Total Number of Pages: 13
Suggested Title: Global Call to Action on Alcohol
New Resolution (to Replace #3041 and #3043)
General Church Budget Implications: None
Global Implications: Yes
A. Theological and Historical Statement
At the completion of creation, “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31, NRSV). Jesus affirmed the use of wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee when the wine had given out and his mother asked his assistance. Jesus said to them, 'Fill the jars with water.' And they filled them up to the brim. … The steward tasted the water that had become wine … and said to him, … 'you have kept the good wine until now (John 2:1-10, NRSV).
Yet from the very first, alcohol has been problematic for humanity. Genesis reminds us that Noah, the first to plant a vineyard, became drunk on the wine he drank (Genesis 9:21). And the book of Proverbs (23:20-21, 29-32, NRSV) is stark in its warning: “Do not be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them with rags. … Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger late over wine, those who keep trying mixed wines. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder."
Christians must in love always consider their neighbor as themselves (Matthew 19:19). St. Paul cautioned Christians that their liberty must not become a stumbling block to others (1 Cor 8:9). Paul highlighted our responsibility to the vulnerable: “Do not let what you eat [or drink] cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. For the Kingdom of Heaven is not food and drink, but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:15b, 17). Concern for those vulnerable must specifically include young people. Jesus also said, “Allow the children to come to me. … Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children” (Matthew 19:14).
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, was keenly aware of the effects of alcohol abuse on individuals and families, including members of his own extended family, but was charitable to those individuals affected by alcohol in his culture.
The United Methodist Church has long opposed abuse of alcohol and other drugs. In 1916, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church authorized the formation of a Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals “to make more effectual the efforts of the Church to create public sentiment and crystallize the same into successful opposition to the organized traffic in intoxicating liquors.”
The rise of alcohol as an industry employing the psychological pressures of modern advertising has introduced a heightened issue of abuse of vulnerable populations such as youths and the poor.
In the context of these scriptural affirmations and warnings, Christians are called to a stewardship role of responsible management of God’s gifts, including the use or abstinence from alcohol, and the management of the social pressures and incentives around its use, and advocacy against the predations of the powerful against the vulnerable.
B. The Global Challenge
The abuse of alcohol tempts the vulnerable, and alcohol’s profits tempt the powerful. The price of giving in to these temptations is catastrophic.
Chronic alcohol consumption can have a damaging effect on every body organ, including brain, liver, heart, stomach, intestines, and mouth. The medical costs of alcohol abuse – excessive, harmful, and dangerous drinking – include fetal alcohol syndrome, which is a preventable cause of mental retardation, cardiac defects, and pre- and postnatal growth retardation. Alcohol is a factor in many other social problems such as crime, poverty, and family disorder. The societal costs of alcohol abuse include lost productivity, increased health-care costs, loss of lives in vehicular accidents, and criminal activity. The costs associated with alcohol use/abuse are more than the costs associated with all illegal drugs combined.
More than three decades of research have shown that alcohol abuse, dependence and addiction have widespread effects on persons, families, communities, and institutions, and have documented not only the extent of the physical and social consequences but also the economic effects on health care, medical services, workforce productivity, crime and violence, child welfare, corrections, public safety, social services, education, and mental health.
More alcohol and other drugs are produced and consumed than ever before. In consuming countries, with their attendant problems of poverty, racism, domestic violence, hopelessness, and material despair, alcohol and other drug abuse is a part of a continuing cycle of economic and spiritual turmoil.
Alcohol abuse has a special impact on youths, who are prone to binge drinking. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This
typically happens when men consume more than four drinks and women consume more than three drinks in about two hours. Binge drinking is an alarming and growing problem that can lead to many alarming health-related injuries and illnesses.
According to the World Health Organization:
BULLET The harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 disease and injury conditions and 3.3 million deaths each year.
BULLET On average every person in the world aged 15 years or older drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol per year.
BULLET Less than half the population (38.3%) actually drinks alcohol, this means that those who do drink consume on average 17 liters of pure alcohol annually. (The statistics are found “Global status report on alcohol and health 2018” at
https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/en/. Accessed on April 25, 2019. And the “Alcohol” fact sheet at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact sheets/detail/alcohol. Accessed on April 25, 2019.)
C. The Church's Response:
In line with St. Paul's concerns, the focus of the church must be on protecting the vulnerable, promoting wisdom among those who are less vulnerable, and advocacy to identify and counter the predatory behavior of the powerful.
Abstinence
The vulnerable must be protected. We affirm our long-standing conviction and recommendation that abstinence from alcoholic beverages is a faithful witness to God’s liberating and redeeming love. Abstinence has saved many from harm, while hurting no one. The United Methodist Church bases its recommendation of abstinence on critical appraisal of the personal and societal costs in the use of alcohol. The Church recognizes the freedom of the Christian to make responsible decisions and calls upon each member to consider seriously and prayerfully the witness of abstinence as part of his or her Christian commitment.
