Presbyterians Narrowly Reject Marriage

In an astonishingly close vote, a mainline Presbyterian denomination voted yesterday to reject an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

The vote at the church’s biannual convention in Pittsburgh was 338 to 308, with 2 abstentions. But the decisive generational shift that lies ahead for the church was made clear in a separate tally of votes by seminary students and young adult advisory delegates, known as YAADs. The students voted 82 to 18 percent in favor of changing the definition of marriage, and the young adult delegates voted 75 to 21 percent — but their votes were solely advisory. The Rev. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, president of the Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, said, “If the YAADs had voted, this probably would have passed.”

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, with about two million members. But its numbers have declined in recent years, in part because of the conflict over the gay issue. Last year, the church, like several other mainline Protestant denominations, approved the ordination of noncelibate gay clergy members. But the Presbyterians left it up to each region of the church to decide, which allowed some theologically conservative congregations to remain within the denomination — a diversity reflected in the debate and the vote on Friday.