United Methodists Lift Bans On LGBTQ Clergy And Same-Sex Weddings
Following decades of infighting, the United Methodist Church voted this week on a series of sweeping doctrinal changes, including repealing a ban on LGBTQ clergy and allowing for same-sex marriages.
Delegates approved the changes in Charlotte during its General Conference in an effort to remove the rule that bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.
Past church conferences had reinforced the bans amid much debate. However, many conservatives who had previously upheld such a ban have left the denomination in recent years, paving the way for it to be repealed.
READ: Will The United Methodist Church Finally Settle Its Big Split?
For the U.S.’s third-largest Protestant denomination, the changes represent a seismic shift and one that calls on fully embracing LGBTQ members in every aspect of church life.
“It seemed like such a simple vote, but it carried so much weight and power, as 50 years of restricting the Holy Spirit’s call on people’s lives has been lifted,” Bishop Karen Oliveto, who in 2016 was elected the first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church, said on Wednesday.
In another sign the United Methodist Church has moved in a more progressive direction on culture war matters related to LGBTQ issues, the delegates also approved a measure that bans church officials from penalizing clergy who perform same-sex weddings. The church also voted to allow same-sex weddings in a vote held on Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that United Methodist bodies in other part of the world are not required to adhere to the vote’s outcome since they have the right under church rules to impose restrictions in their own regions.
The changes go into effect Saturday at the conclusion of the quadrennial gathering.
“People can live fully into their call without fear,” said Oliveto, who represents the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes the states of Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. “The church we’ve loved has found a home for us.”
The divisions within the Methodist Church have mirrored the political and cultural skirmishes of the last decade — with delegates from blue U.S. zip codes clashing with ones from red ones.
While some U.S. and African delegates argued against the changes, a majority endorsed them in the end.
Dixie Brewster, a delegate from the Great Plains Conference that includes Kansas and Nebraska, called on fellow conservatives to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church “peacefully.”
“We will not be disruptive,” she said, adding, “I love my homosexual friends. I just view the Scriptures a different way.”
Decades of debate
Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the pandemic, the meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.
In 1996, the General Conference added rules prohibiting clergy from conducting same-sex weddings — though the number who did so increased significantly. In recent decades, members of many U.S. churches, including United Methodists, have shown greater acceptance toward LGBTQ people.
In 2022, conservative Methodists announced a break with the UMC, forming the Global Methodist Church. These leaders believed that the UMC had become too liberal, drifting away from orthodoxy. The issue at the heart of the split, however, revolved around the UMC’s long-standing battle over LGBTQ rights.
The denominational schism has drawn comparisons to one in 1844, when Methodists were divided over slavery.
Christopher Evans, a professor of History of Christianity and Methodist Studies at Boston University, wrote in The Conversation last month that both schisms “center on predominant social issues of their eras. The current schism, however, comes at a time when United Methodists, like other American churches, must navigate a changing religious landscape — one where church membership is declining, especially among younger Americans.”
In the same piece, Evans noted: “Unlike 1844, when many churches were growing rapidly, the current schism comes as American Protestantism is shrinking. This includes not only mainline Protestant denominations, but more conservative churches as well.”
In 1968, Evans said, United Methodist membership in the U.S. was 10.3 million. By 2022, it was down to just 5.4 million.
“Another serious challenge is the rising percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation, commonly called religious nones — many of whom are disillusioned by anti-LGBTQ+ policies,” Evans added.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.