Rev. Luan-Vu “Lui” Tran, Ph.D.
I. Introduction
United Methodists frequently use the word “interfaith” to describe relationships, dialogue, cooperation, and public witness with persons and communities of religions other than Christianity. The Book of Discipline 2020/2024 (“Discipline”) more often uses the term “interreligious.” This article uses the two terms together: “interfaith” as the common pastoral and public term, and “interreligious” as the disciplinary term.
Interfaith relationships are not an optional courtesy added to United Methodist life from the outside. They are woven into United Methodist law, episcopal leadership, annual conference structure, district strategy, local church ministry, pastoral responsibilities, social witness, and connectional funding. At the same time, United Methodist interfaith work operates within clear doctrinal and legal boundaries. It does not create full communion with non-Christian religious communities, does not alter the Church’s doctrines, sacraments, membership standards, or polity, and does not authorize any person or agency to speak officially for the denomination apart from the authority reserved to the General Conference.
II. The Governing Framework
The governing framework for interfaith relationships has four major sources. First, the Constitution commits The United Methodist Church to Christian unity as part of the church universal and, after the January 2026 Addendum to the Book of Discipline 2020/2024 (“Discipline”), must be read within the wider post-regionalization structure of the denomination. Second, the superintendency provisions assign the Council of Bishops, bishops, and district superintendents specific leadership responsibilities in Christian unity and interreligious relationships. Third, the annual conference provisions require conference structures for Christian unity and interreligious relationships and assign concrete duties of dialogue, cooperation, interreligious study, and community action. Fourth, the Social Principles provide moral and theological guidance on religious minorities, religious freedom, non-coercion, and respect for persons of other faiths. Discipline, ¶ 7; ¶ 414.6; ¶ 419.1; ¶ 422; ¶ 431-442; ¶ 642; ¶ 163.J.
Because the Discipline is a book of law, United Methodist bodies may not ignore its provisions when they disagree with them. That principle is reflected in JCD 96, which identifies the Discipline as a book of law, and JCD 886, which states that Church entities are bound by the Discipline and may not negate or ignore it. In interfaith work, that means good intentions do not substitute for lawful authority, proper representation, and fidelity to United Methodist doctrine and polity.
III. Terminology: Interfaith, Interreligious, Ecumenical, and Full Communion
A careful vocabulary is essential. In United Methodist law, “ecumenical” normally refers to relationships among Christians, Christian churches, and ecclesial bodies. “Interfaith” or “interreligious” refers to relationships with persons and communities of other living faiths. The two fields are related but not identical.
The difference matters most when discussing full communion. Full communion is a formal relationship between Christian churches. It involves recognition of one another as constituent members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, recognition of sacraments, mutual affirmation of Christian ministry, and recognition of offices of ministry. It must be approved and ratified by the General Conference before it comes into effect at the denominational level. Discipline, ¶ 431.1a-b.
Interfaith relationships do not involve mutual recognition of Christian sacraments, Christian orders, or Christian ecclesial office. They involve dialogue, cooperation, respect, public witness, common action for the common good, and protection of religious freedom. Thus, a United Methodist congregation may cooperate with a synagogue, mosque, temple, gurdwara, interfaith council, or community coalition on matters such as hunger, housing, refugee care, disaster response, peacemaking, or religious liberty without implying full communion or doctrinal agreement.
The boundary is explicit: no membership in an ecumenical organization, statement or policy of such an organization, or full communion agreement may be construed as modifying, interpreting, or changing the doctrinal and disciplinary standards of The United Methodist Church. Discipline, ¶ 431.1g. That principle applies with even greater force to interfaith cooperation, which is not full communion and cannot change United Methodist doctrine, worship, sacraments, membership, or governance.
IV. Legal Authority and Official Voice
United Methodist interfaith relationships must honor the separation of powers within the Church. The General Conference remains the denomination’s official legislative voice. Decision 458 states the historic rule that no person, paper, or organization has authority to speak officially for The United Methodist Church because that right is reserved to the General Conference under the Constitution. Therefore, bishops, annual conferences, general agencies, local churches, pastors, and interfaith coalitions may speak and act within their assigned responsibilities, but they should not represent a local, conference, agency, or episcopal statement as the official position of the whole denomination unless the General Conference has spoken.
