Short answer: Methodists are Christians. “Methodist” is not a different religion from “Christian.” Methodism is one denomination, or family of churches, inside the Christian faith. Baptist, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches are denominations in the same way.
Methodist vs. Christian: the difference
- “Christian” is the whole faith: everyone who follows Jesus Christ.
- “Methodist” names one Protestant tradition within that faith, the way “Baptist” or “Lutheran” does.
Where Methodism came from
- John and Charles Wesley were Church of England priests. The United Methodist Church’s history says they “began preaching a message of new birth and sanctification” (growing in holiness) in the 1700s.
- In America, the movement became a church at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore in December 1784.
- Today there are several Methodist denominations. The largest in the United States is the United Methodist Church. Another is the Global Methodist Church, which began in 2022.
What do Methodists believe?
Methodists hold the core beliefs Christians have always shared. The first of the Methodist Articles of Religion, printed in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, is called “Of Faith in the Holy Trinity.” It says there is “one living and true God” in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
What Methodists emphasize differently:
- Grace and holy living. Wesley’s preaching stressed new birth and growing in holiness.
- Four guides for faith. Methodists read the Bible alongside tradition, reason and experience. A United Methodist article says this works “as long as Scripture is recognized as the primary authority”.
- A connected church. Local Methodist churches belong to a wider denomination rather than standing alone.
Do other Christians accept Methodists?
Yes. For example, in 2006 the World Methodist Council formally joined the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. That is an agreement on how God saves people, first signed by the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation. The United Methodist Church describes itself as “a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ.”
Why are Methodists criticized?
There are two kinds of criticism. Neither one is really about whether Methodists are Christians.
1. An old debate with other Protestants. Reformed and Calvinist churches have long disagreed with Methodists about predestination and free will. The debate goes back to the start. John Wesley and George Whitefield argued hard over it. Yet at Whitefield’s request, “his funeral sermon was preached by none other than his former opponent, John Wesley.”
2. A recent split among Methodists. This one is about marriage, sexual ethics and who can be ordained.
- More than 7,600 U.S. churches left the United Methodist Church under a policy that ended in 2023.
- Many of them joined the Global Methodist Church, which launched on May 1, 2022. It says it was formed “to preserve the doctrinal integrity of the historic Christian faith.”
- In 2024 the United Methodist General Conference removed its bans on LGBTQ clergy and on ministers performing same-sex weddings. It also removed its statement that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Both sides, in their own terms:
- Traditionalists say the Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman, as the church has taught for most of its history. They see the 2024 decisions as a break from that teaching and from Methodism’s own standards. One African church leader said at the 2024 conference, “We do not believe we know better than the Bible.”
- Supporters of the changes say the church is living out what it already claimed to stand for. One delegate put it this way: “make sure that what we said we stood for we now practice.” The church also approved regionalization, ratified in 2025. It lets regions of the church, such as Africa or the U.S., adapt some of the church’s rules to their own setting.
Both sides say Scripture comes first. They disagree about what Scripture requires on marriage, and about how much weight tradition, reason and experience should carry in reading it. Christians who love Jesus land on both sides.
If you attend a Methodist church
Methodist churches differ from one another, even inside the same denomination. If you want to know where your congregation stands, ask your pastor. We don’t pass judgment on any church or any person here.
Quick answers
- Is Methodist Christian? Yes. Methodism is a Protestant Christian denomination.
- What is a Methodist Christian? A Christian who belongs to a Methodist church, a tradition that began with John and Charles Wesley in the 1700s.
- What do Methodists believe differently? Mostly emphasis, not the core. The main emphases are grace, holy living and four guides for reading faith. Many also differ from Reformed churches on predestination and free will.
- United Methodist vs. Global Methodist? The Global Methodist Church was formed in 2022 by churches that left the United Methodist Church. The two differ mainly on marriage, sexual ethics and ordination standards.