The United Methodist Church overturned a 40-year ban on LGBTQ clergy with a vote of 692-51 at a national conference in North Carolina. Attendees celebrated by singing hymns. The church also eased restrictions on gay marriage to prevent penalties for clergy performing or declining same-sex weddings. Conservative members have left the denomination in recent years over these issues, leading to overwhelming support for the policy changes. Over 7,600 US congregations have disaffiliated from the church since 2019. The church, with approximately 10 million members globally, holds a General Conference every four years to review policies.
As of December, a quarter of U.S. congregations in the United Methodist Church have departed the denomination due to disagreements regarding the ordination of LGBTQ clergy and the performance of same-sex weddings. The General Conference, scheduled in Charlotte, N.C., is addressing these contentious topics. The United Methodist Book of Discipline currently states that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, and prohibits clergy from conducting same-sex weddings and ordaining LGBTQ individuals. The Conference, the church's ultimate authority, has the power to revise these rules during their upcoming session.
During the legislative General Conference, United Methodist delegates voted 667-54 to remove mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and to lift bans on LGBTQ candidates for ministry and funding for gay-friendly ministries. This historic decision follows a significant schism in the denomination, with conservative churches leaving between 2019 and 2023 due to the lack of enforcement of LGBTQ bans. The shift in policy, driven by progressive delegates, may lead to further departures from international churches, especially in Africa where more conservative views on sexuality are prevalent and same-sex activity is criminalized in some countries.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.The United Methodist Church has a connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations. It is organized into conferences. The highest level is called the General Conference and is the only organization which may speak officially for the UMC. The church is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Methodist Council, and other religious associations.As of 2022, the UMC had 5,424,175 members and 29,746 churches in the United States. As of 2022, it had 9,984,925 members and 39,460 churches worldwide. In 2015, the Pew Research Center estimated that 3.6 percent of the US population, or nine million adult adherents, identified with the United Methodist Church, revealing a much larger number of adherents than registered members.On January 3, 2020, a group of Methodist leaders proposed a plan to split the United Methodist Church over issues of sexual orientation (particularly same-sex marriage) and create a new traditionalist Methodist denomination. The Global Methodist Church was formed in 2022. Prior to the establishment of the Global Methodist Church, some Methodist congregations had already left the UMC to join the Free Methodist Church, a traditionalist Methodist denomination aligned with the Wesleyan-holiness movement. As of December 30, 2023, the number of UMC churches in the United States that were approved for disaffiliation stood at 7,660. This figure represented approximately one-quarter of the UMC churches in the United States.
The Global Methodist Church (GM Church, or GMC) is a Methodist denomination within Protestant Christianity subscribing to views consistent with the conservative Confessing Movement. The denomination is headquartered in the United States and has a presence internationally.The Global Methodist Church was created as a result of a schism with the United Methodist Church, after members departed to erect a denomination seeking to uphold "theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy." Congregations that left the UMC to form the Global Methodist Church opposed recognition of same-sex marriage and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy. Its doctrines, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology, are contained in the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, its Book of Discipline, and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church. As of 2024, the church says it is composed of nearly 4,500 congregations and a similar number of pastors.
The General Conference, in several Methodist denominations, is the top legislative body for all matters within the denomination.
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations (the Methodist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South) to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.The MEC's origins lie in the First Great Awakening when Methodism emerged as an evangelical revival movement within the Church of England that stressed the necessity of being born again and the possibility of attaining Christian perfection. By the 1760s, Methodism had spread to the Thirteen Colonies, and Methodist societies were formed under the oversight of John Wesley. As in England, American Methodists remained affiliated with the Church of England, but this state of affairs became untenable after the American Revolution. In response, Wesley ordained the first Methodist elders for America in 1784. Under the leadership of its first bishops, Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury, the Methodist Episcopal Church adopted episcopal polity and an itinerant model of ministry that saw circuit riders provide for the religious needs of a widespread and mobile population.Early Methodism was countercultural in that it was anti-elitist and anti-slavery, appealing especially to African Americans and women. While critics derided Methodists as fanatics, the Methodist Episcopal Church continued to grow, especially during the Second Great Awakening in which Methodist revivalism and camp meetings left its imprint on American culture. In the early 19th century, the MEC became the largest and most influential religious denomination in the United States. With growth came greater institutionalization and respectability, and this led some within the church to complain that Methodism was losing its vitality and commitment to Wesleyan teachings, such as the belief in Christian perfection and opposition to slavery.As Methodism took hold in the Southern United States, church leaders became less willing to condemn the practice of slavery or to grant African American preachers and congregations the same privileges as their European American counterparts. A number of black churches were formed as African Americans withdrew from the MEC, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. By the 1830s, however, a renewed abolitionist movement within the MEC made keeping a neutral position on slavery impossible. Ultimately, the church divided along regional lines in 1845 when pro-slavery Methodists in the South formed their own Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Around the same time, the holiness movement took shape as a renewal movement within the MEC focused on the experience of Christian perfection, but it eventually led a number of splinter groups to break away from the church, most notably the Free Methodist Church and Wesleyan Methodist Church. Due to large-scale immigration of Catholics, the Catholic Church displaced the MEC as the largest US denomination by the end of the 19th century.
