Amid a nationwide schism centered on sexuality and theology, more congregations have voted to leave the United Methodist Church in Ohio than anywhere else in the Midwest, according to data from a new study.
In 2019, the United Methodist Church decided to allow local churches to disaffiliate, if they met certain criteria, as long as they did so by the end of 2023. Churches could vote to leave for “reasons of conscience” regarding homosexuality. Many of the disaffiliated churches opposed what they saw as the parent organization’s LGBTQ+ openness. Although the UMC does not officially allow same-sex marriages or LGBTQ+ ministers, some local congregations remaining within the UMC do so.
In Ohio, almost 600 churches — or around 35% of the total — have disaffiliated since 2019, a higher total and proportion than anywhere else in the Midwest. The state in the region with the next most disaffiliations was Indiana, where around 30% of congregations disaffiliated, according to the study. By contrast, in Minnesota, just 7% of churches disaffiliated. In the UMC’s Northern Illinois Conference, only 2% did.