Same Denomination, Different Views

An op-ed piece appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat today comparing the religious beliefs of two well-known United Methodists, President George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton.

The author points out a fundamental fact that the media rarely understands. The Methodist Church is anything but "united." Generally, there are two distinct camps of Methodists -- conservative evangelicals and liberal social justice adherents. Understand, of course, that this is a generality, and you will find a mix of theological and political understandings in any given congregation. However, by and large, the southeastern jurisdiction tends to be more conservative (theologically and politically) and more evangelical than other Methodist jurisdictions, most notably those in the northeastern U.S. and the northwestern U.S.

You can access the article by clicking here.