UMC Repeals Anti-LGBTQ Rules

On May 3, The United Methodist Church removed a decades-long condemnation of homosexuality from the denomination's Social Principles. At the church's 2024 General Conference, delegates voted to eliminate the church's 52-year assertion that “the practice of homosexuality ... is incompatible with Christian teaching.�

In the same vote, delegates affirmed “marriage as a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age) into a union of one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community.�

Earlier in the conference, delegates voted to remove the denomination’s ban on the ordination of clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexualsâ€� — a prohibition that dates to 1984. Additionally, United Methodist pastors no longer face potential penalties for being in a same-sex relationship or officiating at same-sex weddings, nor can they be compelled to officiate one.

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