The African Methodist Episcopal Church has rejected a proposal to strike down its ban on same-sex marriage.
At the AME Church's 52nd Quadrennial Session of the General Conference, held Aug. 21-28 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, the historically black denomination voted down an amendment to its rules.
"It was noted that a motion was brought forward to delete. The reasoning was stated that the proposal has the potential to curb AMEC, and exegesis is a complication, even under great sensitivities," reported The Christian Recorder, the official news organ of the AME Church.
"In contrast, it was argued deleting the legislation would create a culture of theological oppression. A motion was put on the floor by Frederick Sherrod to end the debate."
General Conference delegates voted 896 to 722 in favor of deleting the amendment to allow same-sex marriage, while another vote allowed for the continuing work of the Ad Hoc AME Sexual Ethics Discernment Committee to continue its work.
AME Church bishops issued a written statement to General Conference that seemingly questioned if a committee could make acceptable changes to church teaching on LGBT issues.
"Rational arguments on the matter of sexuality, sexual orientation, same sex marriage, the structure of the family, and the meaning of male and female will not resolve the controversy because the issues have deep theological and psychological roots," the bishops stated, as quoted by Religion News Service.
The AME Church's rule book, known as The Doctrine and Discipline, states that "the AME Church believes that unions of any kind between persons of the same sex or gender are contrary to the will of God."
Critics of the denominational rules on marriage include John Thomas III, editor at The Christian Recorder, who penned a column in advance of the vote encouraging the removal of the ban.
"This bill does not force pastors to perform gay marriages, but it would allow those who wish to do so where it is legally permissible the freedom to follow their conscience without fear of retribution," wrote Thomas.
"While the Connectional Church is not of one mind on same sex marriage, every Sunday, we remind ourselves that we are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. It is in this spirit of love for all of God's people in this church that this discussion must continue."
Over the last several decades, many Christian denominations have wrestled with their stances on same-sex marriage, with some mainline networks voting to affirm LGBT marriages and homosexuality and fracturing as a result.
Earlier this year, the United Methodist Church voted overwhelmingly to remove its ban on clergy performing same-sex wedding ceremonies, as well as allow for the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.
The move came after approximately 7,500 mostly conservative congregations had left the UMC, and has led many more churches to disaffiliate from the denomination since the change was made.
For example, the UMC Côte d'Ivoire Conference, which had approximately 1 million members, voted to leave the denomination in late May in response to the General Conference decision.
