Effects of Disproportional Representation
General Convention in 1997 will have one deputy for every 1,972 communicants -- based on statistics for 1994,
as recorded in the 1996 Episcopal Church Annual.
Deputies are evenly distributed throughout the dioceses, with every diocese allowed up to eight deputies (4
clergy and 4 lay). However, since dioceses differ radically in size, deputies are not evenly distributed throughout
the church membership. Under this system of disproportional representation, the Diocese of Texas, the diocese with
the most communicants, has only one deputy for every 6,885 communicants, yet North Dakota, our smallest diocese
(excluding Navajoland), has one deputy for every 211 communicants.
Those who support disproportional representation often justify their position by noting that members of the
House of Deputies are not called "representatives" but "deputies." As such, deputies are charged
to vote our own consciences, not the conscience of our dioceses. Those making this case argue that the purpose
of disproportional voting is to assure the activity of the Holy Spirit at convention, and not to encumber deputies
to bring minds limited only to what they learned back home.
Systemic Injustice
This position suggests that the Holy Spirit is to blame that General Convention took fifty years longer to enact
women's suffrage than did the U.S. congress. Others feel that the Congress moved faster because it has proportional
representation.
Sixty-seven percent of all African American deputies were elected in the dioceses under represented.
Fifty-six percent of the African American deputies serve in the top 25 of dioceses most under-represented -- i.e.,
the dioceses that would stand to gain the most in representation if the system were made just. Clearly the system
itself discriminates against African American representation in the House.
Fifty-eight percent of the deputies known to be lesbigay were elected in the dioceses under represented. Fifty-two
percent of the deputies known to be gay serve in the top 25 of dioceses most under-represented -- i.e., the dioceses
that would stand to gain the most in representation if the system were made just.
Clearly the system itself discriminates against lesbigay representation in the House.
The average pro-gay score on votes in 1994 by deputies returning 1997 was 7.5. (See above, the section on prior votes on belwether LBG issues. The average
pro-lesbigay vote in 1994 by deputies returning from the 25 most under represented dioceses was 7.8--slightly higher
than the 7.5 average of returning deputies overall.
Women fare better with disproportional representation. Sixty-four percent of the female deputies were elected
by dioceses with more than a proportional share of the House.
The Holy Spirit's Economy
(according to those who support disproportional representation)
One communicant in the
Diocese of North Dakota
- ='s
33 communicants
in the Diocese of Texas
Communicants Per dep.
55,078 6,885 Texas
54,985 6,873 Virginia
50,057 6,257 Los Angeles
47,164 5,896 Massachusetts
42,144 5,268 Long Island
41,584 5,198 Connecticut
41,372 5,172 Pennsylvania
38,168 4,771 New York
33,896 4,237 New Jersey
33,837 4,230 North Carolina
32,648 4,081 Atlanta
29,575 3,697 Maryland
28,790 3,599 Chicago
27,566 3,446 Central Florida
27,119 3,390 Washington
26,796 3,350 Southwest Florida
26,760 3,345 Dallas
25,753 3,219 Newark
25,219 3,152 Michigan
24,928 3,116 Southeast Florida
24,771 3,096 Southern Virginia
23,687 2,961 Ohio
23,378 2,922 Alabama
22,813 2,852 Olympia
22,237 2,780 West Texas
21,288 2,661 Colorado <------Second quartile begins here
20,523 2,565 Minnesota
20,363 2,545 Florida
20,227 2,528 California
18,889 2,361 South Carolina
18,224 2,278 Upper South Carolina
18,045 2,256 Rhode Island
17,971 2,246 Southern Ohio
17,320 2,165 Arizona
16,541 2,068 Mississippi
15,718 1,965 Central Gulf Coast <---Begins "Below Avg" (15,780)
15,179 1,897 Central New York
15,016 1,877 Oregon
14,985 1,873 Albany
14,629 1,829 Pittsburgh
14,333 1,792 Oklahoma
14,275 1,784 San Diego
13,623 1,703 Western Massachusetts
13,617 1,702 East Carolina
13,575 1,697 Louisiana
13,453 1,682 Fort Worth
13,228 1,654 Western New York
13,085 1,636 Georgia
12,487 1,561 Central Pennsylvania
11,901 1,488 East Tennessee
11,649 1,456 Bethlehem <---Median: Second half begins here
11,426 1,428 Northern California
11,316 1,415 El Camino Real
11,239 1,405 Kansas
10,925 1,366 Rio Grande
10,840 1,355 Western Louisiana
10,620 1,328 Western North Carolina
10,557 1,320 Western Michigan
10,498 1,312 Maine
10,297 1,287 Rochester
10,241 1,280 New Hampshire
10,086 1,261 Missouri
10,050 1,256 Milwaukee
9,900 1,238 Southwestern Virginia
9,878 1,235 Tennessee
9,744 1,218 West Tennessee
9,698 1,212 Arkansas
9,611 1,201 West Missouri
8,418 1,052 Iowa
8,333 1,042 West Virginia
8,318 1,040 Delaware
7,683 960 Nebraska
7,668 959 Kentucky
7,657 957 Indianapolis
7,314 914 San Joaquin
7,221 903 Northwest Texas <---Fourth Quartile begins here
7,087 886 Hawaii
7,065 883 Spokane
6,901 863 Easton
6,709 839 Lexington
6,063 758 South Dakota
5,914 739 Vermont
5,237 655 Springfield
5,146 643 Fond du Lac
5,088 636 Northern Indiana
4,797 600 Northwestern Pa
4,766 596 Wyoming
4,613 577 Utah
4,479 560 Montana
4,299 537 Alaska
3,813 477 Nevada
3,481 435 Idaho
2,599 325 Quincy
1,936 242 Eau Claire
1,936 242 Western Kansas
1,883 235 Eastern Oregon
1,877 235 Northern Michigan
1,691 211 North Dakota
564 71 Navajoland
See my maps and charts of dioceses by size.
