Ordained clergy are prohibited from officiating same-sex weddings, and “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” are forbidden from ordination. Official United Methodist Church (UMC) policy holds that “all persons are individuals of sacred worth,” but that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”-dual principles that its critics find contradictory. “It will give encouragement to one side of the debate or the other, but I don’t expect the debate to change.” Brown Jr., president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. “I think that the Supreme Court decision will get attention,” said the Bishop Warner H.
And earlier this year, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to change its definition of marriage as a commitment “between two people,” not just between a man and a woman.ĭespite rapid changes in church polity and public opinion, and with gay marriage now legal in all but 13 states, the nation’s largest mainline denomination-the United Methodist Church-remains officially opposed to same-sex marriage. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America grants congregations the power to decide the issue for themselves. Several mainline Christian denominations, from the Episcopal Church to the United Church of Christ, allow clergy to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies or blessings. In recent decades, more than ever, Christian denominations have been debating what the Bible says about homosexuality and what it means for LGBT persons. While the courts and lawmakers have been wrestling with the rights of gay and lesbian Americans, so too have the country’s churches. This month the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to make same-sex marriage legal in the United States. (UMNS/Kathleen Barry) Delegates and visitors gather at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida.
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