--27 percent of all people in Province 4. Yet only 3.2 percent of the 2,545 clergy in Province 4 are black. Thirty-five percent of all blacks in the nation live in Province 4, yet only 20.49 percent of the black Episcopal clergy do.

Growth/Loss in ECUSA Dioceses, 1970-2000
*In descending order of gain/loss*
Ranked by Percent of Growth	Diocese	Prov.	1970	1980	1990	2000	Growth	Percent Growth	Size Rank
1	Western North Carolina	4	7,739	9,622	10,118	14,174	6,435	83.2%	50
2	*Alabama	4	22,396	17,720	21,515	29,546	7,150	66.4%	19
3	*Florida	4	22,646	18,199	19,354	27,454	4,808	66.4%	23
4	*Central Gulf Coast	4	n/a	14,594	15,155	17,964	17,964	66.4%	37
5	Atlanta	4	28,179	28,242	33,877	45,462	17,283	61.3%	7
6	Central Florida	4	23,915	25,388	27,519	34,234	10,319	43.1%	15
7	North Carolina	4	28,971	30,620	32,909	39,868	10,897	37.6%	10
8	Virginia	3	51,178	51,150	52,926	70,323	19,145	37.4%	1
9	Mississippi	4	13,259	15,536	16,382	18,079	4,820	36.4%	36
10	Upper South Carolina	4	16,912	19,209	19,098	22,940	6,028	35.6%	30
11	East Carolina	4	11,224	12,454	12,564	15,177	3,953	35.2%	47
12	Georgia	4	11,774	12,260	12,529	15,308	3,534	30.0%	46
13	Arizona	8	19,250	17,744	19,650	24,890	5,640	29.3%	26
14	Vermont	1	7,024	6,316	6,027	9,057	2,033	28.9%	71
15	South Carolina	4	17,364	19,490	18,418	22,012	4,648	26.8%	32
16	New Hampshire	1	10,669	8,905	9,154	13,499	2,830	26.5%	51
17	Southwest Florida	4	26,068	29,753	31,649	31,723	5,655	21.7%	17
18	*Fort Worth	7	n/a	n/a	14,106	14,828	14,828	21.1%	48
19	*Dallas	7	40,908	37,628	26,832	34,708	(6,200)	21.1%	14
20	Utah	8	4,565	3,537	4,202	5,393	828	18.1%	87
21	Texas	7	58,809	61,697	55,244	69,021	10,212	17.4%	2
22	*East Tennessee	4	n/a	n/a	12,821	17,964	17,964	15.4%	38
23	*West Tennessee	4	n/a	n/a	8,817	5,297	5,297	15.4%	88
24	*Tennessee	4	30,836	31,236	9,436	12,329	(18,507)	15.4%	58
25	Southern Virginia	3	25,680	26,523	26,146	28,567	2,887	11.2%	20
26	Lexington	4	6,985	6,975	6,792	7,762	777	11.1%	79
27	Idaho	8	4,394	4,319	3,367	4,804	410	9.3%	89
28	Alaska	8	4,124	2,381	4,244	4,449	325	7.9%	93
29	Easton	3	6,770	6,805	6,995	7,217	447	6.6%	80
30	Rio Grande	7	12,714	11,630	9,964	13,142	428	3.4%	54
31	Soutwestern Virginia	3	11,052	11,249	9,955	11,314	262	2.4%	64
32	San Joaquin	8	8,821	8,193	7,733	8,963	142	1.6%	72
33	West Texas	7	22,996	22,047	21,461	22,868	(128)	-0.6%	31
34	Northern California	8	16,260	14,184	12,877	16,037	(223)	-1.4%	41
35	Nevada	8	4,641	3,947	3,605	4,544	(97)	-2.1%	92
36	Southeast Florida	4	31,146	30,198	28,393	30,038	(1,108)	-3.6%	18
37	Missouri	5	13,874	12,483	11,934	13,338	(536)	-3.9%	52
38	Arkansas	7	12,261	12,934	10,339	11570	(691)	-5.6%	62
39	Colorado	6	30,224	26,790	23,355	27,852	(2,372)	-7.8%	21
40	Hawaii	8	8,903	6,417	6,990	8,137	(766)	-8.6%	77
41	Maine	1	12,962	12,403	10,069	11,610	(1,352)	-10.4%	61
42	Oklahoma	7	17,663	16,334	14,655	15,788	(1,875)	-10.6%	43
43	Indianapolis	5	11,019	9,623	8,334	9,766	(1,253)	-11.4%	69
44	Maryland	3	41,629	39,648	30,843	36,881	(4,748)	-11.4%	12
45	Northwest Texas	7	9,220	8,523	7,317	8,115	(1,105)	-12.0%	78
46	Kentucy	4	9,712	9,069	7,857	8,507	(1,205)	-12.4%	74
47	Western Louisiana	7	n/a	12,702	11,485	11,366	11,366	-13.6%	63
48	Louisiana	4	31,148	15,966	13,949	15,531	(15,617)	-13.6%	44
