United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings
This is a big event in the history of American religion:
The United Methodist Church, one of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S., has voted to repeal its ban on LGBTQ clergy as well as prohibitions on its' ministers from officiating at same-sex weddings.
Delegates overwhelmingly approved the changes, 692 to 51, during the United Methodist Church's General Conference.
The tone of the Charlotte meeting has been decidedly upbeat, in sharp contrast with the last, highly contentious global meeting back in 2019, when heated floor debates left many feeling hurt.
In fact, there was no floor debate over the clergy and marriages rules this time around. Rather, they were included on a consent agenda.
Shortly after the vote today in Charlotte, spontaneous celebrations erupted on the conference center floor. Hundreds of people began cheering and singing. One of the hymn lyrics distinguishable in the crowd was, "You are a child, you are a child of God."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 4 | May 1, 2024 7:23 PM
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The more conservative Methodist churches have been splintering off and forming their own conference over this issue for a couple of years now.
[quote]A recent accounting by the United Methodist News Service shows that about 20% of United Methodist congregations – more than 6,000 – have left the denomination in recent years.
I wouldn't be surprised if this liberal wing that remained behind starts withering away from this point forward, much like the Community of Christ (a Mormon offshoot) after it liberalised. Makes no matter to me, love seeing all of them fail. They're all on their way out regardless and the more they bicker, the faster that process.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 1 | May 1, 2024 7:15 PM
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Most Dataloungers are Catholic.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 1, 2024 7:19 PM
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[quote]Most Dataloungers are Catholic.
To be precise, most *religious* DLers are Catholic. I've done several polls here over the past decade and they have consistently shown only a third of DLers are actually religious.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 1, 2024 7:23 PM
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That's 692 Biden votes and 51 for Trump.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 1, 2024 7:23 PM
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