Numerous Oklahoma churches left the United Methodist Church. How did other regions fare?

A special provision that has dramatically transformed the United Methodist Church has come to an end.

The stipulations and allowances in Paragraph 2553, an amendment to the international denomination's Book of Discipline, end globally on Dec. 31, 2023, but the last vote in America, which appeared to be in Texas, was held on Dec. 14, effectively ending the provision for the U.S.

The provision is tied to the ongoing schism over same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination that has been playing out in the United Methodist Church for decades.

Paragraph 2553 was adopted in 2019 by the denomination's General Conference, allowing churches wishing to make a "graceful exit" to end their affiliation with the United Methodist Church and take their property with them if they had theological disagreements with the denomination, particularly about same-sex marriage and ordination of gay clergy. Same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination are prohibited according to the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, a policy guide. Mostly conservative-leaning congregations have left the denomination out of concern that it soon will become more liberal and frustration that bishops have not effectively enforced violations of the same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination ban.

More: What we know: Oklahoma churches seeking to cut ties with United Methodist denomination

There are 7,658 churches that have disaffiliated in the U.S. since the special Paragraph 2553 provision was approved, according to an unofficial tally by United Methodist News, the official news outlet of the United Methodist Church.

In Oklahoma, 127 churches — including the two largest congregations, St. Luke's in Oklahoma City/Edmond and Asbury in Tulsa ― broke away from the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference under Paragraph 2553.

Here's a look at how many congregations disaffiliated from United Methodist regional conferences in nearby states, as well as some states in other areas of the U.S., according to an unofficial tally by United Methodist News.

How many churches disaffiliated from UMC in the central US?

Topeka, Kansas-based Great Plains Conference: 233 churches, including congregations in Kansas and Nebraska, disaffiliated.

Texas: 746 churches disaffiliated across the Texas, Rio Texas, Central Texas, Northwest Texas, North Texas and New Mexico regional conferences.

New Mexico Conference: 42 congregations disaffiliated.

Colorado's Mountain Sky Conference: 39 churches disaffiliated.

Missiouri Conference: 111 churches left the fold.

Arkansas Conference: 169 churches exited.

Louisiana Conference: 169 churches disaffiliated.

More: After mass exodus, can the United Methodist Church in Oklahoma rebuild? What's next

Conferences in other states

North Georgia Conference: 261 congregations left the denomination.

Alabama-West Florida Conference: 248 churches exited.

California-Pacific Conference: 3 churches disaffiliated.

Mississippi Conference: 386 congregations disaffiliated.

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference: 6 churches disaffiliated.

West Ohio: 348 churches left.

Upper New York Conference: 118 churches exited.

For a more complete look at the disaffiliation landscape across the country, go to United Methodist exits.

Disputes on UMC disaffiliation for two OKC churches land in court

Two Oklahoma City churches took their disaffiliation disputes to civil court.

First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City and Church of the Servant each accused the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference of putting roadblocks in their paths to prevent their congregations from possibly disaffiliating. Each of the churches filed lawsuits in Oklahoma County District Court, essentially accusing conference leaders of singling their churches out with an overarching goal of taking over their respective church properties. They argued that the cases were basically property disputes. Conference leaders pushed back, arguing that they were not singling the churches out, and the disaffiliation disputes were matters for the United Methodist Church to decide and not the civil court system.

Oklahoma County District Court Judge Aletia Timmons ultimately ruled in favor of First Church and Church of the Servant. However, regional conference leaders took the cases to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in the conference's favor. The state Supreme Court ruled that the civil courts had no jurisdiction to decide on church matters, particularly one that revolved around the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline. Both First Church and Church of the Servant currently remain part of the United Methodist denomination.

Here's a look at what happened in other states where disaffiliation disagreements spilled over into civil courts.

North Carolina

In March 2023, a North Carolina Superior Court judge granted the Western North Carolina Conference’s motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 36 churches seeking to disaffiliate. The churches were represented by the National Center for Life and Liberty. But in August, despite the ruling in the conference's favor, the conference's board of trustees announced that all litigation pending between the conference and the churches had been resolved by mutual agreement. The conference pledged to work with the churches so that they could disaffiliate under Paragraph 2553 in 2023.

Alabama-West Florida

In November 2023, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled against a group of local churches who asked the civil court to intervene in the Alabama-West Florida's disaffiliation process. The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to interpret church doctrine and dismissed the case.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, a disaffiliating congregation filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court, arguing that a state law that incorporated the United Methodist trust clause violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and should be overturned. Hebron Community Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, sued in Madison federal court to keep the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church from using the disputed Wisconsin law to lay claim to the church's property after the congregation voted to disaffiliate from the denomination.

In July 2022, a federal judge dismissed the church's case, ruling that even under "neutral principles of law," the congregations would not retain ownership of the church property because another Wisconsin law would have required the church to relinquish its property to the regional conference if it ended its denominational affiliation or dissolved.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How many churches left United Methodist Church in Oklahoma?