A quick glance at the membership of various churches denomination in the history of this country would tell you that very little is attractive about the ECUSA. When this country was founded, Anglicanism enjoyed dominate status throughout the 13 colonies due to inheriting the faith from England and the Church of England being the "official", state-sponsored church. Episcopalian was BY FAR the most common church affiliation of the founding fathers. Catholicism was extremely rare in 18th century America and made up less than 1% of the religious affiliation the colonies back then, and much of their support came from France.
Today, the reverse is true. The EPUSA has shrunk to a tiny, tiny faction of the numbers it once had, and is one of the fastest DECLINING churches for membership rolls in the USA. In the 21st century, they are now less than 2% of Americans. The few people who regularly attend their "mass" (or whatever they call it) on Sunday are usually elderly white people. The EPUSA has been unable to stop the bleeding and has been torn apart by internal fighting since ordaining that gay "bishop", so many disgruntled Anglicans who remain Anglican just join a more conservative Anglican denomination rather than remain in the ECUSA. People who leave the Catholic Church for another Christian denomination tend to become "non-denominational" (why they'd want generic Christianity is beyond me, but that's what the demographics show), whereas Catholic-to-Episoplian conversions are rare, and again, usually because the Catholic Church is not liberal enough for their tastes and won't celebrate their gay "marriage" or ordain a woman "priest" like they want. The Catholic Church's membership has also completely flipped from 18th century America, and has been the LARGEST church affiliation in the United States for quiet sometime. Over 1/4th of Americans are now Catholic. The ordination of the gay "bishop" in the USA has resulted in the largest exodus of Anglician-to-Catholic converts, even resulting in the creation of an "Anglician use" rite in the United States so that entire congregations can switch denominations and affliate with the local Roman Catholic bishop.
>> there is absolutely no requirement or even pressure to conform on matters of politics. I can openly disagree and discuss these matters without it being seen as a challenge to authority. This is in contrast to the Catholic Church, but which does not tolerate deviation from the Church's positions <<
Again, to be quite honest, you seem to be the ONLY FReeper I've met who thinks the Catholic Church isn't tolerant of any dissent from its political views. Elsewhere on FR, the OPPOSITE charge is leveled against the U.S. Catholic Church (that the bishops, clergy, and hierarchy of the U.S. church do nothing to combat rogue priests who preach things that go against Catholic doctrine, or against lay Catholics who openly promote things considered intrinsically evil by the Catholic Church). The fact that the Catholic Church refuses to discline rabidly pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage politicians in its ranks is the one of the most common complaints on FR. I'd love to live in your alternate universe where the Catholic Church does not tolerate division from the Church's positions and pressures members to conform on matters of politics. It's so far from reality, its like the alternate universe where Barack Obama had a "more humble foriegn policy" that didn't "bully" other countries and force his views on them.
Our appeal is becoming more selective...
The difference between the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church in terms of demanding adherence to doctrine is that the Catholic Church has a policy that many would suggest is inadequately enforced. The Episcopal Church has no policy.
Consequently, we also have no quality control, which is why you see so many Episcopal Churches doing so many ridiculous things. On the other hand, absolutely nobody feels any need to take any of those ridiculous things seriously.
Obviously, it is not for everyone. Most people seem to want more structure, more certainty, and more control from a higher authority. I understand that. I just don't share that view.
If you can't stand to share a pew with people who think differently from you, you probably want to try another church down the road. If, however, you prefer the animating interaction of people with various views who treat each other with tolerance and respect (for the most part), the Episcopal Church might be for you.
I was re-reading your previous comment, and it occurs to me that you excerpted my previous comments and then spent a good amount of energy and vitriol arguing with the excerpts.