Trouble in Paradise: United Methodist Church Splits
Since 2019, the United Methodist Church has lost 7,600 congregations, or a quarter of its churches, to the newly created Global Methodist Church. PBS News correspondent Adam Kemp called this the largest denominational split since the Civil War.
According to the 2020 US Religious Census, the UMC has around 8 million members, making it the second-largest denomination in the US. The division of this large, influential Church will change the future of the US’s religious landscape, especially for more progressive-leaning churches.
The UMC is an archetype of what is known as a mainline church, which tends to be more moderate or liberal regarding social and political issues. Matthew Wilson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, spoke about the implications of the Church division, “More than any other denomination, [the United Methodist Church] has historically been the core of mainline Protestantism in the U.S., so what happens in Methodism is really significant for American Protestantism.”
The division stems from disagreements over LGBTQ+ participation in Methodist congregations. These controversies first came to light when several ministers within the church came out as gay. This brought up the discussion of how the church views homosexuality and, even more controversial, the issue of gay marriage in the church. “The United Methodist Church has been trying to avoid the question of same-sex marriage for years,” claims Ryan Burge, a professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
While the UMC still forbids same-sex marriage and “self-avowed, practicing” gay people from serving in the clergy, in recent years, there has been a clear shift. Some church leaders have ignored the official restrictions, and there are now several openly gay ministers and clergy and even two gay bishops. This change has led many to believe the Church will change its rules, leading to the preemptive exodus we are witnessing now.
Many believe that the UMC will lift many of its bans surrounding gay people and same-sex marriage in 2024. At the Church’s annual assembly in 2019, all their congregations were given a window to leave the denomination if desired. The deadline was December 31, 2023, meaning we live through the first year of this split.
Most congregations that have split off have either joined the newly created Global Methodist Church, a more conservative branch of the Methodist denomination, or opted to be non-denominational. In Texas, an epicenter for United Methodists, 40% of churches have left the denomination as the Global Methodist Church has gained over 3,000 congregations.
The New York Times reports that the Global Methodist Church plans to enforce the Methodist beliefs on gay marriage and involvement in their congregations. The new denomination has joined a league of conservative protest churches as the 13th largest denomination in the US.
The division of the UMC highlights the growing threat of polarization plaguing America. As we witness this historic split in one of the country’s largest churches, we must reflect on how this nation's political and social landscape divides people.
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