Persons who practice abstinence should avoid attitudes of self-righteousness that express moral superiority and condemnatory attitudes toward those who do not choose to abstain. Because Christian love in human relationships is primary, abstinence is an instrument of love and sacrifice and always subject to the requirements of love.
Judicious Use
The less vulnerable must act with wisdom. While the United Methodist Social Principles emphasize abstinence as “a faithful witness,” the same Social Principles allow for persons to exercise reasonable discernment regarding “judicious use with deliberate and intentional restraint, with Scripture as a guide.” We recognize that sole concentration on prohibition or abstinence may invite judgmental attitudes, driving troubled people even deeper into despair and secretive behavior, discriminating against people who need healing, inviting hypocrisy while closing off opportunities to witness to God’s love and grace. Conversely, judicious use awakens concern and fear among advocates for abstinence that the Church is encouraging and even inviting abuse or addiction to alcohol, especially among young people. The gap between these two approaches often prevents meaningful dialogue and education and creates divisions among faithful Christians.
Prevention.
The Social Principles encourage us to assist dependent people “in finding freedom through Jesus Christ and in finding good opportunities for treatment, for ongoing counseling, and for reintegration into society.” Resources dedicated to prevention, treatment and rehabilitation exist that can lend considerable support to creating and fostering understanding, education, and dialogue on effective prevention and recovery methods and toward being a faithful witness as it relates to abstinence and prevention.
Global Alcohol Policy
The legacy of the Temperance Movement of an earlier century has been transformed by new social forces and scientific findings into a vigorous public health movement, with emphasis on alcohol policies and education that place individual responsibility in the context of social norms and practices, and environmental factors that encourage or foster casual behavior and attitudes about alcohol.
We acknowledge that an effective global health policy on alcohol has not yet been achieved and that there are many countries in which alcohol policy is not fully developed, is inadequate, and is underfunded. Levels of low-risk, acceptable consumption and guidelines for responsible use have been issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These can be used as guidelines for enacting a global policy on alcohol. These policies call for limiting consumption to one standard drink per day for women and two standard drinks per day for men, but abstinence for (a) persons under the legal drinking age, (b) persons who are in recovery from alcohol dependence or alcoholism, (c) persons whose parents or other
family members have experienced alcohol-related problems, (d) women who are trying to conceive or are pregnant, (e) persons who plan to drive or engage in activities that require attention or skill, and persons using prescription or over-the-counter medications; (f) persons who may put self or others at risk in other ways as a result of consumption.
Alcohol Industry
The powerful must be constrained. The alcohol industry comprises for-profit corporations that inevitably experience their obligation to produce a profit to share-holders most powerfully. Community and government entities have the duty of setting boundaries to protect the public. When community and government fail, the health, safety and welfare of the people suffer and corporations focus on expanding their customer base to ensure their economic viability. When problems arise, it is their customers who are blamed for alcohol-related problems. Most frequently the alcohol industry seeks greater sales without adequately defining what “responsible drinking“ means, to the point that even their “responsibility” messages serve their own self interests, attempting thereby to absolve themselves of corporate responsibility.
Recent research has shown that underage drinkers account for almost 20 percent of all alcohol consumed, and adults who drink excessively are responsible for more than 30 percent of the alcohol consumed in the U.S., and industry profits are derived from those consumers. Marketing research has shown that youths are 60 times more likely to see alcoholic beverage commercials than “responsibility ads” created by the industry, and that for every drinking and driving prevention ad, alcohol companies aired 172 product promotion ads.
Funding for prevention and for treatment of addicted people continues to be woefully inadequate, considering the magnitude of the problem. Millions are left without needed services, and the
social costs of alcohol-related problems continue to rob economies of resources needed to deal with poverty and disease. At the same time, the alcohol industry opposes every effort to offset these costs by increases in alcohol excise taxes.
Communities, states, and nations that allow a product with high potential for misuse and abuse to be produced, promoted, distributed and valued for routine consumption are ethically obligated to care about those who succumb to the risks and adverse consequences. This is especially so when
those risks and consequences are incompletely understood by the consumer. When oversight is lacking, those who profit from the production, distribution, promotion, and sale of alcoholic beverages have been allowed to assume a privileged position in the formation of public policy and legislation at key governmental levels across the globe, at local through national and international levels. This is a degree of power and influence that has succeeded in dissuading the public, including the faith community, from taking appropriate action as citizens.
Our love for our neighbor obligates us to seek healing, justice, and the alleviation of the social conditions that create and perpetuate alcohol abuse.
