Social issues
The topic of abortion is complex for the United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church affirms these two sentences in The Social Principles: "Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child." (Book of Discipline ¶161.J). The denomination is committed to "assist[ing] the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion." In 2016, the United Methodist General Conference voted to withdraw from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), an organization in which it formerly held membership. Annual Conferences could still choose whether to remain a part of the RCRC locally. At the same General Conference, delegates voted to delete a four-decade-old statement from the Book of Resolutions which affirmed the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on the legality of abortion. A new resolution was re-adopted 56–2 in a resolutions subcommittee, decrying gender-selective abortion while also describing abortion as "violent" and opposing abortions done for "trivial reasons." The resolution passed in the daily consent agenda with no debate. As an official organization, however, "the General Board of Church and Society continues to be an advocate for a full range of safe and legal reproductive health care – including, in certain cases, the option to safely and legally end a pregnancy."
Nevertheless, the United Methodist Church holds that "while we understand the need for women to have access to safe, legal abortions, we also 'mourn and are committed to promoting the diminishment of high abortion rates'." and they "are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, (in the eyes of God) and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures." The Church cautions that "Governmental laws and regulations do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience." The Church emphasizes the need of a supportive ministry to women who have experienced abortions: "We further encourage local churches to make available contact information for counseling agencies that offer programs to address post-abortion stress for all seeking help."
Members of the United Methodist Church who identify with the anti-abortion position come mostly from the Confessing Movement within the denomination and have organized into the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality (TUMAS) to further their position within the denomination. On the other side, the Methodist Federation for Social Action and United Methodist Women continue to represent pro-choice views.
Historically, the Methodist Church has supported the temperance movement. John Wesley warned against the dangers of drinking in his famous sermon, "The Use of Money", and in his letter to an alcoholic. Today the United Methodist Church states that it "affirms our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful witness to God's liberating and redeeming love for persons." In fact, the United Methodist Church uses unfermented grape juice in the sacrament of Holy Communion, thus "expressing pastoral concern for recovering alcoholics, enabling the participation of children and youth, and supporting the church's witness of abstinence." Moreover, in 2011 and 2012, the United Methodist Church's General Board of Church and Society called on all United Methodists to abstain from alcohol for Lent.
The United Methodist Constitution says “The United Methodist Church proclaims that from God’s goodness and love, God created all persons as God’s unique and beloved children. Racism opposes God’s law, goodness and love and diminishes the image of God in each person. Fueled by white privilege, white supremacy and colonialism, the sin of racism has been a destructive scourge on global society and throughout the history of The United Methodist Church. It continues to destroy our communities, harm persons, obstruct unity and undermine God’s work in this world. Racism must be eradicated. Therefore, The United Methodist Church commits to confronting and eliminating all forms of racism, racial inequity, colonialism, white privilege and white supremacy, in every facet of its life and in society at large.”
This statement strengthened the United Methodist Church’s commitment to ending racism, and was passed at the 2024 General Conference and ratified into its Constitution by the worldwide church in 2025.
The United Methodist Church, along with some other Methodist churches, condemns capital punishment, saying that it cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life. The Church also holds that the death penalty falls unfairly and unequally upon marginalized persons including the poor, the uneducated, ethnic and religious minorities, and persons with mental and emotional illnesses. The United Methodist Church also believes that Jesus explicitly repudiated the lex talionis in Matthew 5:38–39 and abolished the death penalty in John 8:7. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church calls for its bishops to uphold opposition to capital punishment and for governments to enact an immediate moratorium on carrying out the death penalty sentence.
The United Methodist Church, like many mainline Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church, has determined that there is no conflict between faith and the theory of evolution. Some clergy have stated that "it's time for people of faith to accept evolution." Additionally, the UMC officially affirms the theory of evolution and "opposes introducing theories such as Creationism or Intelligent Design into public school curriculum." In 2016, the denomination denied approval for a creationist group to be officially represented at the church's General Conference.
