(CNN) United Methodist Church leaders are proposing a split into more than one denomination in a bid to resolve years of debate over LGBT clergy and same-sex weddings, according to the church's official news agency. The new proposal calls for a traditionalist Methodist denomination opposed to gay marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Split mirrors US cultural and political divide, bishop saysWilliam Willimon, a Duke Divinity School professor and bishop in the United Methodist Church, said the split mirrors the current US cultural and political divide. "Both factions love their take on the issues more than the continuance of the United Methodist Church. In some parts of the United States, openly gay clergy serve with few if any restrictions.

Source: CNN January 03, 2020 19:04 UTC