The headline alone—The Long, Slow Decline of the Episcopal Church is Such an Impenetrable Mystery—drips with sarcasm, and for good reason. While the source text paints a rosy picture of high school students from Michigan and Great Lakes dioceses gathering at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lansing to learn how to work faithfully toward… (the ellipsis teasing some vague progressive mission, no doubt), the real story is the denomination’s hemorrhage of members. Once a powerhouse of American Protestantism with millions of adherents in the mid-20th century, the Episcopal Church has shrunk by over 20% since 2000, closing churches faster than Starbucks opens them—hundreds shuttered, many snapped up by Abandoned America photographers for their eerie portfolios. This isn’t some divine riddle; it’s a textbook case of theological drift chasing cultural winds, from embracing radical gender ideologies to prioritizing social justice seminars over scriptural fidelity. Attendance plummets as congregants flee to evangelical or non-denominational alternatives that actually fill the pews.
Zoom in on that Lansing youth event: it’s emblematic of the Episcopalians’ playbook—training the next generation in faithful activism, which reliably skews leftward into anti-gun advocacy. The denomination has long been a hotbed for gun control zealotry, with bishops issuing statements post-mass shootings demanding common-sense reforms like assault weapon bans, while ignoring root causes like fatherless homes or mental health crises. Remember their 2019 general convention resolutions pushing for universal background checks and red flag laws? This isn’t coincidence; it’s institutional capture by urban elites who view the Second Amendment as a relic of toxic masculinity. As their pews empty, their political volume amplifies—lobbying Congress, partnering with Everytown, and turning church basements into organizing hubs.
For the 2A community, the implications are a cautionary tale and a call to arms. Churches like these aren’t neutral; they’re vectors for cultural erosion, eroding not just faith but freedoms. Gun owners should celebrate this decline—not out of schadenfreude, but because it signals the limits of top-down moralizing. Strong communities thrive on self-reliance, family values, and yes, armed defense, which is why pro-2A congregations are growing while woke ones wither. Support your local liberty-minded house of worship, curate alliances that protect both soul and sovereignty, and watch as history vindicates those who stand firm. The mystery? Solved: chase the world, and the world leaves you behind.