The United Methodist Church is opposed to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The official stance mentions that "The church has an obligation to see that all persons have access to needed pastoral and medical care and therapy in those circumstances that lead to loss of self-worth, suicidal despair, and/or the desire to seek physician-assisted suicide." It also states that "If death is deliberately sought as the means to relieve suffering, that must be understood as direct and intentional taking of life ... The United Methodist tradition opposes the taking of life as an offense against God's sole dominion over life, and an abandonment of hope and humility before God."
The United Methodist Church, represented by Bishop Scott Jones of the Texas Annual Conference, on behalf of the Houston Methodist Research Institute, and the Roman Catholic Church, represented by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, of the Pontifical Academy for Life, signed a "Joint Declaration on the End of Life and Palliative Care", on 17 September 2018, reaffirming the common stance of both denominations in opposing euthanasia.
The United Methodist Church opposes gambling, believing that it is a sin which feeds on human greed and which invites people to place their trust in possessions, rather than in God, whom Christians should "love ... with all your heart." It quotes the Apostle Paul who states:But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. The United Methodist Church therefore holds that:
Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice.
Where gambling has become addictive, the Church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends.
The Church should promote standards and personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or government.
The United Methodist Church supports federal legislative efforts for strict gun control measures in the United States, and outright bans of most weapons in other nations.
The Church also declares all of its churches to be "a weapon-free zone."
According to The United Methodist Book of Discipline (a new edition of which is usually approved by the United Methodist General Conference every four years), the Church "affirm[s] that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God" and encourages United Methodists to be in ministry with and for all people. During the 2024 General Conference, the United Methodist Church removed previous language prohibiting same-sex marriages and the ordination of partnered LGBTQ clergy. According to polling from Pew Research, the majority of United Methodists in the US support the inclusion of homosexual persons, 60 percent of United Methodists said "homosexuality should be accepted by society", and 40 percent supported same-sex marriage.
In 1732, the founder of Methodism, John Wesley was doing prison ministry and he met Thomas Blair, a man incarcerated for homosexuality. While not defending his actions, Wesley spoke up to the Vice Chancellor against the inhumane treatment of Thomas Blair in prison. Blair also faced the possibility of the death penalty. Wesley also defended Blair in court, and while he was found guilty, his life was spared and John Wesley raised funds to pay his fine so he could be released.
In 1975, progressive churches founded the Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian/Gay Concerns network and Reconciling Ministries Network in 1984 for the inclusion of LGBTQ people.
The United Methodist Church previously prohibited same-sex unions. Jimmy Creech was defrocked after a highly publicized church trial in 1999 on account of his participation in same-sex union ceremonies. Other ministers have been defrocked for officiating at same-sex weddings and several trials of others are scheduled. Frank Schaefer, who was defrocked and penalized because he had officiated his son's same-sex wedding, was in 2014, re-instated as "the denomination's top court upheld a June decision by a regional appeals committee to reinstate Schaefer's ministerial credentials." Other clergy, who officiated at same-sex marriages, had avoided trials. In 2016, it was announced that Val Rosenquist "will avoid a church trial and keep her job after she co-officiated with retired Bishop Melvin Talbert at the April same-gender wedding of two church members." In 1971, Gene Leggett was defrocked for being homosexual in southern Texas. In 1987, a United Methodist church court in New Hampshire defrocked Methodist minister Rose Mary Denman for openly living with a same-sex partner. In 2005, clergy credentials were removed from Irene Elizabeth Stroud after she was convicted in a church trial of violating church law by engaging in a lesbian relationship; this conviction was later upheld by the Judicial Council, the highest court in the denomination. The Judicial Council also affirmed that a Virginia pastor had the right to deny local church membership to a man in an openly gay relationship. This affirmation, however, was based upon a senior pastor's right to judge the readiness of a congregant to join as a full member of the church.