49	Minnesota	6	28,248	28,647	21,305	23,863	(4,385)	-15.5%	29
50	Olympia	8	31,151	26,400	22,677	25,985	(5,166)	-16.6%	24
51	Wyoming	6	8,770	6,992	5,317	7,159	(1,611)	-18.4%	81
52	Central Pennsylvania	3	16,408	15,340	13,875	13,260	(3,148)	-19.2%	53
53	Kansas	7	16,297	13,508	11,804	13,017	(3,280)	-20.1%	55
54	Montana	6	7,057	4,672	4,543	5,587	(1,470)	-20.8%	85
55	*San Diego	8	n/a	15,535	15,836	18,473	18,473	-22.0%	35
56	*Los Angeles	8	93,493	57,588	51,569	54,460	(39,033)	-22.0%	4
57	Eau Claire	5	2,799	2,402	2,050	2,123	(676)	-24.2%	97
58	Washington	3	42,546	26,621	26,878	31,823	(10,723)	-25.2%	16
59	Delaware	3	13,466	12,457	9,239	10,022	(3,444)	-25.6%	68
60	*California	8	49,573	27,147	21,523	24,119	(25,454)	-25.7%	27
61	*El Camino Real	8	n/a	12,992	12,586	12,714	12,714	-25.7%	57
62	Massachusetts	1	81,182	70,237	57,877	60,042	(21,140)	-26.0%	3
63	Chicago	5	49,451	42,649	33,710	36,297	(13,154)	-26.6%	13
64	Eastern Oregon	8	3,800	3,758	3,067	2,761	(1,039)	-27.3%	94
65	Southern Ohio	5	27,862	23,715	18,808	20,232	(7,630)	-27.4%	33
66	Milwaukee	5	16,458	12,716	10,771	11,902	(4,556)	-27.7%	60
67	Western Massachusetts	1	20,009	18,598	14,328	14,340	(5,669)	-28.3%	49
68	Western Kansas	7	3,364	2,757	2,351	2,374	(990)	-29.4%	96
69	Oregon	8	25,470	19,309	15,517	17,636	(7,834)	-30.8%	39
70	Pittsburgh	3	24,460	17,151	14,909	16,607	(7,853)	-32.1%	40
71	West Missouri	7	15,420	13,145	10,429	10,438	(4,982)	-32.3%	67
72	Bethlehem	3	18,142	16,124	13,193	12,177	(5,965)	-32.9%	59
73	North Dakota	6	2,826	1,982	2,144	1,872	(954)	-33.8%	98
74	Western Michigan	5	16,681	11,605	10,744	11,010	(5,671)	-34.0%	65
75	Springfield	5	8,496	7,194	5,330	5,442	(3,054)	-35.9%	86
76	Quincy	5	4,168	3,711	2,566	2,630	(1,538)	-36.9%	95
77	Rhode Island	1	30,289	26,023	21,476	19,098	(11,191)	-36.9%	34
78	Long Island	2	69,856	64,668	53,550	44,036	(25,820)	-37.0%	9
79	Connecticut	1	85,599	62,955	48,042	52,661	(32,938)	-38.5%	5
80	Northern Indiana	5	9,592	7,732	6,097	5,890	(3,702)	-38.6%	84
81	Pennsylvania	3	72,403	60,520	50,331	44,123	(28,280)	-39.1%	8
82	Spokane	8	11,594	10,312	8,279	7,020	(4,574)	-39.5%	82
83	Nebraska	6	14,387	11,074	9,019	8,695	(5,692)	-39.6%	73
84	New Jersey	2	64,796	56,395	41,998	39,125	(25,671)	-39.6%	11
85	West Virginia	3	14,025	12,883	10,057	8,396	(5,629)	-40.1%	76
86	South Dakota	6	9,963	8,673	7,262	5,926	(4,037)	-40.5%	83
87	Iowa	6	15,676	12,500	9,890	9,324	(6,352)	-40.5%	70
88	Albany	2	26,241	23,985	16,844	15,450	(10,791)	-41.1%	45
89	Fond du Lac	5	7,912	8,024	6,634	4,627	(3,285)	-41.5%	91
90	Northern Michigan	5	2,851	2,839	1,920	1,655	(1,196)	-42.0%	99
91	Rochester	2	18,433	14,265	10,754	10,627	(7,806)	-42.3%	66
92	New York	2	83,302	47,846	42,726	46,616	(36,686)	-44.0%	6
93	Ohio	5	47,677	39,256	28,333	25,902	(21,775)	-45.7%	25
94	Newark	2	52,005	38,571	28,626	27,745	(24,260)	-46.6%	22
95	Northwestern Pennsylvania	3	8,879	7,117	4,895	4,671	(4,208)	-47.4%	90
96	Western New York	2	26,465	20,249	15,474	12,757	(13,708)	-51.8%	56
97	*Eastern Michigan	5	n/a	n/a	n/a	8,477	8,477	-52.1%	75
98	*Michigan	5	67,965	53,003	35,265	24,107	(43,858)	-52.1%	28
99	Central New York	2	33,382	26,297	16,213	15,870	(17,512)	-52.5%	42
n/a	Navajoland	8	n/a	296	648	729	729	n/a	100
Totals:			2,208,773	1,933,078	1,698,240	1,861,308	(347,465)	-15.7%

