More than 6,180 United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have been granted permission to leave the denomination in a schism that began in 2019 over the role of LGBTQ Methodists in the church and other theological issues, according to an unofficial tally kept by UM News. The bulk of the departures, 4,172, were approved in June, in the annual gatherings of United Methodist regional conferences.
In all, about a fifth of United Methodist congregations have now opted to leave, The Associated Press reported. About half of those disaffiliated congregations have already joined the new, more socially conservative Global Methodist Church. The departures have been concentrated in the South and Midwest, including 708 congregations in Texas alone. This is the final year for churches to disaffiliate under a special process created in 2019.
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