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism originating out of the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.Wesleyan theology, which is upheld by the Methodist denominations, focuses on sanctification and the transforming effect of faith on the character of a Christian. Distinguishing doctrines include the new birth, assurance, imparted righteousness, the possibility of entire sanctification, and the works of piety. Scripture is considered a primary authority, but Methodists also look to Christian tradition, including the historic creeds. Most Methodists teach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all of humanity and that salvation is achievable for all. This is an Arminian doctrine, as opposed to the Calvinist position that God has pre-ordained the salvation of a select group of people. However, Whitefield and several other early leaders of the movement were considered Calvinistic Methodists and held to the Calvinist position.The movement has a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from high church to low church in liturgical usage, in addition to tent revivals and camp meetings held at certain times of the year. Denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition are generally less ritualistic, while American Methodism is more so, the United Methodist Church in particular. Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition, and Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of Methodism.In addition to evangelism, Methodism emphasizes charity and support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through works of mercy. These ideals, the Social Gospel, are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Christ's command to spread the gospel and serve all people. Methodists are historically known for their adherence to the doctrine of nonconformity to the world, reflected by their traditional standards of a commitment to sobriety, prohibition of gambling, regular attendance at class meetings, and weekly observance of the Friday fast.Early Methodists were drawn from all levels of society, including the aristocracy, but the Methodist preachers took the message to labourers and criminals who tended to be left outside organized religion at that time. In Britain, the Methodist Church had a major effect in the early decades of the developing working class (1760–1820). In the United States, it became the religion of many slaves, who later formed black churches in the Methodist tradition.
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and oversees the church in directing its various divisions and leadership, as well as doctrinal matters.The General Conference, which is overseen by an executive committee and an elected President of the General Conference, is the administrative head of the global church. The denomination is organized in a representative form of church government, which means authority arises from the membership of local churches. In addition to administering their own congregations, churches send representatives to vote on matters and leaders in a shared local unit of administration. They vote also on who will represent them in a large area, with further representation selected at each successively larger administrative region. Finally, the General Conference elects the executive committee and officers who hold its authority between the decisions of the quinquennial General Conference Session.
General Conference is a gathering of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), held biannually every April and October at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. During each conference, church members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to the faith's leaders. It consists of five general sessions. From April 2018 to April 2021, the priesthood session was held during the April conference, with a General Women's Session (for females 11 years and older) held during October's conference. The Saturday evening session was changed to a general session in October 2021. The conference also generally includes training sessions for general and area leaders. Although each general conference originates from Salt Lake City, the conference is considered an international event for the church. The sessions are broadcast worldwide in over 90 languages, primarily through local and international media outlets, and over the Internet.
SDARM General Conference is the governing authority for the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement denomination. Officers of the General Conference are elected at a delegation session composed of delegates from the various international units and serve for a four-year term. The last delegation session was held August 25 to September 8, 2015 in Roanoke, Virginia, United States.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its enforcement guidance on workplace harassment for the first time in 25 years, stating that denying transgender workers preferred pronouns and bathroom usage according to their gender identity is unlawful harassment. The guidance also addresses discrimination based on decisions like abortions and contraception as sex discrimination. It reflects expanded worker rights, covers LGBTQ workers under anti-bias laws, and can be used in court. Some Republicans and religious groups criticized the guidance for conflicting with state laws. EEOC Chair Burrows emphasized the necessity of updating to ensure employer awareness of legal obligations.
Republican legislators in Kansas were unable to overturn the Democratic governor's veto of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors by two votes. The bill included provisions prohibiting state employees from advocating social transitioning for transgender youth. The Senate successfully voted to override the veto, but the House fell short. The bill is part of a broader push by Republican lawmakers across the U.S. to restrict transgender rights. LGBTQ+ rights groups raised concerns about the potential broad impact of the provisions against promoting social transitioning. The new law faces criticism for potentially sending a message that transgender residents are unwelcome, with estimates showing about 2,100 transgender youths in Kansas.
The Richmond-based 4th U S Circuit Court of Appeals found West Virginia and North Carolina's refusal to cover gender-affirming care for transgender individuals with government-sponsored insurance discriminatory. West Virginia plaintiff Shauntae Anderson, a Black transgender woman, expressed relief at the ruling, calling the denial of care 'dehumanizing.' West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey intends to appeal the decision to the U S Supreme Court. North Carolina was also involved in the case, with a trial court ruling in June 2022 demanding the state to pay for medically necessary services, including hormone therapy and surgeries, for transgender employees and their children.
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