Recommended Readings on UMC constitutional amendments

On Monday, the Council of Bishops announced the results of voting on five constitutional amendments approved by General Conference 2016. See also the UMNS story on the results.

Three amendments - two regarding elections of conference delegates and bishops and one affirming the Council of Bishop's right to exercise oversight over its members - passed.

Two other amendments, both related to gender, failed. The first asserted the equal value of women and men in the eyes of God. The second added “gender,” “ability,” “age,” and “marital status” to an paragraph prohibiting discrimination in church membership.

66.5% of annual conference delegates around the world voted to ratify the first amendment, just 68 votes shy of the 2/3rds majority required for ratification. It had received 93% approval at General Conference 2016. 61.3% of annual conference delegates around the world voted to ratify the second amendment. It was 2,529 votes shy of ratification. It had received 67.8% approval at General Conference 2016. Over 60,000 votes were cast in the ratification process.

The failure of these two amendments prompted the Council of Bishops to issue a statement expressing "dismay" at the results, affirming the equality of women, and confessing ongoing sexism in the church. The female bishops of the church issued a separate pastoral letter expressing "lament" over the results. The full text of the two amendments is in that pastoral letter.

Vote totals by annual conference make clear that the two amendments failed because of overwhelming opposition in some African episcopal areas and in the Eurasian Episcopal Area (Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova). Some African episcopal areas voting overwhelming to ratify the amendments; others voted overwhelmingly to oppose them. Cote d'Ivoire, one of the largest episcopal areas in the denomination, did not vote on any of the amendments.

Vote totals from Africa and the Philippines evidence a much more consensual approach to voting than in the West, a pattern that holds beyond just this one vote. There is no clear account of the balance between episcopal pressure and other social factors for producing such consensus. Jerry Kulah expressed a rationale for opposition to the amendments in Liberia, but it is not clear whether the same rationale was influential elsewhere. When African voters did go against the consensus of their annual conferences, they were most likely to do so to affirm the equality of women and men.

The vote broke down by region is below (Yes = yes to ratification; No = no to ratification):

The Philippines
Amendment I: 89% Yes; 11% No
Amendment II: 82% Yes; 18% No

North Central Jurisdiction, USA
Amendment I: 73% Yes; 27% No
Amendment II: 72% Yes; 28% No

Northeast Jurisdiction, USA
Amendment I: 82% Yes; 18% No
Amendment II: 77% Yes; 23% No

Southcentral Jurisdiction, USA
Amendment I: 72% Yes; 28% No
Amendment II: 68% Yes; 32% No

Southeastern Jurisdiction, USA
Amendment I: 67% Yes; 33% No
Amendment II: 60% Yes; 40% No

Western Jurisdiction, USA
Amendment I: 95% Yes; 5% No
Amendment II: 76% Yes; 24% No

Europe excluding Eurasia Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 81% Yes; 19% No
Amendment II: 78% Yes; 22% No

Eurasia Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 10% Yes; 90% No
Amendment II: 35% Yes; 65% No

Eastern Angola Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 78% Yes; 22% No
Amendment II: 88% Yes; 12% No

Western Angola Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 84% Yes; 16% No
Amendment II: 89% Yes; 11% No

East Africa Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 34% Yes; 66% No
Amendment II: 16% Yes; 84% No

Mozambique Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 100% Yes
Amendment II: 100% Yes

Zimbabwe Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 25% Yes; 75% No
Amendment II: 100% No

Cote d'Ivoire Episcopal Area
Did not report results

Liberia Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 100% No
Amendment II: 100% No

Nigeria Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 100% No
Amendment II: 100% No

Sierra Leone Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 100% No
Amendment II: 100% No

Central Congo Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 15% Yes; 85% No
Amendment II: 1% Yes; 99% No

East Congo Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 98% Yes; 2% No
Amendment II: 99% Yes; 1% No

North Katanga Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 100% No
Amendment II: 100% No

South Congo Episcopal Area
Amendment I: 11% Yes; 89% No
Amendment II: 6% Yes; 94% No