The Christian church has championed many civil rights movements and called for progressive improvements to government and social structures set against groups of people. The opposite is also true, with the church often being one of the leading establishments maintaining prejudices and upholding the institutions making it so. The same is true within the LGBTQ+ movement, as the right to non-straight marriages among other things was rebuked by many Christian denominations for years until public opinion shifted. Since then, many large Protestant sects- including Presbyterians, Evangelicals and more, have amended their doctrine to better support gay members. Most of these sects are more progressive- but even the most conservative of churches has seen some shift in opinion- with Pope Francis recently speaking against judgement for those who have homosexual relationships and pursue faith;
“I have spoken clearly about this, no? Marriage is a sacrament. Marriage is a sacrament. The church doesn’t have the power to change sacraments. It’s as our Lord established. These are laws that try to help the situation for many people of different sexual orientation. It is important that this helps people but without imposing things that by nature do not function in the church. But if they want to spend their lives together, a homosexual couple, nations have the possibility civilly to support them, to give them safety with regards to inheritance and health.”
Although not quite a sponsorship, considering even the Catholic Pope would give more doctrinal leeway, it is shocking to see the lack of improvement in the Methodist church, which has always been a center for progressivism among even Protestant sects. With a recent vote even tightening restrictions- it calls into question what are the factors that lead to these results.
"Differences over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have simmered for years in the UMC, and came to a head in 2019 at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 to strengthen bans on LGBTQ-inclusive practices. Most U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBTQ-friendly options; they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the delegates from Methodist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines."
These issues have led to a planned breakaway from the United Methodist Church from many upset with this ruling, mostly from the United States. They plan to form the Global Methodist Church, which would amend their rules on inclusion while still operating under the basis of Methodist thought. Most of these departing churches can be identified by rainbow flag covering the United Methodist on their sign, and are extremely common especially in big cities, almost more-so than churches that plan to stay. However, this breakaway will be saved for another article, as it is possible it will occur at any point in the next few months- I believe the more interesting topic to discuss right now, is how this result came to be.
The overwhelming majority of churches from the United States voted for improvement towards LGBTQ inclusiveness. The votes against came primarily from conservative churches in Africa and Asia which are less tolerant culturally of LGBTQ rights. Many other progressive churches such as Presbyterians and Evangelicals have split congregations- meaning different countries have different rules and assemblies. One of the main tenets of the Methodist church is having a global conglomeration, which means more perspectives and a greater sense of community. However, this vote represents the largest issue with this system, when cultural differences lead to a split in opinion.
I believe this shows how a community can get an unjust result out of a just system. It's hard to say when or if many of these churches will amend their votes on this issue, but I do not believe the answer is to close off their perspective. Although I can understand the moral obligations of a church to do what is best for their own members, it is difficult to also maintain a global church for such a long time without finding disagreements in the ideas of the many involved. One could argue many of these churches would be choosing between uplifting a global perspective or uplifting those who are prejudiced locally. Neither answer is perfect and I cannot fault any who choose one over the other- but it is difficult to imagine a world where the so-called "Global" Methodist Church won't run into the exact same problem at some point in the future.
This is a very interesting topic that you explored here. Unfortunately, even with the more inclusive sentiment of the Methodist church, I think the LGBTQ+ community has a very negative association with the church as it has historically been full of hate, exclusivity, and violence. This post poses the question of whether it's too late to express love and inclusivity or if people will return to church if they feel welcomed.
The topic of how different churches are forced to deal with modern social issues is something very important and I am glad you brought it up. Many of these or churches have be institutions for hundreds if not several thousand years old. The many traditions and rules of them have stood the test of time. But like how you mentioned when it comes to LGBTQ it presents a huge issue. As you showed through the Popes words they are now starting to recognize they have the right to be with whomever they desire. But they have no intention of changing the Bibles view on it. I believe that it should be important for churches to become more progressive in o…