Methodism

====United States====
{{Main|History of Methodism in the United States}}
[[File:Old Barratt's Chapel (Methodist), Route 113, Frederica vicinity (Kent County, Delaware).jpg|thumb|[[Barratt's Chapel]], built in 1780, is the oldest Methodist church in the United States built for that purpose. The church was a meeting place of [[Francis Asbury|Asbury]] and [[Thomas Coke (bishop)|Coke]].]]

Wesley came to believe that the New Testament evidence did not leave the power of ordination to the priesthood in the hands of [[bishops]] but that other priests could ordain. In 1784, he ordained preachers for Scotland, England, and America, with power to administer the sacraments (this was a major reason for Methodism's final split from the Church of England after Wesley's death). At that time, Wesley sent [[Thomas Coke (bishop)|Thomas Coke]] to America. [[Francis Asbury]] founded the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784; Coke (already ordained in the Church of England) ordained Asbury deacon, elder, and bishop each on three successive days.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Jesse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94wuAAAAYAAJ |title=A Short History of the Methodists in the United States of America |publisher=Magill and Clime |year=1810 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |pages=128–129 |language=en-us |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref> Circuit riders, many of whom were laymen, travelled by horseback to preach the gospel and establish churches in many places. One of the most famous circuit riders was Robert Strawbridge who lived in the vicinity of Carroll County, Maryland, soon after arriving in the Colonies around 1760.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The [[First Great Awakening]] was a religious movement in the 1730s and 1740s, beginning in [[New Jersey]], then spreading to [[New England]], and eventually south into [[Virginia]] and [[North Carolina]]. George Whitefield played a major role, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a dramatic and emotional style, accepting everyone as his audience.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-20 |title=Great Awakening |url=https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/great-awakening |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref>

The new style of sermons and the way people practiced their faith breathed new life into religion in America. People became passionately and emotionally involved in their religion, rather than passively listening to intellectual discourse in a detached manner. People began to study the Bible at home. The effect was akin to the individualistic trends present in Europe during the Protestant Reformation.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

[[File:Growth of Denominations in America 1780 to 1860.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|In the US, the number of local Methodist churches (blue) grew steadily; it was the largest denomination in the US by 1820.<ref>Data from Edwin Scott Gaustad, ''Historical Atlas of Religion in America'' (2nd ed. 1976).</ref>]]
The [[Second Great Awakening]] was a nationwide wave of revivals, from 1790 to 1840. In [[New England]], the renewed interest in religion inspired a wave of social activism among Yankees; Methodism grew and established several colleges, notably [[Boston University]]. In the "burned over district" of western New York, the spirit of revival burned brightly. Methodism saw the emergence of a [[Holiness movement]]. In the west, especially at [[Cane Ridge, Kentucky]], and in [[Tennessee]], the revival strengthened the Methodists and the [[Baptists]]. Methodism grew rapidly in the [[Second Great Awakening]], becoming the nation's largest denomination by 1820. From 58,000 members in 1790, it reached 258,000 in 1820 and 1,661,000 in 1860, growing by a factor of 28.6 in 70 years, while the total American population grew by a factor of eight.<ref>U.S. Bureau of the Census, ''Historical Statistics of the United States: From: the Colonial Times to the Present'' (1976), pp. 8, 392.</ref> Other denominations also used revivals, but the Methodists grew fastest of all because "they combined popular appeal with efficient organization under the command of missionary bishops."<ref>{{cite book |last=Bratt |first=James D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9u6VVAMwsCMC&pg=PR15 |title=Antirevivalism in Antebellum America: A Collection of Religious Voices |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0813536934 |page=15 |language=en-us}}</ref> Methodism attracted German immigrants, and the first [[Nast Trinity United Methodist Church|German Methodist Church]] was erected in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Forgotten Heritage: The German Methodist Church|last1=Dixon|first1=Barbara|publisher=Little Miami Publishing Company|year=2011|isbn=978-1932250961}}</ref>
[[File:Grace Wesleyan Methodist Church.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Grace Wesleyan Methodist Church is a parish church of the [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]], one of the largest denominations in the [[conservative holiness movement]], and is located in [[Akron, Ohio]].]]
Disputes over slavery placed the church in difficulty in the first half of the 19th century, with the northern church leaders fearful of a split with the South, and reluctant to take a stand. The [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (United States)|Wesleyan Methodist Connexion]] (later renamed the Wesleyan Methodist Church) and the [[Free Methodist Church]] were formed by staunch abolitionists, and the Free Methodists were especially active in the [[Underground Railroad]], which helped to free slaves. In 1962, the [[Evangelical Wesleyan Church]] separated from the Free Methodist Church.<ref name="KurianDay2017">{{cite book |last1=Kurian |first1=George Thomas |last2=Day |first2=Sarah Claudine |title=The Essential Handbook of Denominations and Ministries |date=2017 |publisher=Baker Books |isbn=978-1493406401 |language=en}}</ref> In 1968 the Wesleyan Methodist Church and [[Pilgrim Holiness Church]] merged to form the [[Wesleyan Church]]; a significant amount dissented from this decision resulting in the independence of the [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]] and the formation of the [[Bible Methodist Connection of Churches]], both of which fall within the [[conservative holiness movement]].<ref name="Lewis2002">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=James R.|title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions|year=2002|publisher=Prometheus Books, Publishers|language=en|isbn=978-1615927388|page=356|quote=The Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee, the Bible Holiness Church, and the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches were formed as a result of the opposition to the merger of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church into the Wesleyan Church (1968).}}</ref>