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Email addresses for bishops
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Provincial Patterns
Click here to see a map of the provinces.
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Deputy Neighborhoods
Only five percent of the deputies are African American, yet the United States has twice that proportion (12.1%)
of African Americans. (I have not yet been able to locate data to show what per cent of Episcopalians are African
American. Please contact me if you can point to official data.)
The zip codes in which deputies live have a median household income of almost three thousand dollars ($2,914.00)
per year higher than the median household income of the United States:
Lay deputies' neighbors enjoy an even greater economic advantage (15%) over the rest of the country--almost
four thousand dollars ($3,962) higher median household income: 
Inequality Faced by the Neighbors of African American Deputies
Those economic advantages disappear for the neighbors of African American deputies, however. Zips codes where
African American deputies live have a median household income of $27.822-- 5-percent lower than the $29,119 median
for households overall in the USA.
Most African American deputies live in predominately non-white neighborhoods: their zip codes are only 41.4
percent white (compared with 80.3% white nationally) and 47.4 percent black (compared with only 12.1 percent nationally),
with 11.2% of other ethnicity.
Dr. King used to speak of 11 o'clock on Sunday morning as the most segregated hour in America. In many places,
many of us have learned to worship together, but 7 o'clock on Saturday night remains as a big problem. Few have
yet learned to share our lives with one another across racial barriers. (Deputy Marge Christie)
Persons who live in the zip codes of African American deputies face greater jeopardy in education and employment.
Only 7.8 percent have received a bachelor's degree in the zip codes of African American deputies, compared with
11.2 percent in the neighborhoods of all deputies. Only 5.2 have received graduate degrees, compared with 6.9 percent
in the zip codes of all deputies. Only 5.3% are employed as executives or professionals, vs. 15.6% thus employed
in the zip codes of all deputies.
Of the seventeen states that have higher than national average of 12.1 percent African Americans, some have
done a better job of electing African American deputies and first alternates to General Convention than have others:
(Note: Not all states have an equal number of deputies, nor are all dioceses within the boundaries
of any one state. 'State' here means the state in which the deputy resides, not necessarily the state of the See.)
%African American
%Deps %State
37.5 65.8 DC
0.0 35.6 MS
0.0 30.8 LA
5.6 29.8 SC
16.7 27.0 GA
0.0 25.3 AL
5.9 24.9 MD
0.0 22.0 NC
3.3 18.8 VA
11.1 16.9 DE
0.0 16.0 TN
0.0 15.9 AR
12.3 15.9 NY
6.7 14.8 IL
8.3 13.9 MI
4.7 13.6 FL
13.3 13.4 NJ
-------------------USA average is 12.1 African American
2.3 11.9 TX
0.0 10.7 MO
11.8 10.6 OH
4.4 9.2 PA
10.0 8.3 CT
5.3 7.8 IN
5.6 7.4 CA
11.1 7.4 OK
10.0 7.1 KY
0.0 6.6 NV
0.0 5.8 KS
16.7 5 MA
0.0 5.0 WI
0.0 4.1 AK
0.0 4.0 CO
0.0 3.9 RI
0.0 3.6 NE
0.0 3.1 WA
0.0 3.1 WV
11.1 3.0 AZ
12.5 2.5 HI
10.0 2.2 MN
0.0 2.0 NM
0.0 1.7 IA
0.0 1.6 OR
0.0 0.8 WY
0.0 0.7 UT
0.0 0.6 ND
0.0 0.6 NH
0.0 0.5 SD
0.0 0.4 ME
0.0 0.3 ID
0.0 0.3 MT
0.0 0.3 VT
Deputies live in zip codes which reflect nearly the same percentage of ethnic distribution of the nation, even
though deputations do not themselves reflect it:
Far fewer zip codes where deputies live have 'whites only' than do all zip codes 29,467 zip codes on the 1990
US Census.