At the same time, the Council of Bishops has a distinct liaison and leadership role. In formal relations with other churches and ecclesial bodies, the Council of Bishops is the primary liaison for The United Methodist Church, and the ecumenical officer of the Council is responsible for those relationships. Discipline, ¶ 431.2. Although that paragraph speaks of churches and ecclesial bodies, later provisions extend the Council’s leadership into interreligious ministries. Discipline, ¶ 436; Discipline, ¶ 437; Discipline, ¶ 440.
This means United Methodist interfaith initiatives should be appropriately scaled. A local church project may be developed under local church authority. A district-wide or annual-conference initiative should involve the district superintendent, the bishop, and the annual conference structure for Christian unity and interreligious relationships. A denominational-level relationship or public representation requires the relevant general-church authority and, where applicable, the Council of Bishops or General Conference.
V. Theological and Missional Basis for Interfaith Relationships
Interfaith relationships are grounded in mission, neighbor-love, the sacred worth of persons, and the Church’s public witness. The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Discipline, ¶ 120. The Church’s mission is not isolation from the world but faithful engagement with the world God loves. Discipline, ¶ 121.
United Methodist connectionalism reinforces this public vocation. The Church does not understand ministry as only the internal life of a congregation. The ministries of nurture, outreach, and witness join worship, discipleship, compassion, justice, advocacy, evangelism, and community engagement. Interfaith relationships belong especially to the outreach and witness dimensions of ministry, where United Methodists collaborate for the common good while bearing truthful Christian witness.
The Discipline also places inclusiveness at the center of United Methodist life. It calls the Church to remove barriers and include persons in its worship, programs, sacraments, and membership without exclusion on prohibited grounds. Discipline, ¶ 4; Discipline, ¶ 140. Interfaith work should therefore be hospitable, transparent, non-coercive, and attentive to the dignity of all persons, including those who do not share Christian faith.
VI. Religious Minorities and Religious Freedom
The most direct disciplinary guidance on interfaith ethics appears in the Social Principles, especially the section on religious minorities. The Social Principles state that they are not church law, but are intended to be instructive and persuasive. Discipline, ¶ 160-164, Preface. JCD 833 and JCD 1254 support the distinction between the Social Principles as moral teaching and provisions of binding church law, while recognizing that particular disciplinary provisions must be interpreted according to their own text and legal force.
The Social Principles affirm the rights of religious minorities to worship in peace and exercise their faith without fear of discrimination or persecution. They condemn denigration or demeaning of persons belonging to another faith as contrary to Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor. Discipline, ¶ 163.J. They call governments, businesses, churches, and civil society to protect the rights of all religious people, object to discrimination and intolerance against religious minorities, and condemn stereotypes and untruths about religious communities. Discipline, ¶ 163.J.
The same paragraph supports the right of individuals to choose their own faith and rejects attempts to impose beliefs or coerce people into joining or remaining in a religious tradition. Discipline, ¶ 163.J. This is especially important for local churches. Interfaith engagement must not become religious coercion. Dialogue, hospitality, mission service, community organizing, public prayer, and advocacy can all be faithful forms of Christian witness, but they must respect conscience, religious freedom, and the dignity of persons who belong to other faith communities.
The political community section also teaches that church and state have vital and distinct roles and advocates mutual respect between religious communities and government. Discipline, ¶ 163.A. This principle is essential in pluralistic societies. United Methodists may advocate for the rights of Christians and non-Christians alike, resist religious nationalism, oppose religious persecution, and work with other faith communities to protect the freedom of conscience that belongs to all people.
VII. Connectional Leadership: Council of Bishops, Bishops, and ACEIR
Interfaith relationships are a responsibility of the superintendency, not merely a program interest. Bishops are specifically assigned to provide liaison and leadership in the quest for Christian unity and in the search for strengthened relationships with other living faith communities. They are to model ecumenical and interreligious cooperation and lead their areas in relationships of peace, reconciliation, and understanding across denominational and religious differences. Discipline, ¶ 414.6.
The Council of Bishops is also expected to speak to the Church and from the Church to the world and to give leadership in the quest for Christian unity and interreligious relationships. Discipline, ¶ 422. The Council’s role is supported by the Advisory Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relationships (“ACEIR”). In pursuit of its responsibilities, and to deepen and expand the ecumenical and interreligious ministries of the Church, the Council receives input and support from ACEIR. Discipline, ¶ 437.
