{"id":304,"date":"2026-07-16T15:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=304"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:09:46","slug":"united-methodist-church-cuts-ties-with-kentucky-seminary-that-refused-to-embrace-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=304","title":{"rendered":"United Methodist Church Cuts Ties with Kentucky Seminary That Refused to Embrace DEI"},"content":{"rendered":"

The official elected body responsible for overseeing and accrediting educational institutions within the United Methodist Church (UMC) cut ties with a prominent Kentucky seminary for refusing to go along with the church\u2019s embrace of left-wing social justice activism.<\/p>\n

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The UMC University Senate delisted the Asbury Theological Seminary last month over its \u201csocial principles\u201d and \u201cethos statement.\u201d The 103-year-old seminary in Wilmore, Ky., is the largest in the Wesleyan tradition worldwide, bringing in students from over 50 countries and over 80 denominations.<\/p>\n

Every four years, the UMC reviews its list of non-Methodist institutions that have been approved to educate prospective UMC Clergy. This year\u2019s review, the first conducted since the denomination updated its social principles in favor of the LBGT movement in June 2024, resulted in Asbury being delisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Senate\u2019s requirements, particularly those related to the UMC\u2019s 2024 Social Principles concerning \u2018Human Sexuality\u2019 and \u2018Marriage,\u2019 are not aligned with Asbury Theological Seminary\u2019s institutional ethos and the historic witness of the Christian faith,\u201d Asbury Theological Seminary President David F. Watson said in a June 25 statement on the seminary website.<\/p>\n

The seminary\u2019s leaders suggests that the UMC decision ultimately came down to the church\u2019s new emphasis on DEI \u2014 and Asbury\u2019s unwillingness to compromise.<\/p>\n

The seminary\u2019s ethos statement, cited by the UMC in its explanation for the delisting, states that \u201cwe will nurture redemptive relationships that honor and uphold the dignity of creation, human life, the sanctity of embodied human sexuality, the equality of women and men, the covenant of Christian marriage between one man and one woman, and the importance of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UMC Higher Education and Ministry\u2019s senate guidelines make their stance clear, going so far as to ask, \u201cHow is United Methodist-relatedness reflected in the life of the institution (curriculum; student life; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and research)?\u201d<\/p>\n

The UMC quotes an excerpt from The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church 2020\/2024<\/em> as a justification for its specific social principles: \u201cMethodists have always been known as a denomination involved with people\u2019s lives, including their political and social struggles,\u201d the book explains.<\/p>\n

This push for social justice and embrace of DEI advocacy is rooted in the UMC\u2019s perspective on marriage, sexuality, and the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support both gender equality and gender diversity as important goals for ensuring that the aspirations of women and girls are taken seriously and guaranteeing that paid positions and leadership opportunities are distributed equally for all,\u201d the revised guidelines explain.<\/p>\n

Moreover, these guidelines present sexuality as \u201cexpressed in wonderfully diverse ways\u201d and \u201cshaped by a combination of nature and nurture.\u201d \u201cWe further honor the diversity of choices and vocations in relation to sexuality such as celibacy, marriage and singleness,\u201d the site adds.<\/p>\n

In its discussion of family, the UMC stresses how \u201cfamilies come in a variety of sizes and forms\u201d and defines marriage as \u201ca sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith, an adult man and woman of consenting age, or two adult persons of consenting age into union with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid these striking doctrinal changes in the UMC, the Global Methodist Church (GMC) continues to regard Asbury Theological Seminary as an approved institution. The GMC was founded in May 2022 in response to the UMC\u2019s more progressive views. Like the UMC, the GMC claims to be rooted in Wesleyan tradition, but its website specifically emphasizes its focus on preserving \u201cthe doctrinal integrity\u201d of the faith.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Global Methodist Church exists to spread scriptural holiness across the globe and to carry forward the faith once delivered to the saints,\u201d GMC\u2019s site explains.<\/p>\n

Asbury was not the only school removed from the UMC\u2019s list of non-Methodist schools approved for ordination, but it was the only one removed for disagreement on social principles.<\/p>\n

In total, four schools were removed, leaving a list of 13 schools of divinity which includes seminaries like Duke Divinity School, Emory University\u2019s Candler School of Theology, and Boston University School of Theology.<\/p>\n

Luther Seminary and Palmer Theological Seminary declined to participate in the UMC review. According to the UMC General Board of Higher Education and Ministry\u2019s site, both sent in \u201cformal notifications\u201d that requested their seminary\u2019s \u201cremoval from the listing of approved, non-United Methodist theological schools.\u201d\u00a0After its review, the senate delisted Northeastern Seminary, citing its failure to employ a UMC faculty member and its predominantly online programming.<\/p>\n

The explanation of Asbury\u2019s delisting cited a similar faculty issue \u2014 the seminary does not employ a full-time UMC faculty member to \u201cconsistently\u201d teach \u201crequired United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity\u201d\u2014 but the disagreement in social policy seemed to be the primary cause for the delisting. The UMC senate said it met with leaders at both seminaries after completing the review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University Senate\u2019s Commission on Theological Education determined that Asbury\u2019s published ethos statement is not compatible with the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church,\u201d said Roland Fernandes, the senate\u2019s general secretary of Higher Education and Ministry, in an announcement on the UMC General Board of Higher Education site.<\/p>\n

In response to NR\u2019s request for comment, the UMC General Board of Higher Education and Ministry said it did not have \u201cany additional statements at this time\u201d and directed NR to its initial announcement and a site outlining the role of the UMC\u2019s University Senate.<\/p>\n

Students currently enrolled in Asbury Theological Seminary or starting out this fall can still complete the required programs and qualify for UMC ordination, but this will no longer be an opportunity for students who join the seminary after fall 2026.<\/p>\n

Watson said he understands the university senate\u2019s role in the UMC and acknowledges its decision, but he called the conclusion \u201cunilateral\u201d\u2014 a \u201cdetermination\u201d as opposed to a \u201cshared resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we had hoped for a different outcome,\u201d Waston said, \u201cour focus remains steadfast on our unchanging calling.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes there will be a \u201cmodest difference in enrollment\u201d in the shorter term but said the seminary has known this was likely to happen for a while now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been preparing for some time for two scenarios,\u201d Watson told National Review<\/span> in a statement. \u201cThe first was that we would be de-listed by the UMC and no longer have access to UMC students preparing for ordination. The second is a slow decline in the number of UMC students corresponding to denominational decline, so none of this catches us by surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The UMC cited disagreement over ‘social principles’ around issues like marriage, sexuality, and the family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion"],"yoast_head":"\nUnited Methodist Church Cuts Ties with Kentucky Seminary That Refused to Embrace DEI - American Housing Transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=304\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"United Methodist Church Cuts Ties with Kentucky Seminary That Refused to Embrace DEI - 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