{"id":19590,"date":"2020-02-09T23:10:21","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T23:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=19590"},"modified":"2020-02-11T15:31:22","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T15:31:22","slug":"gay-rights-dispute-is-pulling-apart-the-united-methodist-church-after-decades-of-argument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/gay-rights-dispute-is-pulling-apart-the-united-methodist-church-after-decades-of-argument\/","title":{"rendered":"Gay rights dispute is pulling apart the United Methodist Church, after decades of argument"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott T. Vehstedt<\/a>, American University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination<\/a> in the United States, is headed toward a divorce.<\/p>\n

In early January, mediators from across the United Methodist Church proposed a separation plan<\/a> to split the church into two separate denominations, with one that will allow same sex marriages and \u201cpracticing\u201d LGBTQ clergy.<\/p>\n

Members of the General Conference, the church\u2019s legislative body, are expected<\/a> to pass the proposal in May. If a split occurs, it will be the result of nearly 50 years of failure to resolve the United Methodist Church\u2019s ambiguous position on sexuality.<\/p>\n

The origin of the debate<\/h2>\n

The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 by the union of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

At that time in the United States, the civil rights movement<\/a> and the nascent gay liberation movement<\/a> were both underway. The new United Methodist Church, like many institutions in American society, grappled with the changing American culture, particularly with respect to sexuality.<\/p>\n

For much of the 20th century, American society did not approve of homosexuality. As historian Robert O. Self<\/a> noted in his book<\/a>, \u201cas late as 1968 homosexual acts remained a felony in every state except Illinois, New York, and New Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, by the 1970s LGBTQ Americans made themselves visible both in public spaces and in the church, asserting their rights and dignity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 1972, the United Methodist Church adopted into its \u201cBook of Discipline,\u201d or established laws and doctrine, a clause which recognized<\/a> homosexuals as \u201cpersons of sacred worth\u2026entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured.\u201d But there was a caveat: The church did not \u201ccondone the practice of homosexuality\u201d and considers it \u201cincompatible with Christian teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embracing civil rights for LGBTQ Americans without condoning homosexuality in the church was an attempt at compromise.<\/p>\n

As my research<\/a> on the church\u2019s position on sexuality has shown, the newly unified<\/a> denomination did not want to split up after just four years.<\/p>\n

Sexuality \u2013 a divisive outlier<\/h2>\n
\"\"
The First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, displayed a rainbow decoration to signify that all, including LGBTQ, are welcome.<\/span>
\ndlewis33\/ iStock \/ Getty Images Plus<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1972, liberals in the church introduced a statement in favor of civil rights<\/a> for the LGBTQ community. Their aim was to officially support the civil rights of persecuted gay and lesbian people.<\/p>\n

Though seen by the more moderate and conservative members of the newly united church as radical, their statement was in keeping with many of other liberal Methodist policies.<\/p>\n

The denomination \u2013 pre-unification with the United Brethren Church \u2013 was among the first to ordain women, recognizing womens\u2019 right to preach in 1956. Methodists have supported access to contraception and abortion<\/a> since 1972.<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s very first Book of Discipline opposed slavery, stating it to be \u201ccontrary to the golden law of God,\u201d although this was never enforced in the American South.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Methodists have been critical of aggressive foreign policy. The church referred to the war in Vietnam as a \u201ccrime against humanity<\/a>\u201d in 1972.<\/p>\n

Still, conservatives, who in 1972 represented a slim majority<\/a> of the church\u2019s membership, defended their position on sexuality. They agreed to the civil rights statement only on the condition that homosexuality be declared incompatible with Christianity.<\/p>\n

Building an ambiguous legacy<\/h2>\n

The path to schism continued into the next decade.<\/p>\n

The 1980 United Methodist General Conference was a good one for gay rights, as sociologist Amanda Udis-Kessler<\/a> has documented<\/a>. The delegates voted down a measure to ban gay clergy and called on the government to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in federal agencies and the military.<\/p>\n

Then, in 1984 the church banned homosexual acts among clergy<\/a>, essentially forcing LGBTQ ministers to either become celibate or quit.<\/p>\n

At their next meeting, in 1988, the United Methodists nevertheless adopted a policy of welcoming \u201call persons regardless of sexual orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n

By popular demand, that year the church also authorized the first concerted effort to study sexuality among Methodists. A committee chaired by Rev. Nancy Yamasaki, a pastor and church administrator, interviewed ministers and parishioners to document experiences and opinions about sexuality and its Biblical interpretation.<\/p>\n

When their report<\/a> was released in 1992 it argued that the Bible did not speak to sexual orientation at all.<\/p>\n

Among other conclusions, the report determined that sexual orientation is not a choice made by adults or a personal failing. It also concluded that gay couples practiced monogamy at roughly the same rate as straight couples and were every bit as happy.<\/p>\n

In light of these results, a majority of the committee wanted the church to acknowledge that it could not \u201cresponsibly maintain the condemnation of all homosexual practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church accepted that the 1992 report was the product of a valid and fair study but refused to adopt its recommendations.<\/p>\n

Global ministry<\/h2>\n

Church policy on LGBTQ inclusion changed little in the 1990s and 2000s<\/a>, though the church\u2019s demographics did.<\/p>\n

Americans may have drifted toward full inclusion for LGBTQ people, yet since the 1960s fewer have attended mainline churches<\/a>. For the United Methodist Church this trend really accelerated in the 1990s and 2000s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Liberian President elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, sings during a church service in Monrovia, Liberia in 2006.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Jerome Delay<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Methodists are very diverse, with members from across the political spectrum<\/a> and the world, particularly in Africa<\/a>. Today, nearly half of nearly 13 million Methodists live outside the United States.<\/p>\n

In May 2020<\/a>, when church leaders meet to approve their split, 56% of delegates to the General Conference will be from the United States, 32% from Africa, 6% from the Philippines and about 5% from Europe.<\/p>\n

International delegates to the General Conference disproportionately oppose LGBTQ inclusion in the church<\/a> and have demonstrated \u201coverwhelming support<\/a>\u201d for maintaining the church\u2019s traditional ban<\/a> on same sex marriages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the bans were eased, the church in Africa would cease to exist,\u201d Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia told the media<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n

Rev. Forbes Matonga, a General Conference delegate and pastor at the Nyadire Mission Center in Zimbabwe, said last year that support for same sex marriage would cause Africans to leave the denomination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With opinions on sexuality now evenly split<\/a>, the church can no longer keep everyone satisfied. In May, Methodists on both sides of the divide will have the opportunity to realize a church that reflects their own values.<\/p>\n

[ You\u2019re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation\u2019s authors and editors.<\/em> You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter<\/a>. ]\"The<\/p>\n

Scott T. Vehstedt<\/a>, PhD Candidate in American History, American University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott T. Vehstedt, American University The Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the United States, is headed toward a divorce. In early January, mediators from across the United Methodist Church proposed a separation plan to split the church into two separate denominations, with one that will allow same sex marriages and \u201cpracticing\u201d LGBTQ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":19592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2450],"tags":[2388,1244,2335,2591,6610],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19590"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19605,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19590\/revisions\/19605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}