On the other hand, hundreds of United Methodist ministers had openly defied the official position of the United Methodist Church and have publicly revealed their "lesbian, gay or bisexual" sexual orientation, an action that could result in their suspension. The New York body also ordained the first openly gay and lesbian clergy. In addition, the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the UMC approved the appointment of an openly partnered lesbian to the diaconate. In 2016, the Western Jurisdiction elected the denomination's first openly and partnered lesbian bishop. While not elected, the UMC reported that the North Central Jurisdiction considered the nomination of an openly gay pastor for bishop.
Although there is no official policy, the Judicial Council of the UMC ruled, in 2007, that ordained transgender pastors could serve in congregations within the denomination. In particular, the first openly transgender pastor within the UMC received overwhelming support from his congregation. In 2016, the South Carolina Annual Conference passed a resolution urging support for non-discrimination protections for transgender people. In 2017, the Northern Illinois Conference commissioned M Barclay as a Deacon and they became the first openly non-binary trans person commissioned in the denomination.
On April 28, 2017, the Judicial Council ruled that consecrating a bishop in a same-sex marriage or partnership is a violation of church law at the time and that public marriage records could be considered as evidence of self-avowed homosexuality. In regards to the specific case of Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination's first openly gay bishop, the Judicial Council ruled that she "remains in good standing" pending the outcome of any administrative or judicial processes initiated within the Western Jurisdiction, since the Judicial Council itself does not have jurisdiction to review Bishop Oliveto's status. The Judicial Council also ruled that Boards of Ordained Ministry must evaluate all candidates regarding issues of sexuality.
On May 7, 2018, the Council of Bishops in the United Methodist Church proposed allowing individual pastors and regional church bodies to decide whether to ordain LGBT clergy and perform same-sex weddings. However, on February 26, 2019, a special session of the General Conference rejected this proposal, and voted to strengthen its official opposition to same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBT clergy. The vote was 53 percent in favor of the Traditional Plan, the plan maintaining and strengthening the official position, to 47 percent opposed. The Judicial Council had already ruled some parts of the Traditional Plan to be unconstitutional. The delegates also voted to send the plan for further review by the Judicial Council. In March 2019, the German Central Conference announced that it would not be imposing the Traditional Plan. Before the denomination restructured in 2025 through Worldwide Regionalization, the US jurisdictions and Annual Conferences (local governing bodies) were unable to adapt the Book of Discipline like the (formerly-named) Central Conferences (outside the United States). Despite this, the Western Jurisdiction declared their disagreement with the 2019 Traditional Plan and vowed to maintain LGBTQ inclusive policies. In April 2019, the Judicial Council ruled on the 17 petitions of the Traditional Plan, upholding 10 as valid and rejecting 7 as unconstitutional.
In September 2019, First United Methodist Church Moheto in Kenya became the first United Methodist Church in Africa to officially align itself with the Reconciling Ministries Network, which advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church.
On January 3, 2020, some denominational leaders along with various advocacy groups submitted a plan called, "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation," to split the church over what it described as "fundamental differences" over issues pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly same-sex marriage. The "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation" plan would create a new traditionalist Methodist denomination (which came to be the Global Methodist Church), with the existing church moving to more acceptance of non-heterosexual and gender-nonconforming identities. The church's General Conference was expected to vote on the plan in May 2020. The plan would have needed to be approved in May 2020 by the General Conference. It would grant the new denomination $25 million and would allow local churches to vote to affiliate with the new denomination and keep their assets if they leave. The vote was later postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Progressives, too, announced the creation of a new denomination in November 2020, the Liberation Methodist Connexion. In 2022, the Western Jurisdiction elected a second openly gay bishop, Cedrick Bridgeforth, who also is the denomination's first black gay Bishop.
