For United Methodists, Politics Isn't Partisan; It's Gospel

The Social Principles Part 5

by

A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

"Politics" often gets a bad rap in American churches, not least because it's confused with "partisanship." For United Methodists, politics isn't partisan; it's gospel.

No less a Methodist authority than founder John Wesley laid out the framework for today's UMC in a quote from one of his best-known sermons, "The Circumcision of the Heart." "The Political Community" section of "The Social Principles" starts with a Wesley quote:

“Love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment.” Very excellent things are spoken of love; it is the essence, the spirit, the life of all virtue. It is not only the first and great command, but it is all the commandments in one. “Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are amiable,” or honorable; “if there be any virtue, if there be any praise,” they are all comprised in this one word, — love. "

Almost nothing about the current U.S. administration – or for that matter, many international governments where the UMC is found – displays the gospel imperative to love.

"The Political Community" forms the last section of The United Methodist Church's Social Principles, a set of Christian living guidelines that went into effect Jan. 1 for the worldwide church. They're published in the 2020/2024 Book of Discipline, the collection of church laws and policies. The section was one of those adopted by the 2024 General Conference on a "consent calendar," a parliamentary device that allows minimally opposed legislation to be enacted by a single vote.

Legislation for "The Political Community" may have been adopted by broad consensus last May, but the section's principles vigorously criticize the actions of administrations led by Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán and others. The government leaders aren't named, but their actions diametrically oppose this core UMC belief:

We affirm that every form of government stands under God’s judgment and must therefore be held accountable for protecting the innocent, guaranteeing basic freedoms and liberties, protecting the natural world, and establishing just, equitable, and sustainable economies.

In short, politics are the tool for United Methodists as disciples of Jesus Christ to transform the world – the denomination's mission statement.

No responsible government

From an official United Methodist perspective, everything about the Trump Administration and its enablers in Congress and the Supreme Court violates the church's idea of responsible government:

We urge those elected or appointed to public posts or holding other positions in government to act as responsible leaders and stewards of the authority and resources entrusted to them. We call on all government officials to aspire to the highest standards of professionalism, honesty and integrity. Furthermore, we urge all governments to adopt policies and practices that guarantee accountability and transparency in fostering and maintaining the trust of the public.

The church's bad news for authoritarian regimes from the Philippines across the African and European continents to the United States of America goes on:

We reject governmental use of threats, extortion, unlawful detentions, extrajudicial killings, and other forms of coercion to silence political opponents and those objecting to unlawful or immoral government policies and practices. In keeping with international laws and ordinances, we vehemently protest the use of torture, slavery, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression by any government and call for the strictest international sanctions to be imposed in such cases.

While other sections of the Social Principles profess broad aspirations, "The Political Community" stands out because it stands up for specific rights:

  • the right to life, liberty, security, equal treatment before the law and freedom from unlawful detention.
  • rights to fair trial, privacy, public assembly, free expression, democracy, food and shelter.
  • workers' rights to collective bargaining, just compensation and safe, healthy work environments.
  • access to affordable, high-quality education, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, economic status or any other divisive marker.

Current political attitudes fueled by the pseudo-religious political philosophy experts call White Christian Nationalism also transgress United Methodist beliefs.

"We condemn all attempts to deny individuals their basic rights or freedoms or to strip human beings of their inherent dignity and worth. We, therefore, reject within the church and wider society any act of discrimination, hatred or violence directed against individuals or groups based on national origin, tribal affiliation, ethnicity, age, gender identity, disability status, economic condition, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or other any factors."

The pinch of discipleship

Thus, on paper at least, United Methodists officially stand foursquare against the ways and means by which current U.S. government is being shaped and conducted.

The pinch comes – as Christian discipleship always does – when individuals, local churches and annual conferences decide how to act in redressing government's wrongs against citizens and those within its borders. For some UMC members, even nonpartisan actions such as sponsoring a voter registration drive or holding a candidate forum are "too political."

Overall, long before Trump was elected to a second term, the United Methodist Church declared itself opposed to the approach his administration has taken because "The Political Community" also calls for:

  • Health care as a human right for all.
  • Equal rights, liberties and protections for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Opposition to the death penalty.
  • Restorative rather than retributive criminal justice including prison ministries focused on rehabilitation and re-integrating former inmates into society.
  • Reasonable accommodations for people with disabling conditions.
  • Equal rights for women and girls, including education, freedom from gender-based assault and harassment, and the right to decide their own health care.
  • Social policies and programs that provide for the needs of people as they age.

To fulfill these aims while discouraged from affiliating with political parties, United Methodist churches are encouraged to "educate and equip" their members to be "effective advocates for justice in the wider world." Recent "Know Your Rights" seminars and online training regarding immigration issues demonstrate this principle.

Along those lines, the UMC calls its members to minister with and protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and displaced persons. The new Social Principles strengthen the UMC's historic commitment to immigration ministries.

We oppose all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants or refugees. Additionally, we decry attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions. We challenge policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children, and we oppose the existence of for-profit detention centers for such purposes.

Thus, the UMC blesses efforts by its clergy, members and churches to thwart the Trump Administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. It also denounces fear-mongering such as the threat of mass deportations and the false characterizations of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

As of Feb. 28, four UMC units – the General Commission on Religion and Race along with New York, Western North Carolina and North Georgia annual (regional) conferences – are among 27 faith-based parties to a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit challenges the agency for rescinding its policy against immigration enforcement at houses of worship, schools, hospitals, and other "sensitive sites." A recent decision in a similar lawsuit brought by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Quakers, and a Sikh community in California won an injunction against immigration raids at their sites. Legal experts deem that decision helpful to the larger challenge.

Current U.S. affairs aren't the only politics clashing with UMC beliefs.

United Methodists in the Philippines struggle against one of the world's most corrupt governments according to international rankings by Transparency.org. United Methodists in Germany are confronted by a rise in fascist partisanship, according to The Guardian. United Methodists in Russia were allowed to leave the denomination amicably rather than risk being outlawed by Putin's government, where homosexuality is illegal, because of the church's removal of its longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies.

When he began preaching outside, John Wesley was so short he had to stand on his father's grave to be seen and heard. The Social Principles give today's United Methodists a place to stand for love in an unloving world.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011 as a media channel to amplify news by, about and for marginalized and under-served United Methodists. Please email Insight for permission to reproduce this content elsewhere.