What Does an Inclusive Church Mean? A Guide to Denominations, Women in Ministry, LGBTQ Clergy and Marriage

When someone describes a church as “inclusive,” what exactly does that mean?

The answer can be surprisingly complicated.

A church may ordain women but hold a traditional view of marriage. Another may ordain LGBTQ pastors and perform same-sex weddings. A denomination may officially permit same-sex marriage while allowing individual pastors to decline to officiate one. Still another may welcome LGBTQ people as members while reserving sexual relationships for marriage between a man and a woman.

Then there are questions that have little to do with sexuality at all. Can clergy marry? Can women become pastors, priests, or bishops? Can someone who has been divorced become a minister?

For Christians searching for a church, these differences can matter tremendously.

This guide looks at the official positions of several of the largest and most influential Christian traditions in the United States. Because individual congregations can vary,  particularly in denominations with significant local autonomy,  a denomination’s official position should be considered a starting point rather than a guarantee of what you will encounter at a particular church.

There are important qualifications behind almost every box in that chart.

 

United Methodist Church: One of the Most Significant Recent Changes

The United Methodist Church underwent one of the largest changes in American denominational policy in recent years.

At its General Conference held April 23-May 3, 2024, delegates removed longstanding denominational restrictions relating to LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings. The General Conference lifted the ban on the ordination of gay clergy and removed penalties previously associated with clergy performing or churches hosting same-sex weddings. The revised provisions became fully effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Importantly, United Methodist clergy are not required to perform same-sex marriages. Current church law states that clergy may neither be compelled to perform nor prohibited from performing a marriage, union or blessing, including for a same-sex couple.

Women have a much longer history in Methodist ministry. The Methodist Church granted women full clergy rights in 1956, a tradition inherited by the United Methodist Church when it was formed in 1968.

United Methodist pastors may marry.

In short: The UMC currently ordains women and LGBTQ clergy and permits same-sex weddings, while protecting the conscience of clergy who do not wish to perform them.

 

The Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church has progressively expanded access to ordained ministry and marriage during the past half-century.

Women were officially authorized for ordination to the priesthood and episcopate by the church's General Convention in 1976.

The church's policies regarding LGBTQ Christians developed over several decades. In 2012, its canons were amended to prohibit discrimination in the ordination process based upon gender identity or gender expression.

Same-sex marriage followed soon afterward. In 2015, the 78th General Convention approved marriage liturgies and revised its marriage canon to allow same-sex couples to marry in the church.

Episcopal priests and bishops may marry.

In short: The Episcopal Church ordains women and LGBTQ clergy, permits married clergy and recognizes same-sex marriage.

 

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Be careful with the word Presbyterian.

Different Presbyterian denominations hold very different positions. The Presbyterian Church (USA), usually abbreviated PC(USA), is the largest Presbyterian body associated with the more inclusive position discussed here.

Women have been ordained in its predecessor churches for decades. Margaret Towner became the first woman ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. on Oct. 24, 1956. Women now serve throughout PC(USA) leadership.

A major change regarding LGBTQ clergy took effect July 10, 2011. Amendment 10-A removed the denomination's previous ordination standard requiring fidelity within heterosexual marriage or chastity in singleness. PC(USA)'s own guidance stated that a person in a same-gender relationship could thereafter be considered for ordination as a deacon, elder or Minister of Word and Sacrament.

Marriage rules changed several years later. In 2015, a new definition of marriage was approved that described marriage as a commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.

PC(USA) also preserves considerable freedom of conscience. Pastors may perform same-sex weddings, but they are not required to do so.

In short: PC(USA) ordains women and LGBTQ clergy, permits same-sex marriage and permits clergy to marry.

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Again, the exact Lutheran denomination matters enormously.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) should not be confused with more conservative Lutheran groups such as the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

ELCA predecessor bodies approved women's ordination in 1970. Elizabeth Platz was ordained Nov. 22, 1970, becoming the first woman ordained by a Lutheran church body in the United States.

A watershed change involving LGBTQ clergy came in 2009. At that year's Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA adopted Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust and approved policy changes opening ordained and other rostered ministry to people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships.

