Ga. Trial Courts Weigh Separation of Church and State as Methodist Conference Ordered to Proceed With Church Disaffiliations
"Our belief is that separation of church and state, specifically the free exercise clause and the establishment clause, are foundational tenets of our country and of our faith," the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church wrote in a statement regarding the pending litigation earlier this month.
May 22, 2023 at 06:30 PM
4 minute read
Southeast
Georgia courts have started rolling out orders for Methodist church disaffiliation suits across the state. Judge Sheryl Jolly in the Superior Court of Columbia County granted motions allowing two churches to vote to disaffiliate from the North Georgia Conference, followed shortly by a similar order in the 185-church disaffiliation suit out of the Superior Court of Cobb County, courtesy of Senior Judge Stephen Schuster on Friday.
The state Court of Appeals denied the defendant's appeal of the Columbia County cases on May 11, and both plaintiff churches voted to disaffiliate.
A third order, this time in the Cobb County case, has been filed, and disaffiliation votes for the named plaintiffs in the Cobb County case are scheduled to take place.
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