* An asterisk indicates dioceses that were affected by redivisions of the geographical territory during this 30-year period. The Diocese of Tennessee was split into three dioceses. Portions of The Diocese of Alabama and the Diocese of Florida were used to create the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast. The Diocese of Louisiana was split in half, as were the Diocese of California, the Diocese of Dallas, the Diocese of Michigan, and the Diocese of Los Angeles.

In the table above and in the one below, for the dioceses affected by the new boundaries, the growth/decline rate is based on the combined total in 1970 and the combined total in 2000 for all in any one of these clusters. For example, you will see that the Diocese of Florida, Diocese of Central Gulf Coast, and Diocese of Alabama are given the same percentage of change in their combined communicant increase.

ECUSA Diocesan Changes Compared with State Population Changes, 1970-2000
*In descending order, most favorable to least favorable*
Rank	Diocese	Change in State Population, 1970-2000	Change in Communicants, 1970-2000	Church change vs. Population Change
1	Alabama	29.1%	66.4%	37.3%
2	Western North Carolina	58.3%	83.2%	24.8%
3	Mississippi	28.3%	36.4%	8.0%
4	Washington	-24.4%	-25.2%	-0.8%
5	Vermont	36.8%	28.9%	-7.9%
6	Lexington	25.5%	11.1%	-14.4%
7	Virginia	52.2%	37.4%	-14.8%
8	Atlanta	78.4%	61.3%	-17.1%
9	Upper South Carolina	54.8%	35.6%	-19.2%
10	North Carolina	58.3%	37.6%	-20.7%
11	East Carolina	58.3%	35.2%	-23.1%
12	Central Pennsylvania	4.1%	-19.2%	-23.3%
13	Missouri	19.6%	-3.9%	-23.5%
14	South Carolina	54.8%	26.8%	-28.1%
15	Easton	35.0%	6.6%	-28.4%
16	Indianapolis	17.0%	-11.4%	-28.4%
17	East Tennessee	44.9%	15.4%	-29.5%
18	Tennessee	44.9%	15.4%	-29.5%
19	West Tennessee	44.9%	15.4%	-29.5%
20	Southern Ohio	6.5%	-27.4%	-33.9%
21	Pittsburgh	4.1%	-32.1%	-36.2%
22	Louisiana	22.6%	-13.6%	-36.2%
23	Western Louisiana	22.6%	-13.6%	-36.2%
24	Bethlehem	4.1%	-32.9%	-36.9%
25	Massachusetts	11.6%	-26.0%	-37.6%
26	North Dakota	3.9%	-33.8%	-37.7%
27	Kentucy	25.5%	-12.4%	-37.9%
28	Chicago	11.8%	-26.6%	-38.4%
29	Maine	28.3%	-10.4%	-38.7%
30	Kansas	19.5%	-20.1%	-39.7%
31	Western Massachusetts	11.6%	-28.3%	-39.9%
32	New Hampshire	67.5%	26.5%	-40.9%
33	Southern Virginia	52.2%	11.2%	-41.0%
