History of the Episcopal Church (United States)

The history of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has its origins in the Church of England, a church which stresses its continuity with the ancient Western church and claims to maintain apostolic succession. Its close links to the Crown led to its reorganization on an independent basis in the 1780s. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was characterized sociologically by a disproportionately high number of high status Americans as well as English immigrants: More than a quarter of all presidents of the United States have been Episcopalians (see List of United States Presidential religious affiliations). Although it was not among the leading participants of the abolitionist movement in the early 19th century, by the early 20th century its social engagement had increased to the point that it was an important participant in the Social Gospel movement, though it never provided much support for the Prohibitionist movement. Like other mainline churches in the United States, its membership decreased from the 1960s. This was also a period in which the church took a more open attitude on the role of women and toward homosexuality, while engaging in liturgical revision parallel to that of the Roman Catholic Church in the post Vatican II era.

The Church of England in the American colonies began with the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 under the charter of the Virginia Company of London. It grew slowly throughout the colonies along the east coast becoming the established church in Virginia in 1609, the lower four counties of New York in 1693, Maryland in 1702, South Carolina in 1706, North Carolina in 1730, and Georgia in 1758. By 1700, the Church of England's greatest strength was in Virginia and Maryland.

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