ACEIR is elected by the Council of Bishops and includes episcopal members, United Methodist members from jurisdictions and regional conferences, and full communion partner representatives. Discipline, ¶ 438. Under the January 2026 Addendum and Errata, references to “central conference” in the printed Discipline are generally read as “regional conference” except in the Constitution and specific noted contexts. This article follows that Addendum when describing current post-ratification structures.
The day-to-day work of ACEIR is facilitated by an ecumenical staff officer selected by the Council of Bishops. The ecumenical staff officer is ACEIR’s principal administrative and executive officer and reports to the ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops. Discipline, ¶ 439. The responsibilities and powers of ACEIR are assigned by the Council of Bishops. Discipline, ¶ 441.
VIII. Annual Conference Structures and Duties
The annual conference is the principal connectional body for regional implementation. Each annual conference must create appropriate structures related to Christian unity and interreligious relationships, maintain connectional relationships with the Council of Bishops, and report yearly to the conference as directed. Discipline, ¶ 642.1. The responsibilities may be assigned to an existing or newly created multifunctional agency. Discipline, ¶ 642.1.
The recommended composition includes representatives from each district, one of whom serves as district coordinator for Christian unity and interreligious relationships and as liaison with local church ministry areas. Discipline, ¶ 642.2. This structure is therefore not merely ceremonial. It is designed to connect the annual conference, districts, local churches, ecumenical partners, and interreligious initiatives.
The annual conference structure has concrete duties. It is to encourage dialogue and cooperation with persons of other living faiths, stimulate participation in interreligious groups, support jointly approved educational programs and interreligious study programs, select representatives to ecumenical and interreligious task groups, and encourage continuing dialogue with Jewish and other living-faith communities as well as openness toward understanding other major world religions. Discipline, ¶ 642.4a, d, e, g.
A healthy annual conference structure will therefore do more than pass resolutions. It can equip congregations for interfaith engagement, develop training for clergy and laity, provide consultation on community partnerships, coordinate interfaith public witness, evaluate existing relationships, and ensure that interfaith cooperation remains faithful to United Methodist identity and polity.
IX. District and Local Church Implementation
The district superintendent is a key implementer. As an extension of the office of bishop, the district superintendent is expected to be the chief missional strategist of the district and to provide leadership in developing ecumenical, interreligious, multicultural, multiracial, and cooperative ministries. Discipline, ¶ 419.1. This gives district superintendents a direct role in connecting local churches to wider interfaith work.
At the local church level, the church council is responsible for mission and ministry, including outreach ministries of compassion, justice, and advocacy. Those outreach ministries expressly include Christian unity and interreligious concerns. Discipline, ¶ 252.2b. The charge conference may also elect a coordinator or ministry group chairperson for Christian unity and interreligious relationships. Discipline, ¶ 254.
Pastors also have a disciplinary responsibility in this area. As part of their service responsibilities, pastors are to participate in community, ecumenical, and interreligious concerns and to encourage the people to become involved. Discipline, ¶ 340.d(4). This responsibility belongs to pastoral ministry because the pastor orders the life of the congregation not only for internal care, but also for witness and service in the world.
Local churches should also attend to appointment boundaries and ecclesial courtesy. A pastor may not hold a religious service within the bounds of another pastoral charge without consent of the pastor of that charge or the district superintendent. Discipline, ¶ 341.5. This provision does not prohibit interfaith cooperation, but it reminds clergy and congregations that community religious events should be planned with appropriate consultation and respect for appointed pastoral responsibilities.
X. Funding and Financial Accountability
The Discipline connects ecumenical and interreligious work to connectional funding and financial accountability. Financial support of ecumenical organizations listed in the ecumenical relationships section is remitted from the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund through the General Council on Finance and Administration, and financial support of ecumenical dialogues and multilateral conversations approved by the Council of Bishops is remitted in the same manner. Discipline, ¶ 432; Discipline, ¶ 814.
The Council of Bishops must also provide funding for the ecumenical and interreligious ministries of the Church in one or more clearly identified line items in the Episcopal Fund budget request to General Conference. Discipline, ¶ 440. This creates transparency: denominational-level interreligious work is not simply a private project of individuals, but part of the Church’s ordered connectional life and budget process.
