Methodist church split over lgbtq issue
United Methodists Lose 1,800 Churches in Split Over LGBT Stance
Update: Disaffiliations approved by UMC conferences now total more than 5,800 churches as of June 16, 2023.
Nearly four years ago, the United Methodist Church approved an exit schedule for churches wishing to break away from the global denomination over differing beliefs about sexuality, setting in motion what many believed would be a modern-day schism.
Since then, a new analysis has set up, it’s fallen well compact of that.
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That analysis of data composed by the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration shows 6.1 percent of United Methodist churches in the US—1,831 congregations out of 30,000 nationwide—have been granted permission to disaffiliate since 2019. There are no good figures for international departures among the estimated 12,000 Merged Methodist churches abroad.
The denomination’s disaffiliation plan gives churches until December 31 to cut ties, and many have already made famous their desire to quit. Those churches can hold their properties with them after paying apportionments and pension liabilities. Others are forcing the issue through civil
POV: Schism in the Methodist Church Explained
Marsh Chapel dean reflects on what’s behind the split and what it means for the denomination’s future
Given the completion of a split within the Combined Methodist Church last month, people own asked several questions as the divorce is being finalized. Here is an attempt to respond to some of these interests.
Why own a quarter of American Methodist churches left the denomination?
Like other Protestant denominations (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc.), the Merged Methodist Church (UMC) has faced decades of conflict, largely over the complete humanity of homosexual people. Like other denominations, after years of national and other meetings (“conferences,” in Methodism), the denomination has at long last advance to a conclusive point. As a result, some 20 to 25 percent of churches and members have departed the denomination.
Why now?
The schism, finally and fully ratified in April, has been fully present since at least 1970, and has been debated, avoided, postponed, and dreaded since before I entered the ministry in 1979. The determinations of the General Conference (the governing body of the UMC) have at long last, and with b
Nebraska United Methodist Church congregations split with denomination over LGBTQ issues
In a 655 to 29 vote Wednesday night, the Great Plains conference of the Together Methodist Church ratified legislation to let a total of 156 member churches in Kansas and Nebraska to split from the main church.
The rift is largely due to disagreements about LGBTQ issues, such as whether to authorize gay clergy and whether ministers should officiate at queer weddings – issues that remain up for debate among church members. At the heart of the matter are fundamental differences about the future of the church.
“We still have about 750 churches,” said Bishop David Wilson, who leads the Amazing Plains UMC. “And so these are folk who are more like-minded in terms of how we do ministry. And of course, looking here and even around issues of human sexuality.”
‘Staying UMC’
The vote came via an online session attended by church leaders from both states. Todd Seifert, a Fantastic Plains UMC spokesman, said the process has been consistent since the Fantastic Plains UMC began considering disaffiliations in 2020.
“Our goal all along has been to ensure churches are not hampered in any way in their ministry,”
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: The Together Methodist Church
In May 2024, the General Conference voted to remove longstanding bans on the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy and the celebration of queer marriages by clergy and in churches. These changes became fully effective on January 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND
The UMC traces its origins to the Methodist movement initiated in the mid-18th century by Anglican priest John Wesley and his brother Charles. The current structure of the UMC was established in 1968 through the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The church is founded on three basic principles:
- Do no harm.
- Do good.
- Practice the ordinances of God, including prayer, Bible reading, worship, and the Lord's Supper.
The global church structure mirrors the United States government with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch, the General Conference, meets every four years to set church policy. Approximately 1,000 delegates (half lay leaders, half clergy) gather to consider revisions to the Book of Resolutions and the Guide of Discipline. Decisions of the General Conference are binding until the next confer
Historic Methodist rift is part of larger Christian split over LGBTQ issues
Thousands of congregations have left the United Methodist Church amid contentious debates over sexuality, including a dispute over whether to accept queer marriage and LGBTQ+ pastors.
The rift marks the largest denominational schism in U.S. history. A quarter of the church’s approximately 30,000 congregations said they planned to remove themselves from the United Methodist Church as of Dec. 31. The church is one of America's largest Protestant denominations.
The historic rift in the United Methodist Church is part of a larger split in recent years in the Christian religion over issues of gender and sexuality. Similar divides have led to splits among Baptists, Mennonites, Presbyterians and other protestant denominations.
"It's been brewing forever – for at least the last 20 years, " said Jason Bivins, a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University.
Meanwhile, the Catholic church is showing signs of an evolving stance on gay marriage.
'It left us' After historic Methodist rift, feelings of betrayal and hope for future