ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how the members of the American metropolitan upper class, deeply rooted though their ancestors were in the Calvinism of New England or the Quaker faith of Philadelphia, gradually returned to the Anglican communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Before discussing this Episcopalian upper class, especially Philadelphia's Quaker-turned-Episcopal gentry, a word should be said about religion and the class structure as a whole in America. One of the important consequences of the Reformation has been the fact that whereas the Catholic Church traditionally ministered to all social strata, the numerous Protestant sects and denominations have been divided along class lines virtually from the beginning. While members of most of the Protestant denominations were represented in the Social Register in 1940, a detailed analysis of the historical development of Philadelphia's Anglo-Catholic gentry is necessary for an understanding of the city's upper-class traditions and values.
