Schism

In the 1970s, the unity of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. was threatened by a push to ordain women. The Church surmounted this divisive issue and, by 2006, the Church had not only ordained hundreds of women but also installed a female priest as Presiding Bishop.

Today the Episcopal Church faces a second issue of inclusion, following a 2003 vote to install the Rev. Gene Robinson, a gay clergyman living in a committed relationship, as Bishop of New Hampshire.

The film Schism will explore the nature, causes and effects of a potential split over this issue in mainline Protestantism by profiling how the issue is being addressed in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the largest in membership and one of the two oldest in the nation, and the diocese in which protests against homosexuality have been most vocal, most active, and most effective.