The ELCA today includes congregations and clergy that perform same-sex marriages, although the denomination intentionally makes room for differing convictions within the church on questions of sexuality.

In short: The ELCA ordains women and LGBTQ clergy, permits clergy to marry and includes same-sex marriage within its church life.

 

United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ (UCC) has one of the longest histories of LGBTQ inclusion among major American Protestant denominations.

One of its predecessor traditions ordained Melissa Terrell in 1867, an extraordinarily early example of formal recognition of a woman in Christian ministry.

In 1972, the UCC ordained the Rev. William Johnson, whom the denomination identifies as the first openly gay person ordained by a mainline Protestant denomination.

The UCC's General Synod went on to endorse marriage equality in 2005.

There is an important UCC caveat, however: local church autonomy is fundamental to UCC polity. The denomination itself has explained that its General Synod's action on same-gender marriage was intended to speak to, rather than dictate policy for, local congregations.

That means two UCC congregations can sometimes differ considerably.

In short: Nationally, the UCC has a strongly LGBTQ-inclusive tradition, ordains women and LGBTQ clergy and supports marriage equality, but local congregations retain substantial autonomy.

 

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church represents a very different model.

Catholic priestly ordination remains reserved to men. In the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II formally stated that the Catholic Church does not have authority to confer priestly ordination on women. The Vatican reaffirmed in 2023 that this teaching remains in force.

Clerical marriage is more complicated than the familiar statement that “Catholic priests cannot marry.”

In the Latin Church, which includes the overwhelming majority of Roman Catholic parishes Americans encounter, diocesan priests ordinarily make a promise of celibacy at ordination.

However, Catholicism also includes Eastern Catholic churches in which married men can be ordained priests. There are also limited circumstances in which already-married clergy converting from another Christian tradition may become Catholic priests. In other words, Catholicism does have married priests — just not as the ordinary Latin-rite practice.

The Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex marriage as sacramental marriage.

There was, however, an important development in December 2023. The Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans permitted certain spontaneous, non-liturgical pastoral blessings of couples in same-sex relationships, while specifically distinguishing those blessings from the sacrament of marriage.

So a blessing of people in a relationship should not be confused with Catholic recognition of that relationship as marriage.

In short: Catholic priests are male; Latin-rite priests are ordinarily celibate; the church does not perform same-sex marriages, although since 2023 certain non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples have been permitted.

 

Eastern Orthodox Churches

Eastern Orthodox Christianity also maintains traditional teachings regarding ordination and marriage, but its practice regarding married clergy differs significantly from Roman Catholicism.

Women are not ordained to the priesthood or episcopacy. The Orthodox Church in America describes this as part of the church's received Holy Tradition.

However, Orthodox priests do not necessarily have to be celibate.

A married man may be ordained to the diaconate or priesthood. Ordinarily, the marriage must occur before ordination; an unmarried priest does not simply marry later. Bishops are selected from celibate clergy. The Orthodox Church in America explicitly confirms that married men may be ordained priests.

The Orthodox Church teaches that Christian marriage is between a man and a woman and does not perform same-sex marriages. The OCA's Holy Synod reaffirmed that position in a statement issued July 21, 2022.

In short: Orthodox priests are men, but parish priests may be married; women are not ordained as priests or bishops, and same-sex marriages are not performed.

 

Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention represents a strongly traditional position on both pastoral office and marriage.

The SBC's Baptist Faith and Message 2000 teaches that the office of pastor is limited to men and defines marriage as the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman.

Southern Baptist pastors may marry; indeed, there is no tradition of clerical celibacy comparable to Catholicism.

Because Baptist churches are autonomous, it is worth understanding how SBC identity works. A local Baptist congregation governs itself rather than receiving clergy assignments or parish rules from a bishop. However, affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention depends on cooperation around shared beliefs, and the denomination has increasingly emphasized adherence to its confessional position regarding the pastoral office.

In short: SBC doctrine reserves the pastorate for men, permits pastors to marry, does not affirm same-sex sexual relationships and defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

 

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) illustrates why simply labeling a church “Lutheran” tells you very little about its position on these questions.

