The Presbyterian Church on Tuesday voted to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy, making it the fourth Protestant denomination in the U.S. to adopt the shift in policy.
Faith experts say the deciding vote, which was cast by the Minneapolis-St. Paul presbytery and came just two years after the Presbysterian Church voted against allowing gay clergy, reflects a larger cultural trend toward LGBT equality. According to The New York Times, 19 out of the denomination’s 173 presbyteries switched their votes from no to yes over the past few months.
The move eliminates a requirement in the denomination’s constitution that mandated clergy to live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”
The change is expected to take place July 10 and will affect 2.3 million members of the church in 50 states and Puerto Rico.
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