In a sweeping 254 to 46 vote, the Methodist Church, the second-largest Christian church in the United Kingdom, has voted to allow same-sex marriage, defining marriage as “between two people.” The church also voted to ban “all and any form of conversion therapy in the same conference.” The conference was held from June 24 to July 1, 2021.
The Methodist Church became the most significant Christian denomination that allows same-sex marriage, joining the United Reformed Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Quackers in Britain. The Roman Catholic Church has remained the most prominent religious denomination in Britain that opposes same-sex marriage.
In the previous version of the church’s orders, marriage is defined as “a life-long union in body, mind, and spirit of one man and one woman.” With the vote during the conference, the definition of marriage was updated into “union in body, mind, and spirit of two people who freely enter it.”
Along with the updated definition of marriage, the Methodist Church also acknowledged ministers who do not support the changes. A provision was added allowing a minister or any officials not to perform a same-sex marriage if it’s “contrary to the dictates of his or her conscience to do so.”
At the same conference, after an arduous debate, the Methodist Church also voted in favor of the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK. In this memorandum, the church calls unto its members to “refuse to offer or participate in offering conversion therapy in any form.”
Rev. Mark Rowland — a member of Dignity and Worth (DAW), a Methodist and Wesleyan LGBTQIA+ group —applauded the decision declaring that “conversion therapy has no place in the Methodist Church.”
Recognizing the hurt and suffering conversion therapy brings, Jane Ozanne, director of the Ozanne Foundation, is delighted that the Methodist Church has “taken such a clear stand against the degrading and inhumane practices of ‘conversion therapy.
DAW campaign group chair, Rev. Sam McBratney, was very thankful for the voting outcome, calling the decision a “momentous step on the road to justice.” McBratney also added that he is grateful to his fellow Methodists for “taking this courageous step to recognize and affirm the value and worth of LGBTQ+ relationships.”
The vote to ban conversion therapy in the Methodist church was made on July 1, the last day of the conference, following the vote for allowing same-sex marriage.
The two major milestones of significant improvement in the ongoing journey of LGBTQIA+ rights and equality came after years of struggle and of peaceful campaigning.
