Delegates Adopt Revised Social Principles

Adapted from an article by Heather Hahn of UM News

With the vote on May 2, delegates have adopted the entire slate of revised Social Principles submitted by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

The Social Principles represent the denomination’s public stands on issues of the day and are not church law. The Social Principles are for the whole church and will not be subject to change by regional conferences.

After more than an hour and a half of conversation on the floor of the General Conference, the delegates voted in favor of the new Social Principles, with one amendment. Molly Hlekani Mwayera, a lay delegate from the Zimbabwe East Conference, proposed the amendment to a line dealing with marriage. 

Heather Hahn, UMNews, explains:

"She added the amendment for 'a double-barrel' definition of marriage that includes 'a man and a woman,' in line with law in much of the world including her home country, or 'two adults,' in line with law in other parts of the world including the U.S.

The amendment also weaves in three other parts of the newly adopted Social Principles — the rejection of child marriage, the stance against polygamy and support for consent in sexual relationships."

This section of the revised Social Principles deletes the phrase “the practice of homosexuality… is incompatible with Christian teaching.” This line has widely been noted as harmful language and many delegates named it a priority to see it removed. 

The 2012 General Conference set the UMC General Board of Church and Society on an journey to revise the Social Principles. The goal was for the statements that guide United Methodist public witness to be more succinct, more theologically grounded, and more globally relevant.

Over the last 8 years, Church and Society held listening sessions around the globe (including a session in North Georgia) to learn from United Methodists what they thought of the social teachings and how they might be improved. A writing team of 52 United Methodists from Africa, Europe, the Philippines, and the U.S., drafted the proposed revised Social Principles. That draft then received input from more than 4,000 United Methodists worldwide before the final submission.

This is the first such revision in nearly 50 years.