Last month, V. Gene Robinson became almost a household name in much of the United States, at least among the 2.3 million American Episcopalians.

News of his election as bishop of New Hampshire, and his confirmation in that office by clergy and lay delegates meeting in Minneapolis stirred widespread interest, and in many places, vigorous controversy. Many leaders of the church rejected, as contrary to Bible teaching, the choice of a gay man living in a sexual relationship with another gay man.

Some Anglican bishops, notably those in Africa, have even threatened to split with the Episcopal Church in America. Whether they will actually do so remains unclear, but the danger to the Anglican communion has become serious enough to move Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to call for a special meeting in London next month.

Pressing though this situation is, it may surprisingly have only a relatively minor impact upon the spiritual life of most Episcopalians. A new report published by the Episcopal Church Foundation, an agency linked to the church but independent of it, finds members of local congregations focusing more on their own prayer and public worship than on controversial issues affecting the church nationally and internationally.

Based on a survey of some 2500 people in 300 different congregations, this study discovers a remarkably strong devotion to spiritual practice among members of the church. Commitment to public worship and to the Prayer Book have become “core dimensions of Episcopal identity,” say the researchers. People regard this as central to their lives and those of their congregations. The Eucharist especially looms large in their spiritual life.

Much like many people in other traditions, these parishioners find they can live with many unresolved questions about their faith and with ambiguities in their beliefs. Most of these people feel a “profound sense of community,” along with a sense of mission and the desire to reach out to others. They also show themselves able to combine a sense of tradition with an openness to change.

They feel their local congregation to be both creative and supportive of them. A sense of common purpose impresses many and they welcome the growing expansion of their role as laypeople.

As to current tensions in the church, their views were found to go against expectations. “Difficult questions related to sexuality, doctrinal clarity, and other volatile issues, are not distracting local congregations,” says the report. However, many laypeople do bemoan the lack of effective leadership in the church.

Finally, the increasing role of women is not a problem for members at large. They wish to continue inclusion of diverse cultures. At the same time they consider it a major challenge for the church “to draw on both its Christian traditions and its search for contemporary spirituality in a way that will strengthen Christian community.”

In a recent column, Peter Steinfels, religion writer for the New York Times, judged the document valuable for suggesting that the Episcopal Church is not on the verge of coming apart over issues of homosexuality and other such questions. In centering on their own spiritual life, Episcopalians have more stability than the news media would make one expect.

Some observers judge the situation even better than the report indicates. Rev. Robert Tobin, rector of Christ Church in Cambridge, knows many Episcopalians who combine a deep spiritual life with concern for the larger issues. Rather than choosing between the two, these people bring into their spirituality a commitment to the Church’s efforts to deal with controversial material.

Barbara Braver, Assistant to the Presiding Bishop for Communication, also suggests that people’s spirituality is wide enough to include the highly publicized questions. “I don’t think the study indicates that there is in the church a ‘me and Jesus’ stance,” she says. Rather, people are concerned about both their own spiritual life and the larger issues of the whole church.

While welcoming the emphases of the two inside observers mentioned here, I would add another lesson. For me, the study’s central value is to show once again how people value religion because it supports their spirituality. Episcopalians, it turns out, appreciate their church and its traditions because they find in them the way to prayer, worship, community, ministry and other precious spiritual goods. When combined with concern for the big issues of the church at large, that looks like spiritual health.

Richard Griffin