In a much larger split, in 1845 at Louisville, Kentucky, the churches of the slaveholding states left the Methodist Episcopal Church and formed the [[Methodist Episcopal Church, South]]. The northern and southern branches were reunited in 1939, when slavery was no longer an issue. In this merger also joined the [[Methodist Protestant Church]]. Some southerners, more conservative in theology, opposed the merger, and formed the [[Southern Methodist Church]] in 1940.

The [[Third Great Awakening]] from 1858 to 1908 saw enormous growth in Methodist membership, and a proliferation of institutions such as colleges (e.g., [[Morningside University|Morningside College]]). Methodists were often involved in the ''Missionary Awakening'' and the [[Social Gospel]] Movement. The awakening in so many cities in 1858 started the movement, but in the North it was interrupted by the Civil War. In the South, on the other hand, the Civil War stimulated revivals, especially in Lee's army.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prim |first=G. Clinton |date=1984 |title=Born Again in the Trenches: Revivals in the Army of Tennessee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42626463 |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=250–272 |jstor=42626463 |issn=0040-3261}}</ref>

In 1914–1917 many Methodist ministers made strong pleas for world peace. President [[Woodrow Wilson]] (a Presbyterian), promised "a war to end all wars," using language of a future peace that had been a watchword for the postmillennial movement.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jewett |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XecPAQAAIAAJ |title=Mission and Menace: Four Centuries of American Religious Zeal |last2=Wangerin |first2=Ole |publisher=Fortress Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0800662837 |page=213}}</ref> In the 1930s many Methodists favored isolationist policies. Thus in 1936, Methodist Bishop James Baker, of the San Francisco Conference, released a poll of ministers showing 56% opposed warfare. However, the Methodist Federation called for a boycott of Japan, which had invaded China and was disrupting missionary activity there.<ref>Meyer 200, 354.</ref> In Chicago, 62 local African Methodist Episcopal churches voted their support for the Roosevelt administration's policy, while opposing any plan to send American troops overseas to fight. When war came in 1941, the vast majority of Methodists supported the national war effort, but there were also a few (673)<ref>Methodist World Peace Commission administered [[Civilian Public Service]] units at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina and Cherokee State (Psychiatric) Hospital in Cherokee, Iowa. [http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/conscientiousobjection/CPScampsList.htm List of CPS Camps]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404222410/http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/conscientiousobjection/CPScampsList.htm|date=4 April 2006}}.</ref> [[conscientious objectors]].

[[File:Logo of the United Methodist Church.svg|thumb|upright=0.55|The "[[cross and flame]]" logo of the [[United Methodist Church]]]]

The [[United Methodist Church]] (UMC) was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the [[Evangelical United Brethren Church]] (EUB) and the [[Methodist Church (USA)|Methodist Church]]. The former church had resulted from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage; however, there was no longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The latter church was a result of union between the Methodist Protestant Church and the northern and southern factions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The merged church had approximately nine million members as of the late 1990s. While United Methodist Church in America membership has been declining, associated groups in developing countries are growing rapidly.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.methodistreview.org/index.php/mr/article/view/48|title=World Growth of the United Methodist Church in Comparative Perspective: A Brief Statistical Analysis – Robert|journal=Methodist Review |date=21 April 2011 |volume=3 |pages=37–54 |access-date=15 September 2014|last1=Robert |first1=Dana L. |last2=Scott |first2=David W. }}</ref> Prior to the merger that led to the formation of the United Methodist Church, the [[Evangelical Methodist Church]] entered into a [[schism]] with the Methodist Church, citing modernism in its parent body as the reason for the departure in 1946.<ref name="GarrettHinson1983">{{cite book|last1=Garrett|first1=James Leo|last2=Hinson|first2=E. Glenn|last3=Tull|first3=James E.|title=Are Southern Baptists 'Evangelicals'?|year=1983|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0865540330|page=47}}</ref>

