In his Viewpoint article, John W. Alexander produces no evidence in support of the explanation he offers for the decline in membership of the Episcopal Church. The fact that two events take place simultaneously does not logically prove that there is a causal connection between them.

He uses statistics for purposes of propaganda when he suggests by implication that our church should have kept pace with the increase in the population of the U.S.A., ignoring the fact that a good portion of this increase was because of immigration by, generally, Roman Catholic Hispanics.

He also fails to mention that all other mainline protestant churches suffered similar loss of membership. Is he suggesting that they all betrayed their traditions as, in his opinion, the Episcopal Church did? I can offer more logical reasons for the decline in membership in our church, even though I do not claim to have a comprehensive explanation.

There may be demographic reasons. The baby boom lowered temporarily the average age of our population, and we know that older people are more likely to attend church.

There are sociological reasons. The Episcopal Church used to attract the majority of business leaders, professionals and executives. It was the place to get to know people of wealth and influence. It was the place to promote careers. This is no longer true. People now realize that the golf course will do equally well for furthering their secular goals.

The conclusion I draw is the very opposite of Mr. Alexander's. I believe the loss of membership is because of our church's being insufficiently progressive and, therefore, becoming less relevant to the people of the contemporary world. The fact that conservative and fundamental churches continue drawing increasing numbers is no counter-argument. It simply means that there are people in our day, as in all ages, who are comfortable with simple answers to complex questions.

Nicholas T. Molnar Santa Fe, N.M.