I'm thinking of converting to Episcopalism

[bluestateguy]

As my father is Jewish and my mother is Catholic my parents wisely decided to let me be a religious "free agent". But now I'm 28 years old and I feel as if I have been holding out for too long. I believe in God, and I feel that I can best express those beliefs through an organized church that compliments, and does not contradict, my liberal views on political and social issues.

I have only had time to do a little homework (I do have that dissertation that needs finishing), but what I've seen indicates to me that Episcopalism may be the right faith for me. Yes, all religions have their fundamentalist wings, but it seems to me that fundamentalism is not a good fit in the Episcopal Church.

Any more information from any of you would be appreciated.

[Droopy]

1. I was going to recommend Buddhism

but then you said you believe in God.

[BrotherBuzz]

13. My Zen Buddhist teacher believed in God, sort of...

This was all more then thirty years ago, but our talks inevitably wandered towards the question of whether or not there was a God. When asked if he believed in God he responded in a true Zen fashion "Yes, and no."

Now, I have to say I didn't intentionally seek to pursue Buddhism, but rather it sought me; our church (United Church of Christ) invited him to teach us as a part of a program to expose us to as many diverse cultures and religions as possible. Of all of them, Zen Buddhism made the most lasting impression on my life, and to this day I find Buddhist Philosophy agreeable.


Interestingly enough, he soon entered an Episcopal Seminary. I smile when I think of the congregation that is blessed with his presence, and the wonderful mix of East and West they are be exposed to. I miss him.

[DrZeeLit]

2. Oh yeah... Catholic Light... (i'm a collapsed RC)... so it's a joke... n/t

[Lithos]

3. Try Beliefnet.com

There is a fairly interesting test that lists a few religions/beliefs which might match your inclinations.

L-

[Allenberg]

23. Interesting results, considering I'm Roman Catholic...

1. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (99%)
3. Reform Judaism (95%)
4. Unitarian Universalism (95%)
5. Sikhism (91%)
6. Bahá'í Faith (89%)
7. Neo-Pagan (83%)
8. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (73%)
9. New Age (71%)
10. Theravada Buddhism (70%)
11. Orthodox Judaism (69%)
12. Mahayana Buddhism (66%)
13. Secular Humanism (65%)
14. New Thought (64%)
15. Orthodox Quaker (62%)
16. Jainism (61%)
17. Scientology (58%)
18. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (55%)
19. Taoism (55%)
20. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (54%)
21. Islam (54%)
22. Jehovah's Witness (49%)
23. Hinduism (48%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (44%)
25. Roman Catholic (44%)
26. Seventh Day Adventist (39%)
27. Nontheist (38%)

[donheld]

24. where would the United Methodist Church fit on that list

would it be concidered "Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants?"

[Anarcho-Socialist]

4. Unitarian Universalism

You don't need to accept a set scripture, just follow your own spiritual path. If you want more information, I recommend you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalist

[Schema Thing]

5. I've evolved from fundamentalist christian into an atheist/agnostic

... but I've done some video work for the area Episcopalian diocese, and they seem to have a safe, helpful sense of christianity. They seem far less dogmatic than most religions. Perhaps a good description would be 75% less-anal Catholics.

My Episcopalian friends like to joke that "wherever two or more are gathered, there shall be a fifth"..... ie: they like to party.

If I had even the slightest spiritual curiousity, I'd probably check out Episcopals, and also Liberal Quakers and UU's.

[Az]

6. Gotta go with Unitarian Universalism

Its corridors are filled with people of mixed marriages. There are people there to share the journey with and no dogma to grind. If you wish to discuss the nature of god you will find many able to carry the conversation with you. Want to explore polytheism? How bout atheism? It is a Church where the people decide the path and not some doctrine.

[OrwellwasRight]

7. I was raised Episcopalian

Sunday school, confirmation in 6th grade, all that stuff.

I feel like it gave me a good background in sorting out right from wrong and it was never, ever hateful, like so much of Christianity seems to be. No confessional booths, just a group confessional prayer. And, at least at my church, the service with communion (aka mass) was only every other Sunday. The alternating Sundays were the "morning prayer" service, which I liked as a kid because they were shorter.

All in all, not a bad religion.

I don't currently practice, but it not because of any particular shortcoming of the Episcopal Church (it is because my own problems with buying what overall Christianity is selling: ask and you shall receive, god answers all prayers, god helps those who help themselves, bla, bla, bla)

[fortyfeetunder]

8. Well, there is a wacko wing of the E-church

that is having problems with gay laity, specifically the ordination of V. Gene Robinson, who's the first openly gay bishop in NH...

Up until last year's events, my experience has been the E-church has been the most tolerant and accepting of diversity.

I don't attend church where I livem but I do regularly attend and support the E-church near my parents' home, where I was baptized and confirmed.

[HeyManThatsCool]

10. I concur with what FortyFeet said

I am also an episco & really felt it was not as biased as it is turning out to be. I've been very dissapointed with the reaction to the confirming of the gay bishop.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. Since you feel drawn to the Episcopal Church, you should definitely

check it out. We all have to find our own way in matters of faith and one church does not fit all! There are several DUers who are Episcopalians and will tell you what they like about their church. Lydia LeftCoast, KoKo, and Rowdyboy all come to mind, but I know there are others.

Best of luck!

[Orangepeel]

11. I went to an Episcopal church for a while --

I was baptised and confirmed in the Church.

