BUZZ
Denomination says seminary’s traditional Christian stance on homosexuality is ‘not compatible’ with its mission
For calling gay marriage a sin, the Asbury Theological Seminary has lost its approval as school for ordained ministers through the United Methodist Church.
David Watson, president of the evangelical Christian seminary, said in a statement Thursday that the decision came from the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and it was not a “shared resolution.”
The Methodist denomination’s “requirements, particularly those related to the UMC’s 2024 Social Principles concerning ‘Human Sexuality’ and ‘Marriage,’ are not aligned with Asbury Theological Seminary’s institutional ethos and the historic witness of the Christian faith,” Watson stated.
“We affirm marriage as sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union for life, as delineated in Scripture, and provides the sole context for sexual intimacy, helping to ensure the blessings of that relationship as God intended,” he said.
The United Methodist Church changed its stance on homosexuality and marriage in 2024, removing a statement that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Located in Kentucky, Asbury’s stance on the matter remains “unchanged,” its president said Thursday.
“As an independent, multi-denominational seminary in the Wesleyan tradition, we have remained steadfast for more than a century in teaching the unchanging truth of orthodox Christianity. Our mission and values are the same today as they have been for more than a century,” Watson said.
The United Methodist denomination will allow students currently enrolled at Asbury to “complete their programs and pursue ordination in the denomination,” the Religion News Service reports. However, new students “pursuing United Methodist ordination must attend schools that remain approved by the University Senate.”
Along with the seminary’s stance on marriage and sexuality, the denomination said another reason for its decision to cut ties was a lack of United Methodist faculty, according to RNS.
In a statement this week, the denomination said its Commission on Theological Education decided “Asbury’s published ethos statement is not compatible with the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church. In addition, Asbury does not have a full-time United Methodist faculty member who consistently teaches required United Methodist history, doctrine, and polity.”
Responding to the news, Institute on Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley said the denomination’s decision will not be a great loss for the seminary.
“Asbury Seminary is the largest theologically Wesleyan seminary in the world. It will easily outlast the shrinking United Methodist Church,” Tooley wrote on X.
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