Practicing Episcopalian

Ralph Becker recently won the election to be the next Salt Lake City mayor. I'm pleased about this, as I voted for the guy. As the campaign finally ends, I've been pondering one of the common campaign themes. All the major and alternative newspapers all ran “guides to the candidates” that listed their positions on issues, as well as a host of other things including their religions. We had practicing Mormons, non-practicing Mormons, and then my man Ralph, who was repeatedly listed as a “Non-practicing Episcopalian.”

Now, I mean no criticism of Mr. Becker, his faith is his business, but that little phrase-”Non-practicing Episcopalian”-struck me as a bit odd. I suspect the press came up with it. If you have a “non-practicing Mormon” why not a “non-practicing Episcopalian”?

I wondered, though, does such an animal as a “non-practicing Episcopalian” exist?

At one level, the answer is yes. If what is meant by “non-practicing Episcopalian” is someone who was “raised Episcopalian” but no longer goes to church, then sure, you can be a non-practicing Episcopalian; more power to 'ya.

But is such a thing equivalent to a “Non-practicing Mormon”? I found the phrase odd when applied to Episcopalianism since, unlike Mormons or Jews (or any number of other religious groups), Episcopalians don't really have a common identity as a people. Mormons, for example, regardless of their practices (or even their actual family background), can point to or at least claim a strong common story of a people. Their story is rich with persecution, multiple journeys, and the final arrival in the promised land of what is now Utah. Mormons can claim this story whether or not they attend Sunday meetings, do their home teaching, or participate in other important liturgies. They have an identity as a people that, while integral to their overall religious identity, can be separated from religious practice.

Episcopalians, not so much.

The closest thing that we can grab to claim as a “story of a people” is that it was a bunch of Anglicans who arrived at Jamestown 400 years ago and that some Episcopalians stem from such Anglicans. Of course, we recently had to (rightly) seek reconciliation for the effects of that arrival on the Native Americans who were already here, so we don't really want to trot that particular narrative out as a matter of pride. Otherwise, perhaps one of the great things about Episcopalians is that while there are many who have a long family tradition of Episcopalianism, many others are more recent converts. We're a mixed bunch, together for a lot of different reasons.

So then, can you be a “non-practicing Episcopalian”? I'm convinced that a fundamental aspect, perhaps the most fundamental aspect, of being an Episcopalian is our practices – Holy Eucharist (Rite I or II, of course), coffee hour, Advent Wreaths, and the like. We aren't a particularly creedal faith; saying the Nicene Creed in church is not forced on anyone, and the joke is that the nice thing about being an Episcopalian is that no matter what you believe, you can find at least one other Episcopalian who believes it as well. There are no required statements of faith, no required clothing, no common sacrifices, and we certainly haven't been persecuted in droves for “being Episcopalian.” What really binds us together, more than anything else, is our common rituals, our services, our Book of Common Prayer. We may be there for lots of different reasons, and we certainly come from lots of different places, but we do share a common life composed fundamentally of common practices. We're made, and, through our practices, we are constantly remade, not born.