34	Long Island	4.0%	-37.0%	-41.0%
35	Pennsylvania	4.1%	-39.1%	-43.1%
36	West Virginia	3.7%	-40.1%	-43.8%
37	Iowa	3.6%	-40.5%	-44.1%
38	Arkansas	39.0%	-5.6%	-44.7%
39	Minnesota	29.3%	-15.5%	-44.8%
40	Albany	4.0%	-41.1%	-45.2%
41	Oklahoma	34.8%	-10.6%	-45.5%
42	Eau Claire	21.4%	-24.2%	-45.6%
43	Western Michigan	11.9%	-34.0%	-45.9%
44	Rochester	4.0%	-42.3%	-46.4%
45	Maryland	35.0%	-11.4%	-46.4%
46	Rhode Island	10.3%	-36.9%	-47.3%
47	Springfield	11.8%	-35.9%	-47.7%
48	New York	4.0%	-44.0%	-48.1%
49	Georgia	78.4%	30.0%	-48.4%
50	Quincy	11.8%	-36.9%	-48.7%
51	Western Kansas	19.5%	-29.4%	-49.0%
52	Milwaukee	21.4%	-27.7%	-49.1%
53	Soutwestern Virginia	52.2%	2.4%	-49.8%
54	Connecticut	12.3%	-38.5%	-50.8%
55	Montana	30.0%	-20.8%	-50.8%
56	Northwestern Pennsylvania	4.1%	-47.4%	-51.5%
57	West Missouri	19.6%	-32.3%	-51.9%
58	Ohio	6.5%	-45.7%	-52.2%
59	Northern Michigan	11.9%	-42.0%	-53.8%
60	South Dakota	13.3%	-40.5%	-53.9%
61	Nebraska	15.2%	-39.6%	-54.8%
62	Northern Indiana	17.0%	-38.6%	-55.6%
63	Western New York	4.0%	-51.8%	-55.8%
64	Central New York	4.0%	-52.5%	-56.5%
65	New Jersey	17.3%	-39.6%	-57.0%
66	Fond du Lac	21.4%	-41.5%	-62.9%
67	Newark	17.3%	-46.6%	-64.0%
68	Eastern Michigan	11.9%	-52.1%	-64.0%
69	Michigan	11.9%	-52.1%	-64.0%
70	Dallas	86.1%	21.1%	-65.0%
71	Fort Worth	86.1%	21.1%	-65.0%
72	Hawaii	57.3%	-8.6%	-65.9%
73	Wyoming	48.7%	-18.4%	-67.1%
74	San Joaquin	69.6%	1.6%	-68.0%
75	Delaware	43.0%	-25.6%	-68.6%
76	Texas	86.1%	17.4%	-68.7%
77	Central Gulf Coast	135.3%	66.4%	-68.9%
78	San Diego	69.6%	-1.4%	-71.0%
79	Idaho	81.5%	9.3%	-72.1%
80	Rio Grande	78.9%	3.4%	-75.5%
81	West Texas	86.1%	-0.6%	-86.7%
82	Olympia	72.7%	-16.6%	-89.3%
83	Eastern Oregon	63.5%	-27.3%	-90.9%
84	Los Angeles	69.6%	-22.0%	-91.6%
85	Northern California	69.6%	-22.0%	-91.6%
86	Florida	135.3%	66.4%	-92.2%
87	Central Florida	135.3%	43.1%	-92.2%
88	Utah	110.9%	18.1%	-92.7%
89	Oregon	63.5%	-30.8%	-94.3%
90	California	69.6%	-25.7%	-95.3%
91	El Camino Real	69.6%	-25.7%	-95.3%
92	Northwest Texas	86.1%	-12.0%	-98.1%
93	Alaska	106.9%	7.9%	-99.0%
94	Colorado	94.6%	-7.8%	-102.5%
95	Spokane	72.7%	-39.5%	-112.1%
96	Southwest Florida	135.3%	21.7%	-113.7%
97	Southeast Florida	135.3%	-3.6%	-138.9%
98	Arizona	189.0%	29.3%	-159.8%
99	Nevada	308.6%	-2.1%	-310.7%
n/a	Navajoland	n/a	n/a	n/a

