Commonwealth Policy Center

The United Methodist church is facing a split. The denomination has argued amongst itself for years regarding the ordination of homosexuals and affirmation of homosexual marriage. On January 3, United Methodist Church leaders proposed to divide the denomination into liberal and conservative communions. The proposal is expected to be voted on in May. This historic denomination has been in decline since the 1960’s. That’s when leaders began embracing liberal theology. Recently, LGBT issues are bringing the theological shift to the public’s attention. It’s been argued that human sexuality is the superficial issue while the deeper issue is the result of a theological divide that goes to the authority of Scripture, the definition of sin, the purpose of the church, and the nature of salvation as one comes to faith in Christ.