Why are so many gay people methodists
United Methodist Church will grant LGBTQ clergy, after 40-year ban
BBC News, Washington
The United Methodist Church voted Wednesday to let LGBTQ clergy to work for in the church, reversing a 40-year ban.
The church had forbidden "self-avowed homosexuals" from being ordained or appointed as clergy members.
But during a national conference this week, delegates voted 692-51 to overturn the ban without debate.
People at the conference in North Carolina sang hymns in celebration after the vote, the church said.
Attendees also eased restrictions on gay marriage, passing a measure to prevent clergy and churches from being penalized for performing or declining to perform same-sex weddings.
"With the approvals and acceptance of the things today...we're beginning to see the unwinding, unravelling, dismantling of the heterosexism, the homophobia, the hurt and the harm of the Joined Methodist Church," Rev David Meredith said to Joined Methodist News.
Conservative members and congregations have left the denomination in recent years over the issues of LGBTQ clergy and gay marriage, changing the makeup of the chur
United Methodists remove anti-gay language from official teachings on societal issues
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — United Methodist delegates on Thursday removed a 52-year-old proclamation from their official social teachings that deemed “the rehearse of homosexuality ... incompatible with Christian teaching” — part of a wider series of historic reversals of the denomination’s long-standing disapproval of LGBTQ activity.
The historic vote came as delegates also approved a fresh definition of marriage as a covenant between “two people of faith” while recognizing the couple may or may not involve a man and a woman. That replaces an exclusively heterosexual definition of marriage and followed a debate that exposed tensions between some U.S. and international delegates.
The 523-161 vote to approve a section of the church’s Revised Social Principles took place at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in the penultimate day of their 11-day legislative gathering in Charlotte.
It came a day after the General Conference removed its long-standing ban on “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Step by step, delegates acquire been removing anti
Methodist Church apologises for 'all forms of homophobia'
BBC News NI education correspondent
The Methodist Church in Ireland has apologised "unreservedly for failures in pastoral support and care" to the LGBT community and their families.
The church also said it strongly condemned all forms of homophobia both within the church and the wider community.
However, the church has decided that marriage remain a relationship "between one bloke and one woman".
It has decided not to trails the Methodist Church in Great Britain in allowing same-sex marriages.
The Methodist Church in Ireland (MCI) is one of the main religious denominations and is made up of about 200 churches in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Joined Methodist Church in the US recently voted to allow LGBT clergy to serve in the church, reversing a 40-year ban.
It is unclear whether individual Methodist churches in Northern Ireland or the Republic will have the dominance to allow people in same-sex relationships to proceed in leadership roles.
That followed an amendment voted on by members of the MCI at their conference in Belfast.
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: The United Methodist Church
In May 2024, the General Conference voted to remove longstanding bans on the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy and the celebration of same-sex 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 Combined 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) accumulate to consider revisions to the Novel of Resolutions and the Book of Discipline. Decisions of the General Conference are binding until the next confer
Sexuality and the Joined Methodists
Others, favor the Episcopals, Presbyterians (PCUSA), and Lutherans (ELCA) possess taken explicit stances in support of LGBTQ inclusion. Of course, individual members of these institutions will have diverse views on the topic, and the stance of an institution does not always mirror the stance of an individual member; The Merged Method Church (UMC) is a perfect example of this complexity.
The UMC is a global Protestant denomination which has significant membership in North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. While historically originating in the United Kingdom, the largest population of Methodists now lives in the Together States, where it is the third largest religious group after Catholics and Baptists.
Every four years, the UMC meets at what they call the Methodist General Conference—a democratic body of representatives from across the world which gathers to make church decisions. In 1972, the Conference voted to add language to the church’s regulation, stating “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” and that gay ministers and marriages are not allowed in their churches.
Even then, this stance