The United Methodist Church

A Protestant Church, United Methodist beliefs can be traced to the writings of the founder, John Wesley, who broke off from the Anglican Church in the late 18th century.   

Number of Members: 8.2 million.

Governing Body: General Conference, consists of half clergy, half lay, convenes every four years, last meeting 2004.

Statement 1

The 2004 General Conference approved the following resolution:

“We support regulations that protect the life and health of animals, including those ensuring the humane treatment of pets and other domestic animals, animals used in research, and the painless slaughtering of meat animals, fish and fowl. We encourage the preservation of all animals species including those threatened with extinction.”  (Paragraph 160 C, animal life, Social Principles)

Statement 2

"We support a sustainable agricultural system that will maintain and support the natural fertility of agricultural soil, promote the diversity of flora and fauna, and adapt to regional conditions and structures—a system where agricultural animals are treated humanely and where their living conditions are as close to natural systems as possible." (Paragraph 160 O, sustainable agriculture, Social Principles). 

John Wesley on Animals

Theology and Animals

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was a dedicated preacher and prolific writer. His sermons have been compiled and published in several volumes. Sermon 60, The General Deliverance, is based on Romans 8:19-22 and addresses Wesley's theology of creation and all its creation, as well as human connection and responsibility toward it.¹

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now … (Romans 8: 19-22 NRSV)

Wesley recognized that God saw all God had created and declared it to be good (Genesis 1). Wesley held that all creatures and all of creation received all of God's blessing, which flowed from God through humans to creation. Humans were the intermediary, the "great channel of communication," responsible for bringing God's blessing to all God's creatures. Wesley believed that after humans rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, humans rendered themselves incapable of transmitting this blessing and cut off that communication, subjecting creatures to suffering, sorrow and pain.

Though he described them as "inferior," "lower," and "brute" creatures, Wesley believed not that creatures were necessarily inferior to humans, but that there existed a barrier between humans and animals. The "great gulf" between humans and animals, he said, is that humans are capable of God; animals are not. He held that reason did not separate humans from animals, but rather the ability to know, love and obey God was the source of the "gulf." Furthermore, he felt that the barrier does not elevate humans over animals, but instead confers upon humans the responsibility of imitating God's mercy over all of creation.

¹Wesley, John. "The General Deliverance." (Sermon 60). The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 2: Sermons II, 34-70. (A. Outler, ed.). Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985. Online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/60/ [edited by Sarah Anderson]

Action and Animals

Wesley believed all followers of Christ should be good stewards of God's creation. That meant, in addition to other practices, being humane to animals. People participating in the Wesleyan revival in London remarked, "We know who has been converted by the ways in which they treat dogs." The stray dogs roaming the streets of London were shown compassion and humane treatment by the Wesleyan converts.²

Wesley preached that animals will be with us in eternity. God, he said, will restore all of creation to its original state of harmony and unity, and animals will be part of that new heaven and new earth. Wesley believed that humans should do all they could to participate in God's vision of a new heaven and earth in the present. As God brings all of creation "nearer and nearer" to the day it will be set free, Wesley believed that humans should participate in the divine life by extending God's mercy to animals during their time on earth.

²Campolo, Tony and Mary Albert Darling. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. 2007. pp. 51-56

Further Resources

Campolo, Tony and Mary Albert Darling. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. 2007. pp. 51-56

Robinson, Elaine A. Our Formative Foursome: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral and Postmodern Discipleship. In Covenant Discipleship Quarterly, Spring 2003. Online at www.gbod.org/smallgroup/covenant/spring03/foursome.html

Wesley, John. "The General Deliverance." (Sermon 60). The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 2: Sermons II, 34-70. (A. Outler, ed.). Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985. Online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/60/ [edited by Sarah Anderson]

Ban on Cockfighting: Bill Number: NM S.B 39

In the campaign to ban cockfighting statewide in Louisiana, Bishop William W. Hutchinson, head of the Louisiana United Methodist Church, supported our efforts with a public statement condemning the bloodsport. The ban passed in June 2007 and will take effect in 2008 in part due to Bishop Hutchinson's leadership.  

Updated June 17, 2008