At the local and conference levels, interfaith partnerships should use written understandings when money, property, publicity, shared programming, or liability are involved. Written clarity protects all partners, avoids confusion about whether a project is a United Methodist program or a coalition program, and helps ensure that funds are used for purposes authorized by the relevant church body.
XI. Practical Boundaries for Faithful Interfaith Work
First, interfaith relationships must not blur Christian identity. United Methodists may engage neighbors of other faiths with humility and respect, but the Church remains grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ, its doctrinal standards, and its sacramental life. Interfaith cooperation is not syncretism, and respect for another faith does not require denial of Christian confession.
Second, interfaith relationships must not imply full communion. Full communion is a formal Christian-church relationship approved by General Conference. Discipline, ¶ 431.1a-b. Interfaith partnerships may involve friendship, study, community action, advocacy, and shared service, but not mutual recognition of Christian sacraments, Christian orders, or ecclesial office with non-Christian religious communities.
Third, interfaith relationships must not change United Methodist law. The Discipline expressly protects United Methodist doctrinal and disciplinary standards from being modified by ecumenical organizational membership, statements, policies, or full communion agreements. Discipline, ¶ 431.1g. The same safeguard applies to interfaith work.
Fourth, public communications must be precise. A local church may say that it is participating in a local interfaith food pantry. An annual conference may say that it is partnering in an interfaith religious-liberty coalition if that work is duly authorized. But no individual or body should claim to speak officially for The United Methodist Church as a whole unless authorized by the General Conference, consistent with JCD 458.
Fifth, interfaith relationships should be non-coercive and protective of religious minorities. The Social Principles reject denigration of persons of another faith, coercion in matters of religious belonging, and use of religious belief to deny basic human rights. Discipline, ¶ 163.J. This makes interfaith work a matter of Christian ethics as well as public responsibility.
XII. Role Summary
XIII. Practical Checklist for Local Churches and Conferences
- Define the purpose: dialogue, education, public witness, community service, advocacy, disaster response, peacemaking, or shared care for neighbors.
- Identify the proper United Methodist authority: pastor, church council, charge conference, district superintendent, annual conference structure, bishop, Council of Bishops, or General Conference.
- Consult the annual conference structure for Christian unity and interreligious relationships when the project involves more than a single congregation or has public conference significance. Discipline, ¶ 642.
- Use written understandings for shared funds, facility use, publicity, staffing, security, insurance, governance, or ongoing commitments.
- State clearly that interfaith cooperation does not imply doctrinal merger, full communion, sacramental recognition, or authorization to speak for the whole denomination.
- Protect religious minorities, avoid stereotypes, reject coercion, and honor conscience and religious freedom. Discipline, ¶ 163.J.
- Coordinate with the district superintendent or bishop when a project crosses pastoral-charge, district, annual-conference, or episcopal-area boundaries.
- Evaluate and report the work through appropriate local, district, and annual conference channels so that interfaith ministry remains accountable and connectional.
XIV. Common Examples
Appropriate interfaith relationships may include a local interfaith food pantry, a community Thanksgiving service planned with clear boundaries, a dialogue series among Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and persons of other traditions, shared advocacy against antisemitism or anti-Muslim hate, refugee resettlement, disaster relief, housing justice, campus ministry coalitions, peacemaking initiatives, and public witness for religious freedom. The legal question is not whether United Methodists may know, love, and serve with neighbors of other faiths. The better question is whether the relationship is authorized, transparent, non-coercive, theologically honest, and accountable to the proper United Methodist body.
Caution is warranted when an event involves worship language, clergy roles, sacraments, use of United Methodist property, political advocacy, public media, or official statements. Those issues should be reviewed in light of the Discipline, the annual conference’s policies, civil-law requirements, and the appropriate supervisory authority.
XV. Conclusion
Interfaith relationships in The United Methodist Church are a disciplined practice of neighbor-love, public witness, and connectional ministry. They are rooted in the Church’s mission, supervised through episcopal and conference structures, expressed locally through pastors and church councils, and guided ethically by the Church’s witness to the dignity and rights of religious minorities. Properly understood, interfaith ministry does not weaken United Methodist identity. It expresses it: a church confident in Jesus Christ, accountable to its Discipline, open to neighbors, committed to peace and justice, and willing to work with persons of other living faiths for the transformation of the world.