State populations refer to the state of the See city of the diocese. Thus all the dioceses in California are attributed the California population growth rate, when in fact, some of these areas probably grew more than others. Dioceses which cross state boundaries are still compared with the population figures of the state of only their See city.

The comparison is probably least accurate for the Diocese of Washington. I used the population data of the District of COlumbia, but significant portions of the diocese are outside the District, in Maryland.

The percent change in communicants is calculated in the table as explained earlier.

The Diocese of Navajoland did not exist in 1970 but I do not have estimates of the population involved, since it is an extraterritorial diocese. The numbers there are the smallest of all dioceses and thus not able to throw off overall computations.

Louie Crew is a member of Executive Council of the Episcopal Church (2000-2006) and a member of the Diocese of Newark's deputation to General Convention (1994, 1997, 2000, 2003). He serves on the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Newark.

All graphs were prepared by Louie Crew based on data from numerous sources, including the U.S. Censuses for 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 and the "Table of Statistics of the Episcopal Church" for those years, as printed in The Episcopal Church Annual for 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2002. Data on mainline denominations was from Kenneth Woodward, "Decline for the Mainline," Newsweek August 9, 1993, page 46.

Links:

Report for the Decade 1993-2003
Report for the Decade 1992-2002
Report on Decade 1991-2001
Historical Statistics Regarding the Episcopal Church
Anglican Communion News Service Report on the decline also occurring Church of England
Louie Crew's reports on Average Sunday Attendance as a Percent of the General Population by State
Louie Crew's reports on the Size of Parishes of Deputies to General Convention
Louie Crew's Anglican pages: http://newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/rel.html
Louie Crew's home page: http://newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew
Send mail to: lcrew@newark.rutgers.edu

Please sign my guestbook and view it.

My site has been accessed

times since February 14, 1996.

Statistics courtesy of WebCounter.