[[File:Glide Memorial Church.jpg|thumb|left|Founded as a Methodist congregation, [[Glide Memorial Church]] has served as a [[counter-culture]] rallying point and has been identified as a [[liberal Christianity|liberal church]].]]
American Methodist churches are generally organized on a [[Connexionalism|''connectional'' model]], related, but not identical to that used in Britain. Pastors are assigned to congregations by [[Bishops in Methodism|bishops]], distinguishing it from [[presbyterian]] government. Methodist denominations typically give lay members representation at regional and national Conferences at which the business of the church is conducted, making it different from most [[Episcopal polity|episcopal government]]. This connectional organizational model differs further from the [[Congregationalist polity|congregational]] model, for example of [[Baptist]], and [[Congregational church|Congregationalist Churches]], among others.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In addition to the United Methodist Church, there are over 40 other denominations that descend from John Wesley's Methodist movement. Some, such as the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], the Free Methodists and the Wesleyan Church (formerly Wesleyan Methodist), are explicitly Methodist. There are also independent Methodist churches, many of which are affiliated with the [[Association of Independent Methodists]].<ref name="Crespino2007">{{cite book|last=Crespino|first=Joseph|title=In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative Counterrevolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdCApZN4xjwC&pg=PA169|access-date=30 May 2017|year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|language=en|isbn=978-0691122090|page=169}}</ref> The Salvation Army and the Church of the Nazarene adhere to Methodist theology.<ref name="O'BrienCarey2016">{{cite book |last1=O'Brien |first1=Glen |title=Methodism in Australia: A History |last2=Carey |first2=Hilary M. |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-09709-9 |page=268 |language=English |quote=Identifying with the Church of the Nazarene, 846 of these in Queensland. The Church began to advertise itself as 'a church in the Methodist tradition' in order to make its theological orientation clear to the public.}}</ref>

The [[Holiness movement|Holiness Revival]] was primarily among people of Methodist persuasion, who felt that the church had once again become apathetic, losing the Wesleyan zeal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holiness movement {{!}} American history |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Holiness-movement |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=27 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Some important events of this revival were the writings of [[Phoebe Palmer]] during the mid-1800s,<ref>{{cite web |title=Phoebe Palmer: The Mother of the Holiness Movement |url=https://margmowczko.com/phoebe-palmer/ |website=Marg Mowczko |access-date=27 July 2021 |language=en-AU |date=10 June 2011}}</ref> the establishment of the first of many holiness [[camp meeting]]s at Vineland, New Jersey in 1867, and the founding of Asbury College, (1890), and other similar institutions in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century.

In 2020, United Methodists announced a plan to [[Schism|split the denomination]] over the issue of same-sex marriage,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Campbell |last2=Dias |first2=Elizabeth |title=United Methodists Announce Plan to Split Over Same-Sex Marriage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/us/methodist-split-gay-marriage.html?campaign_id=60&instance_id=0&segment_id=20032&user_id=579ae23cfcbd75c9aac87cb571cc201c&regi_id=72995439 |website=The New York Times |access-date=3 January 2020 |date=3 January 2020}}</ref> which resulted in traditionalist clergy, laity and theologians forming the [[Global Methodist Church]], a traditionalist Methodist denomination that came into being on 1 May 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=United Methodist Church breaking up in schism over LGBT acceptance |url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/nation-world/umc-breaking-up/507-c429f569-6c74-4a10-a3ef-0cf13f84484f |access-date=3 May 2022 |work=ksdk.com |date=29 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="Tooley2022">{{cite web |last1=Tooley |first1=Mark |title=Traditional Methodists Search for New Path Forward |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/methodists-path/ |publisher=[[The Gospel Coalition]] |access-date=14 December 2022 |language=English |date=17 August 2022 |quote=The 13-million-member United Methodist Church is shattering, and traditionalists are building a new Global Methodist Church committed to theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy.}}</ref><ref name="Hodges2021">{{cite web |last1=Hodges |first1=Sam |title=Planned traditionalist Methodist denomination gets name |url=https://www.christiancentury.org/article/news/planned-traditionalist-methodist-denomination-gets-name |publisher=[[The Christian Century]] |access-date=14 December 2022 |language=en |date=22 March 2021 |quote=Traditionalists committed to leaving the United Methodist Church have chosen “Global Methodist Church” as the name for the denomination they plan to launch. ... The name “Global Methodist Church” is in the spirit of Methodism founder John Wesley's statement, “The world is my parish,” a press release said.}}</ref>