United Methodist Church Lifts Ban on Homosexual Clergy

The United Methodist Church lifted a 40-year ban on homosexual clergy on May 1. The new ruling passed with 93 percent approval, 682 to 51, at the church’s first general conference meeting since 2019.

Delegates at the Charlotte conference in North Carolina also voted to allow clergy and churches to hold same-sex weddings.

Liberal takeover: The vote comes after decades of schism over lgbtq rights within the church. Many clergy members had already been ignoring the ban, sparking controversy with the more conservative members of the church.

In a 2019 general conference in St. Louis, Missouri, a liberal faction sought “equal inclusion” for homosexual and transgender people. At the time, progressive members proposed a plan to let local areas decide for themselves what they want to do regarding same-sex “marriage” and homosexual clergy. This proposal failed, with 53 percent voting to tighten the ban instead.

Division over the issue continued and thousands of conservative churches have either left the denomination or compromised with the push of liberal ideas since. Now the United Methodist Church is largely dominated by liberal clergy.

Ignoring the Bible: In recent years, many churches have compromised with or even rejected the laws of marriage that God, whom they claim to worship, clearly defines in the Bible. Many do it for the money, but some sincerely believe their tolerance of such sins is compassionate.

The Bible prophesies of the devastating consequences that will come as a result of ignoring God’s instructions. To learn more, read “Infiltrated!”