Unlike the ELCA, the LCMS does not ordain women to the pastoral office. The denomination explicitly identifies opposition to women's ordination as its official teaching and practice.

The LCMS likewise maintains a traditional definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

LCMS pastors, however, may marry.

In short: LCMS clergy may marry, but the denomination does not ordain women as pastors and does not perform same-sex marriages.

 

Assemblies of God: An Interesting Combination

The Assemblies of God demonstrates why these questions should be considered separately.

It is a conservative Pentecostal denomination regarding sexuality and marriage, but it has a long history of women in ministry.

Women have preached and served in Assemblies of God ministry since the denomination's founding in 1914. Its current position states that qualified women are eligible to serve at all levels of church ministry and leadership. A revised position paper on women in ministerial leadership was adopted by the General Presbytery Aug. 4-5, 2025.

At the same time, the Assemblies of God teaches that sexual relationships belong within marriage between a man and woman and does not permit its ministers to perform same-sex weddings. In 1999, the denomination added a provision providing for the dismissal of credentialed ministers who knowingly perform a same-sex wedding.

Assemblies of God ministers may marry.

In short: Women can serve throughout AG ministry, including as pastors, while the denomination maintains traditional teachings regarding same-sex relationships and marriage.

 

“Women Can Be Ministers” Doesn't Always Mean “Women Can Be Pastors”

This is one of the most important distinctions to look for when researching a church.

A denomination may enthusiastically support women serving as missionaries, teachers, worship leaders, children's ministers or other ministry leaders while reserving the offices of senior pastor, elder, priest or bishop to men.

Other denominations make no such distinction.

So if women in church leadership are important to you, don't stop when a website says it “values women in ministry.” Look for more specific language:

• Does it ordain women?
• Can women serve as senior or lead pastors?
• Can women serve as elders?
• Can women become bishops or other denominational leaders?
• Is the policy denominational, or does each congregation decide?

Those questions often tell you much more.

 

“LGBTQ Welcoming” Can Mean Several Different Things

The word welcoming is even less precise.

Virtually any church may say that everyone is welcome to attend. That does not necessarily tell you the church's teachings about relationships, marriage or ministry.

For someone specifically searching for an LGBTQ-affirming congregation, more useful questions include:

• Can an openly gay or lesbian person become a pastor or priest?
• May clergy be in a same-sex marriage?
• Does the church perform same-sex weddings?
• Can LGBTQ people serve in leadership?
• Does the denomination distinguish between sexual orientation and sexual relationships?
• Is the congregation officially designated as affirming or inclusive?
• Does the local congregation's policy differ from its denomination's broader policy?

The answers can be dramatically different even among churches that use similar language on their websites.

 

And Don't Forget Local Congregational Differences

Denominational policies matter, but they are not the whole story.

This is especially true in traditions with strong congregational autonomy.

A United Church of Christ congregation may be Open and Affirming, while another congregation in the same denomination may be substantially more traditional. A PC(USA) pastor is permitted to perform a same-sex wedding but cannot be compelled to do so. United Methodist clergy similarly retain discretion regarding the marriages they perform.

Independent and nondenominational churches can vary even more because there may be no denominational policy at all.

When a church's position matters to you, the best source is therefore a combination of its denomination's official teaching and the individual congregation's own statement of faith, leadership policies and marriage policies.

 

Finding a Church That Fits Your Convictions

Christians don't all use the word inclusive in the same way.

For one person, finding a church led by women may be important. Another may specifically need an LGBTQ-affirming congregation. Someone coming from Catholicism may be surprised to discover churches with married priests. Someone else may intentionally be searching for a congregation that maintains historic, traditional Christian teachings on marriage and ordination.

The goal isn't to pretend those theological differences don't exist.

It's to make them easier to understand.

At Churches Near Me from Salt & Purpose, we're building a church directory designed to help you look beyond a church's address and Sunday service time. Denomination, worship style, accessibility, ministries, language services and other details can all help you find a congregation where you understand what to expect before your first visit.

Because finding a church shouldn't require detective work worthy of the Book of Revelation.