I liked it. It has a fair amount of pomp and ceremony, like Catholicism (one of the reasons it is jokingly called "Catholic light"), but is more progressive.

Priests can be married, women can be priests. There is no prohibition against birth control (on edit: at least not that anyone ever mentioned to me). There was a split recently, but IIRC, the actual Episcopal church recently ordained a gay bishop.

Saints are recognized, but there isn't the idea that they can intercede on your behalf with God and should therefore be prayed to. Individuals have a direct link to God and don't need an intermediary. There is no confession.

The idea of a trinity is present -- God in three persons, whatever that means. I believe, although I don't remember for sure, that Mary is believed to have been conceived immaculately, but even so, she doesn't have near the importance in the Episcopal church as in the Catholic church.

Every Episcopal priest I ever heard give a sermon did it in an educational way, not a fire and brimstone way. None took the
Bible literally.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. My experience of Episcopal churches

I first encountered them at age 23, when I went to grad school and decided that I didn't like the Lutheran chaplaincy.

All in all, I find that they respect the intellect, don't grill you about what you actually believe, appreciate diversity (my parish includes, among other interesting people, a transgendered rock musician) and social justice, and meet the needs of people who like dignified rituals, well-written liturgies and prayers, and the arts.

There are conservative parishes and conservative dioceses. If a U.S. church calls itself "Anglican," then it's part of the conservative movement. (In Canada, it's simply the name of the denomination and has no other significance.)

If you are thinking of trying an Episcopal church, call up your local diocesan office, tell them what kind of parish you are looking for, and ask for conditions. If you don't feel like doing that, just take out your phone book, look up "Churches--Episcopal," and simply try one of them each Sunday. Like any other groups, Episcopal parishes have distinct personalities. Eventually, one will feel right.

On edit: Episcopalians don't avoid Mary the way most Protestants do, but they don't believe in the Immaculate Conception. They officially believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus, but nobody is going to burn you at the stake or even be very shocked if you say that you don't believe in it.

[Tweed]

14. What don't you like about your mother's religion?

[Az]

17. Addendum: What don't you like about your father's religion?

Just to cover bases.

[Tweed]

15. What don't you like about your mother's religion?

[fortyfeetunder]

16. Forgot to mention: Book of Common Prayer

About the time I was confirmed and baptized in the church 30 yrs ago, there was a new Book of Common Prayer (BCP) in the works. This is "the" book where E-church rituals originate, though priests are free to use their own interpretation of the services, as long as they follow the format. The 1979 BCP was an update from the 1928 version.

Here is a copy you can download and read for the US Episcopal Church
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/bcp.htm

There are some churches that won't recognize the 1979 BCP but they are few and far between....

edited to correct dates...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. And if they don't use the 1979 Prayer Book, chances are that they're

conservative in other ways, too, such as refusing to recognize women priests or refusing Communion to non-Episcopalians (not something you have to worry about in most parishes, although technically, you're supposed to be baptized and confirmed first).

[rockymountaindem]

18. Well, if you don't mind my saying

I'd give Judaism a second look. For one, there are some synagogues where they would accept you without conversion since your father is Jewish. Although I can only speak for myself, I think that Judaism (which you're probably a little familiar with already) is both traditional yet liberated. On the one hand, you can walk into any synagogue anyplace in the world on Shabbat and hear the same Torah portion being read in the same language. On the other hand, every congregation is different, as there is no central coordinating authority for Jewish belief. Everyone is free to have their own interpretation of the faith, and there is a heavy emphasis on self-improvement and charity. I'm really happy that I was born into a Jewish family.

That's not to say that Episcopalianism lacks any of those attributes, I just don't know too much about it. The little I do know comes from my good Episcopalian friend, who was one of the few people I know who is both Christian and liberal; so they must have something good going on too!

[Az]

20. Judaism has a very broad reach

There are extreme orthodox Jews and the scale goes all the way to atheist Rabbis. Quite a complete spectrum.

[bling bling]

21. That's what I am, technically.

Although I don't go to church. I have been considering going again but I just *hate* the standing and singing parts. I think I am the only one who must feel this way. It drives me crazy. I have a god-awful singing voice so I just sing very very softly and can't wait for it to be over. Maybe I have a phobia or something but whatever it is keeps me from wanting to go to church.

I tried a UU church a couple years ago, hoping there would be NO singing, but it was chock-full of singing songs so I didn't go back.

[fortyfeetunder]

22. The early service

I found in some churches there are early AM services (usually the first one of the day) had little to no music. I liked those services because it left me free to meditate on the day ahead. That might be one way.

I prefer these services around Nov-Dec because the thought of singing carols makes me weep.

[tjwmason]

25. It might be worth waiting a little while

Others have mentioned the fall-out from the Consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

The ECUSA is split on this issue and there is quite possibily going to be some realignment. Most of the rest of the Anglican Communion is quite conservative (especially the 2/3rds world) and is getting upset at the direction ECUSA is taking. There is nothing that those outside the U.S. can really do as all Anglican/Episcopalian churches are independent; the conservative minority within ECUSA might cause some trouble.

That said, if you are part of a liberal congregation, especially if it's a liberal diocese, then it's unlikely that this will directly impact on you.

The main thing to be said about Episcopalianism is its diversity. You can be a crypto-Catholic, with bells, smells, saints, vestments, solemn High Mass &c.&c. or you can be 'snakebelly low' with a very plain service the Priest just in surplice and stole.