During the 2024 General Conference, on April 25, 2024, the delegates passed a proposal to restructure the UMC, establishing regionalization that would allow each region to determine its own standards for same-sex marriage and the ordination of partnered LGBTQ clergy. Due to the proposal being a constitutional change, the proposal will need to be ratified by a two-thirds majority of votes cast during the local Annual Conferences. In November 2025, Worldwide Regionalization was ratified, renaming former Central Conferences to Regional Conferences and creating a US Regional Conference granting equal autonomy between Regions around the world, decolonizing the United Methodist Church. Multiple petitions were brought to amend statutory language regarding sexuality during General Conference. On April 30, 2024, the UMC removed penalties for clergy performing same-sex marriages, removed the ban on funding for LGBTQ-affirming organizations, and removed the prohibition on considering openly LGBTQ candidates for ordained ministry. On May 1, 2024, the General Conference of the UMC voted to repeal the prior prohibitions against clergy performing same-sex marriages and the ordination of openly partnered LGBTQ clergy. On May 2, the General Conference voted to approve more petitions, which amended the UMC Social Principles to remove language stating that "the practice of homosexuality ... is incompatible with Christian teaching"; revises the language on marriage to state that it is "a sacred lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith [adult man and woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age] into union with one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community"; states opposition to both child marriage and polygamy; and affirms support for consent in sexual relations. On May 3, during the final day of business, the General Conference removed language from church law imposing potential penalties for officiating at same-sex weddings, penalties for being in a same-sex relationship themselves, prohibitions against clergy from officiating or churches hosting same-sex weddings, and mandates that clergy practice celibacy in singleness. In addition, General Conference added language allowing clergy to abstain from officiating any weddings. The Conference maintained the chargeable offense of "immorality" but voted against defining the offense to include infidelity or non-celibacy.
At the 2024 General Conference, a Constitutional Amendment was passed adding gender and ability to the membership nondiscrimination statement and was ratified in 2025 by the worldwide church, reading “All persons, without regard to race, gender, ability, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection.”
In 2025, ReconcilingWorks has 1,439 churches in 5 countries that support blessings of same-sex marriage.
According to The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church, "The United Methodist Church calls upon all who choose to take up arms or who order others to do so to evaluate their actions in accordance with historic church teaching limiting resort to war, including questions of proportionality, legal authority, discrimination between combatants and noncombatants, just cause, and probability of success...."
The United Methodist Church opposes conscription as incompatible with the teaching of Scripture. Therefore, the Church supports and extends its ministry to those persons who conscientiously oppose all war, or any particular war, and who therefore refuse to serve in the armed forces or to cooperate with systems of military conscription. However, the United Methodist Church also supports and extends its ministry to those persons who conscientiously choose to serve in the armed forces or to accept alternative service. The church also states that "as Christians they are aware that neither the way of military action, nor the way of inaction is always righteous before God."
The United Methodist Church maintains that war is incompatible with Christ's message and teachings. Therefore, the Church rejects war as an instrument of national foreign policy, to be employed only as a last resort in the prevention of such evils as genocide, brutal suppression of human rights, and unprovoked international aggression. It insists that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, the United Methodist Church endorses general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
The United Methodist Church, like many Mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S., has a long tradition of providing ordained military chaplains who serve in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The United Methodist Church teaches that pornography is "not only about sex; it is often about violence, degradation, exploitation, and coercion," and their website states that the Church "oppose[s] all forms of pornography." The Sexual Ethics Task Force of The United Methodist Church states that "Research shows it [pornography] is not an 'innocent activity'. It is harmful and is generally addictive. Persons who are addicted to pornography are physiologically altered, as is their perspective, relationships with parishioners and family, and their perceptions of girls and women."
The UMC supports federal funding for research on embryos created for in vitro fertilization that remain after the procreative efforts have ceased, if the embryos were provided for research instead of being destroyed, were not obtained by sale, and those donating had given prior informed consent for the research purposes. The UMC stands in "opposition to the creation of embryos for the sake of research" as "a human embryo, even at its earliest stages, commands our reverence." It supports research on stem cells retrieved from umbilical cords and adult stem cells, stating that there are "few moral questions" raised by this issue.
