The United Methodist Church is experiencing an upheaval with over 7000 churches reportedly said to be quitting the denomination over differences regarding LGBTQ rights.
The UMC has over millions of worshippers globally and is one of the largest Protestant denomination.
Ordination of LGBTQ clergy and same sex marriage is banned by the UMC. The Book of Discipline which outlines the Methodist Church upholds an anti LGBTQ discourse. It expects its queer membership to remain closeted. Despite this, for years these rules have been largely challenged and upheld. The church has not taken any action towards congregations that allow marriage between same sex couples and ordination of LGBTQ clergy.
This has been the cause of decades of simmering differences in the congregations. The theological differences that have arisen as a result of the rights of the LGBTQ in the church have caused a dilemma which has now, finally, resulted in a splintering in the UMC.
Conservatives are quitting the denomination in order to launch a separate church that is tentatively titled Global Methodist Church. Progressives in the UMC, on the other hand, are expected to fight the bans that have been levied against the LGBTQ and attempt to reinstate a status for them within the church.
Turning Point in Quitting the Methodist Denomination
Bishop Karen Oliveto’s consecration in 2016 marked a significant turning point for numerous individuals who decided to leave the United Methodist Church. As the church’s first openly gay bishop, Oliveto oversees congregations in several states challenging longstanding rules within the denomination. The disregard for these rules has intensified divisions and have resulted in approximately 20% of U.S. United Methodist Church congregations leaving since disaffiliations started in 2019. The exact number of members departing with their congregations remains unclear.
Bishop Oliveto expressed frustration at the discrepancy in how bishops who were closeted are treated compared to her situation of living openly in love and joy. She questions the church’s stance on rejecting or condemning LGBTQ members and friends, arguing that the Book of Discipline’s language falls short of true acceptance, providing only a conditional welcome.
More Americans are not affiliated with any religion with the percentage reaching 27% in 2022 according to a report from the Public Religion Research Institute. Among those who switched their religious beliefs, 30% pointed to negative teachings or treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals as a major reason.
What is the most recent trigger In the Methodist church departure?
In 2019, the special legislative general conference voted to make the rules stricter in banning same sex unions and openly gay clergy. A pan was passed allowing congregations to leave over “reasons of conscience” pertaining to human sexuality. There was also a five-year window for churches to leave after making the required payments. When the churches felt that the UMC was not following the rules regarding the LGBTQ community and enforcing a clampdown upon them, they decided to leave.
