Backgrounder: The History of The United Methodist Church's Social Principles

The Wesleyan Tradition of Social Holiness

Since the beginning of the Methodist movement over 275 years ago, Methodists took a stance on the social ills of their day. Church of England priest John Wesley and founder of the Methodist movement in Britain and colonial America, advocated for prison reform, the abolition of slavery, ending hunger and poverty, and the elimination of child labor back in the early 1730’s.

In 1908, Methodists enshrined the Wesleyan commitment to social holiness, forthright moral witness and ethical action by adopting the church’s first Social Creed.

When the new United Methodist denomination was established in 1968, the General Conference authorized a commission to draft a statement of the church’s Social Principles. Blending perspectives from the Evangelical United Brethren, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the formerly segregated Central Jurisdiction, the commission thoughtfully and faithfully, deliberated for four years over the creation of a comprehensive, useable document of statements defining the Church’s position on social issues.

In 1972, the commission unveiled the new Social Principles. The General Conference wholeheartedly embraced the new document. While not church law, the Social Principles are a set of public United Methodist statements that address what United Methodists have agreed for the most pressing social concerns in the world today.

Over five decades, the Social Principles have been vital for United Methodist witness across the globe. Every four years, individual Social Principles are added, amended and updated.

2012 General Conference Calls to Revise Social Principles

An Eight-Year Journey: General Conference Calls for Whole Review and Revisions
Recognizing changing social issues and concerns, since the Church’s 1972 inception of the Social Principles, the 2012 General Conference called the General Board of Church and Society to engage in a process to revise them “with the goal of making them more succinct, theologically founded, and globally relevant.” The 2012 General Conference’s direction was to review and edit the document as a whole to fully live into our identity as a global church.

Heeding General Conference’s call, Church and Society spent the 2012-2016 quadrennium hosting a series of conversations to learn how the church used the Social Principles all over the world. United Methodists crossed borders and oceans to come together to listen to and dialogue about the Social Principles. Based on this time of deep listening, the 2016 General Conference called Church and Society to steward a revision of the Social Principles.

Listening sessions with thousands of United Methodists in Africa, Philippines, Europe and the U.S. revealed:

• a deep appreciation for the Social Principles as a resource for mission and ministry
• a desire to clarify the worldwide relevance of the Social Principles
• a need to articulate a theological grounding of the principles

Revised Social Principles Completed in 2020: Seek 2024 Adoption

Church and Society: Stewarded the Process for 2020 General Conference
Faithfully fulfilling the mandate from the 2016 General Conference, the Board of Church and Society’s board of directors in Spring 2019 endorsed the work of eight years and affirmed voices of thousands of United Methodists across the globe.

Though not all board members agreed with every principle, they embraced the new document’s succinct structure and sound theological grounding. The board overwhelmingly approved the document for adoption by the 2020 General Conference. With the postponement of the 2020 General Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Revised Social Principles document will be presented for adoption at the 2024 General Conference.

A Globally Relevant Document with Strong Theological and Biblical Grounding
The revision process produced a written version of the Social Principles that has a strong theological grounding in a more focused, succinct, and globally meaningful form.

Two major themes emerged from feedback during the revision experience. First, the topics included under the current Revised Social Principles’ Nurturing Community are incorporated into the Social Community. Second, the topics found in the current Revised Social Principles’ World Community are more integrated across the whole document.

The Revision: A United Methodist Experience
Rooted in the Wesleyan means of grace, the document revision process was a deeply United Methodist experience. A global and diverse writing team shepherded the revision experience. Guided by the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Mary Elizabeth Moore, dean of the Boston University School of Theology, six conveners led teams to produce a first draft of the document.

Writing teams came together to develop a first draft of a Revised Social Principles. The 52 writing team members were from:

• Philippines Central Conference
• Africa Central Conference
• Congo Central Conference
• West Africa Central Conference
• Central and Southern Europe Central Conference
• Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference
• The five U.S. Jurisdictions

Over a period of many months, laity, clergy, young adults and ethnic caucus members forged common understanding to craft a first draft of the Revised Social Principles.

Upon review by the Revised Social Principles Task Force of the board of directors from the General Board of Church and Society, over 4,000 United Methodists read, reviewed and commented on the first draft. Thousands of United Methodists across the globe read the draft document in French, Swahili, English, and Portuguese.

Many groups in the Central Conferences and across the U.S. met for public conversations to discuss what they read. People from different global perspectives sat at the same table and celebrated their common faith and identity as United Methodists. This United Methodist experience reaffirmed the church’s tradition of social holiness and reminded the church of its call to witness for justice and peace in today’s global environment.

The Social Justice Resource for United Methodist Mission and Ministry
The revised document’s global perspective is a resource for mission and ministry, equipping churches to engage in ministry in their local contexts.

United Methodists are passionate about the Revised Social Principles. From Manila, Philippines to Washington DC to Harare, Zimbabwe, thousands of United Methodists shared stories of how the Social Principles impact their daily lives and ministry.

In sermons, Bible studies, in meeting rooms with public decision makers, United Methodists are bringing good news for the transformation of the world.

The Revised Social Principles editorial and writing teams were inspired to produce a teachable document that is usable for all United Methodists. It can be discussed in Sunday school classes, preached from the pulpit, and taught in seminary classes.