White Privilege:
These data demonstrate white supremacy and white privilege in the Episcopal Church right now. One cannot help
noticing the historical context, however:
Of the nine states that elected African American deputies in percentages equal to or greater than African Americans
appear in the state population, only one is in any way connected to the Confederacy, namely Kentucky:
%African American
%Deps %State Percent Above AAmn Proportion of the State
16.7 5 MA 11.7
12.5 2.5 HI 10
11.1 3.0 AZ 8.1
10.0 2.2 MN 7.8
11.1 7.4 OK 3.7
10.0 7.1 KY 2.9
10.0 8.3 CT 1.7
11.8 10.6 OH 1.2
13.3 13.4 NJ -0.07
Yet of the 12 states with the -10 percent or lower under-proportionate presence of African Americans, 9 of them
were a part of the Confederacy:
%African American
%Deps %State Percent Below AAmn Proportion of the State
0.0 35.6 MS -35.6
0.0 30.8 LA -30.8
37.5 65.8 DC -28.3
0.0 25.3 AL -25.3
5.6 29.8 SC -24.2
0.0 22.0 NC -22
5.9 24.9 MD -19
0.0 16.0 TN -16
0.0 15.9 AR -15.9
3.3 18.8 VA -15.5
0.0 10.7 MO -10.7
16.7 27.0 GA -10.3
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Clergy ordination patterns
Only two percent of the clergy deputies are deacons.
The rest are priests.
Deputies who are priests averaged .83 of a year, or 304 days, between being made a deacon and being made a priest.
Thirty per cent of those priested were priested with an interval of only 6 months between being made a deacon and
being made a priest.
Male deputies moved from the deaconate to priesthood at a shorter interval--2.4 months shorter than
the interval for females, 4.9 months shorter than the interval for African Americans:
Male deputies were also priested at a younger age:
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Clergy Assignments
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Standing Commissions & Committees
Only 10% of the deputies serve on the interim bodies, known variously as commissions, committees, and boards.
Deputies comprise only 31% of the membership on these bodies and bishops another 27%. The remaining 42% of the
members are clergy and lay persons not elected to General Convention.
Of the 1997 deputies now serving on interim bodies:
- 92% were also deputies in 1994.
- 61% are male
- 64% are lay persons.
Click here to see a complete list of all members of standing
commissions & committees together with statistics about distribution, and addresses for each member.
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Legislative Committees
Legislative committees serve during General Convention. All proposed legislation is assigned an appropriate
legislative committee. Committees typically hold hearings on and draft the final versions of all legislation considered
on the floor of General Convention, responding to proposals from dioceses, deputies, bishops, and interim bodies.
Click here to see the list of legislative committees
and their members for 1997.
The following statistics relate to deputies appointed to legislative committees. Only the last item at the end
of the report uses any data from Province 9 and other deputations outside the United States.
The data includes no counts of alternates. It reports appointments known as of June 6th, 1997.
63.8% of all deputies were appointed to committees.
African Americans compared with all Others
African Americans were 9.9% of all those appointed.
98% of the African Americans were appointed.
'Other's were 90.1% of all those appointed.
61.4% of the 'Other's were appointed
African Americans deputies are 6.5% of all deputies
Males and Females Compared
Females were 38.7% of all those appointed.
69.1% of the female deputies were appointed.
Males were 61.3 of all those appointed.
60.8% of the male deputies were appointed.
35.7% of all deputies are females, 64.3% males.
Clergy and Lay Compared
By constitution, clergy and lay are half each of General Convention.
Clergy are 46.2% of those appointed.
Lay are 53.8% of those appointed.
Seniority
64.4% of the deputies in 1997 served also in 1994. 35.6% did not.
Those new in 1997 are 26.2% of those appointed to committees. 47% of those new in 1997 were appointed.
1997 deputies who were also deputies in 1994 are 73.8% of those appointed. 73.1% of those who served as deputies
in 1994 were appointed to committees.
Parish Size
466 Average parish size of all deputies
468 Average parish size of all members of legislative committees
Age
53.8 Average age of all deputies
55.2 Average age of all members of legislative committees.
Support for lesbigay issues
7.22 Average vote w/ lbgs of all deputies on 7 belwether votes in 1994
7.48 Average vote w/ lbgs of all members of legislative committees.
Note: '0' means no votes with lbgs on not one of the votes.
'10' means votes with lbgs on all 7 votes.
Provincial Distribution
Provinces vary in size. This reports percent of the deputies from each province who were appointed to legislative
committees:
Province 1: 71.4%
Province 2: 76.6%
Province 3: 63.5%
Province 4: 63.3%
Province 5: 61.7%
Province 6: 59.4%
Province 7: 53.1%
Province 8: 66.4%
Province 9: 42.9%
63.8% of all deputies were appointed to committees.
Click here here to review parallel statistics
on the House of Bishops appointments to legislative committees.
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Acknowledgements
All the errors here are mine, and I would appreciate continuing help with them as spotted.
Note: Census data comes from the 1990 U.S. Census, much of it from the Summary Tape File 3B on 3 CDs. Deputy
name and zip data was checked against zip code information provided by the General Convention Office. Biographical
data was derived from the Electronic Clerical Directory and the Electronic Lay Leadership Directory,
available from the Church Hymnal Corporation.
Phil Nicholson of DataPhile has been especially helpful in identify clergy
marriage and divorce patterns in this Electronic Clerical Directory.