Methodists

Cultural  

1. A Protestant denomination founded by the English clergyman John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley in the eighteenth century. Methodists are generally flexible in doctrine and in church organization, and stress the social responsibility of Christians (see also Christian). Next to the Baptists, Methodists are the most numerous group of Protestants in the United States.

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Example Sentences

Catholics overtook Methodists as the largest denomination in the nation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Francis worked with Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists and persuaded the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to join him to pray for peace.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2025

Pacific Palisades, founded by Methodists, was a “Christian community” with modern amenities “where the mountains met the coast.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2025

The United Methodists counted 5.4 million U.S. members in 2022 — less than half their 1960s peak, and the recent departure of about 7,600 mostly conservative congregations will lower that number further.

From Seattle Times • May 5, 2024

One witness reported seeing a group of well- dressed people from a German saloon singing one tune after another while, a few tombstones away, a small congregation of Methodists held a prayer meeting.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy