The United Methodist Church has voted to lift the ban on LGBTQ+ clergy in a historic decision | LGBTQNation

Delegates voted overwhelmingly, 692 to 51, in favor of removing the ban.

Today, the United Methodist Church made a historic decision to repeal its ban on LGBTQ+ clergy, with an overwhelming majority of delegates voting in favor of inclusivity.

At the General Conference of the church, delegates voted 692-51 to remove the ban, according to the Associated Press.

Upon the announcement of the vote, applause filled the convention hall, and some LGBTQ+ advocates were moved to tears.

The delegates also approved a measure that prohibits penalties for clergy who officiate same-sex weddings and protects those who decline to perform them from facing repercussions.

There is also anticipation for an upcoming vote on whether the church should replace its Social Principles document, which currently states that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” and defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Methodist Church has been gradually progressing towards LGBTQ+ inclusivity. In November 2023, 261 congregations in Georgia departed from the church, citing its perceived lack of anti-LGBTQ+ stance as a reason.

In 2019, The United Methodist Church’s General Conference declared that congregations could depart from the denomination until the conclusion of 2023 “due to conscientious objections regarding alterations in the guidelines and provisions of the Book of Discipline concerning homosexuality practice, or the ordination or marriage of openly practicing homosexuals, as determined and ratified by the 2019 General Conference, or the decisions or inactions of its regional conference on these matters thereafter.”

The United Methodist News Service reports that since the 2019 announcement, 7,286 congregations, which is more than one in five, have been authorized to disaffiliate from the denomination. In 2023 alone, over 5,000 of these disaffiliations occurred.

Conservatives who departed from the denomination have established the Global Methodist Church. This group holds the belief that “human sexuality is a gift of God to be affirmed within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and one woman.”