Results of the Priesthood & Personal Relationships poll

We are immensely thankful to the 311 members of Community of Christ in Canada who participated in the “Priesthood & Personal Relationships” poll. To put this into perspective, 360 members voted in the Canadian National Conference of 2012, when our active membership was significantly larger than today. This level of engagement indicates this is an important matter for our church today that will have a vast impact on our journey ahead.

The Methodology

As Apostle Art Smith explained at our recent Mission Centre Conferences, only if the proposed policy showed a substantial consensus from the membership would the draft policy be presented to the Council of Twelve, and then, if approved there, to the First Presidency for review. A two-thirds majority might be considered a 'substantial consensus,' but World Conference Resolution 1327, which gives Apostles the responsibility for creating new culturally specific policies around marriage, does not define a fixed threshold. A decade ago, the vote on LGBTQ+ inclusion received 80% approval, which was seen as a very substantial consensus.

But because this is not as simple as a yes/no issue for many folks, members were invited to express their level of support. The five options, ordered in decreasing level of support, were FULL, MODERATE, TENTATIVE, LIMITED, and NO support.

To ensure a conservative estimation of YES responses, this methodology uses a conservative classification approach: of the five response options, only FULL and MODERATE were categorized as YES, while the remaining responses, as well as the undecided responses, were classified as NO. This approach prioritizes minimizing the likelihood of overestimating YES responses, even at the potential cost of underestimating them. The rationale for this conservative approach is to account for the significance of a YES outcome and to ensure that any conclusions drawn are robust and cautious.

The Results

We received 311 responses from members of Community of Christ in Canada, including 260 from CEM, 50 from CWM, and one from a Canadian member not associated with any congregation. We also received eight responses from individuals not formally affiliated with Community of Christ in Canada, which were greatly appreciated but not included in the poll results, as the primary purpose of this survey is to inform the First Presidency about the perspectives of members of the two Canadian mission centres.

The first question asked for the level of support for the intent of the proposed policy change, that is, to remove any automatic ban on priesthood based on personal relationships. The overall level of support was 83%.

The second question was regarding the level of support for the proposed policy change as currently written. The overall level of support was 80%.


Important Findings

Although we expected a stark gap between the level of support across age groups, the results show that most members of all ages support the policy. For example, 87% of members 59 and younger expressed support for the intent, compared to 80% among those in the 60–79 group, and 83% in the 80+ group.

On the other hand, how the current policy has affected individuals and their families made a significant difference. FULL support from those who have been affected personally or through their families was 88%, while FULL support from those not affected stood at 70%. About one quarter of the respondents said either they or their family had been affected by the current policy.

What’s Next?

The poll indicates a broad consensus among members of Community of Christ in Canada to move forward with revising the policy. At the same time, the Canadian Leadership Team deeply values and acknowledges all the comments shared in the survey, including those from members who expressed objections to change. These perspectives will be thoughtfully considered as we seek to move forward together in a spirit of healing and reconciliation.

Following the process outlined by World Conference Resolution 1327, the field apostle will now present our proposed policy changes to World Church Leadership for review.

We ask you to continue to join us in prayer as we reflect on the results of this poll and prepare for the next step in this process of discernment that will have a lasting impact on our path forward.

Thank you for sharing your voice!

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READ MORE: Personal Relationships Policy - Draft