West Africa: Over 1.2M Methodists Leave Church Over LGBTQ+ Rule Changes

Facts

• The United Methodist Church (UMC) has reportedly lost more than 1.2M members after its West African branch (Ivory Coast division) voted to leave the protestant denomination entirely on Tuesday.¹
• Members of the Ivory Coast branch said they had left the community because the church detached 'itself from Holy Scriptures' and sacrificed its 'honorability and integrity to honour the LGBT.'²
• The move comes weeks after delegates from the church voted to remove its 40-year ban on LGBTQ+ clergy.³
• The branch, called the Eglise Méthodiste Unie Côte d'Ivoire (EMUCI), reportedly represents the bulk of the estimated 4M African community of the US-based denomination. There are an estimated 9.9M members worldwide.⁴
• This comes after a quarter of US churches in the denomination voted to disaffiliate with the group between 2019 and 2023 over issues concerning sexuality and theology.⁵
• The African conference's departure also comes despite another church vote in May that allowed for overseas branches to decide on their own whether to permit LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriages in their respective regions.⁴

Sources: ¹The Hill, ²Torontosun, ³CNN, ⁴The Washington Times and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The United Methodist Church. The UMC has undertaken a historic vote to uphold the civil and human rights of all members, regardless of sexual orientation. While, granted, there are differing interpretations and opinions across congregations, it's a vital principle of the church to uphold the core value of inclusiveness.
• Narrative B, as provided by The Washington Times. The UMC's decision to allow LGBTQ+ clergy to serve in the church violates fundamental precedent within Christianity, and was rooted in socio-cultural values not shared by congregants in West Africa. The EMUCI's choice to leave the denomination affirms that the churches within the West African branch are aligning with long-standing biblical interpretations.
• Narrative C, as provided by United Methodist News Service. While it may be disappointing that a significant portion of the UMC is disaffiliated with the church, the truth is that these African congregants and the bishops who lead them should be respected in their ability to make decisions for themselves. Discourses around the validity of these decisions in which foreign delegates attempt to think on behalf of their African counterparts are reminiscent of harmful colonialist ways of thinking.

Predictions