A regional body of the United Methodist Church based in Pennsylvania recently approved a resolution denouncing biological men participating in women’s sports.

The UMC Western Pennsylvania Conference voted to pass a resolution titled “Ending Degrading Behavior Against Female Athletes” (P14) at their annual conference, held June 2-4 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, in Pennsylvania.

Conference spokeswoman Jackie Campbell provided the Christian Post with a copy of P14, which stated that “members of one sex are more vulnerable in relationships than members of another when it comes to men. biological participants in women’s sports”.

“[B]Biological men who participate in women’s sports eliminate opportunities for women to enjoy the benefits of fair competition, and diminish and belittle their hard-earned athletic achievements,” the resolution, passed June 4, continues.

“Pennsylvania has a clear example of this in the case of University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who as a biological male holds an unfair advantage over competition in a women’s category, as evidenced by the ranking from Thomas who bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female.

The resolution called on “the Pennsylvania General Assembly to immediately enact legislation prohibiting biological males from participating in female-only athletic competitions and from participating as members of female-only teams.”

“[T]he Western PA Conference encourages United Methodist Advocacy in Pennsylvania to seek the enactment of this legislation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and to report on the actions they have taken and the results of their work,” the resolution adds.

The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved House Bill 972, also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, earlier this year. The Republican-controlled Senate has yet to vote on the measure and the Democratic government. Tom Wolf indicated that he would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Annual conference delegates also passed a resolution titled “Guidance on Local Church Reporting” (P23) that called on the General Council on Finance and Administration to stop offering the “non-binary” option as a gender identity when reporting. registration of church members.

Resolution P14 passed at the legislative committee level by a vote of 33 in favor and 24 against. Campbell told the CP that P23 passed the legislative committee in a vote of 51 in favor, 40 against and 6 abstentions.

John Lomperis, United Methodist Action director for the Institute on Religion and Democracy, told CP in an interview this week that he sees the resolutions as a “very welcome development.”

“It shows that a lot of grassroots United Methodists aren’t drinking the woke Kool-Aid,” Lomperis said. “These official resolutions of The United Methodist Church were compassionate positions for true social justice, resisting radical transgender ideology that is harmful to EVERYTHING it touches, including but not limited to sports. feminine.”

The resolution comes as many conservative churches are leaving the UMC over its ongoing debate on LGBT issues for a conservative alternative known as the World Methodist Church.

Although the UMC officially prohibits the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions, many leaders and churches within the denomination have continually refused to enforce these rules.

Lomperis speculated that although many conservative churches are leaving the UMC, more laws like the one passed in western Pennsylvania could emerge in the coming years.

“To the extent that authoritarian bishops explicitly urge conservatives to remain United Methodists, telling us ‘there is room for ALL, even you conservatives’, and/or choose to make it unnecessarily difficult to leave the UMC, they invite us to stay and continue to seek fidelity as we understand it,” Lomperis told CP.

“That may mean becoming even bolder in promoting our conservative biblical values ​​within the UMC, and using what we can from our denomination’s conferences and other structures to promote conservative biblical values ​​in society. , in the name of United Methodism.”