Faith community leadership on this issue is required: leadership that transcends special economic interests and considers the public interest; leadership that pursues action rather than continued pronouncements; able leadership that recognizes the critical need to challenge industry practices, even in the face of the industry’s outsized influence on public health in matters of social policy, public health and the common good.
D. A Call to Action
We call our whole Church to action through our agencies, our leadership and our members.
1. We call on Discipleship Ministries and the United Methodist Publishing House to incorporate educational material on alcohol and other drug problems, including the material on prevention, intervention, treatment, and the value of abstinence throughout its graded literature. This material should incorporate comprehensive theological and biblical analysis. The material should promote an ethic that is consistent with personal, spiritual and societal concern for health, safety and well being of all people, an ethic that (a) accepts abstinence; (b) accepts judicious consumption, with deliberate and intentional restraint, in low-risk situations; (c) actively discourages consumption for those under the legal drinking age; (d) actively discourages consumption in high-risk situations; and (e) actively discourages heavy consumption in all situations.
2. We call on the General Board of Church and Society to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable through:
BULLET support for public policy proposals that would increase regulation of alcohol production, availability and use across the globe. This includes strong world health policy and advocacy for strong alcohol regulation in under-regulated countries, supporting appropriate fees and excise taxes paid by the industry in the U.S. to the various states for the privilege of selling beer, wine and spirits, with proceeds earmarked for the development of prevention, treatment and other measures to reduce alcohol-related problems.
BULLET actions to reduce the domination of industry agenda on government and public health policy at all levels and encourage our leaders and legislators to place the health and safety concerns ahead of profitability.
BULLET promotion of prevention research that strongly recommends a comprehensive community-wide approach that acknowledges individual behavior is powerfully shaped by one’s environment, the rules and regulations of social institutions, community norms, mass media messages, and accessibility of alcohol.
BULLET encouragement of sound empirical research on the social effects of alcohol.
BULLET promotion of guidelines for moderate consumption, as issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S. Dietary Guidelines) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services be encouraged in educational efforts, and used as a tool to persuade the World Health Organization to adopt a global alcohol policy that is effective and active throughout he world.
BULLET promotion of laws to eliminate all advertising and promoting of alcoholic beverages. We urge the General Board of Church and Society and local churches to increase efforts to remove all advertising of alcoholic beverages from the media. We urge special attention to curbing promotions of alcoholic beverages on college campuses as well as racial minority communities.
BULLET advocacy for legislation and regulations that discourage the use of alcohol by youths and young adults and the use of alcohol advertising to market to youths and young adults.
BULLET development by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and agencies of other governments globally of better health hazard warning statements concerning the use of alcohol.
BULLET improvement of interagency coordination of drug and alcohol abuse efforts by the United States and other governments so there are uniform policies and regulations, and we urge the cooperation of all governments in these areas.
BULLET provision of resources and materials to foster action, education, understanding, and dialogue regarding abstinence, judicious use, and addiction; to provide guidance to annual conferences; to work toward wholeness, compassion, reconciliation and healing, community, alternatives to incarceration and restorative justice; to give help and hope to those who feel helpless and hopeless; and to advise congregations on ways in which members can advocate for pro-health alcohol policies in public health policy at all levels in our society.
3. We call on United Methodist-related hospitals and other health-care institutions to
BULLET treat the alcoholic person with the attention and consideration all patients deserve. We urge the worldwide health-care delivery system to follow this example.
BULLET to focus on and implement measures to help meet the special needs of those disproportionately affected by alcohol use.
4. We call on United Methodist-related colleges and universities to
BULLET use the United Methodist Social Principle on Alcohol and Drugs (162L), its companion resolution on “Alcohol and Other Drugs” (#3042, 2008 Book of Resolutions), and the latest research and proven strategies on alcohol prevention to guide the alcohol and drug policies of their institutions.
BULLET provide counseling, programming, and social events on college campuses that foster an amenable environment for an abstinence-only campus.
BULLET provide an environment suitable for pursuing a higher education in a Christian atmosphere. Within this environment, United Methodist colleges and universities establish policies to address alcohol use and abuse on their campuses.
5. We call on United Methodist Annual Conferences around the world to
BULLET develop leadership training opportunities and resources for local church pastors and laity to help with counseling individuals and families who have alcohol-related problems; counseling those bereaved by alcohol-related deaths and violence; and teaching stress management to Church workers in communities with high alcohol abuse.
BULLET encourage the removal of alcohol-promoting advertisements from campuses and campus sports events.
BULLET work for a minimum legal-drinking-age in their respective states/nations.
BULLET oppose the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages within the confines of United Methodist Church facilities and recommend that it be prohibited.
6. We call on individual United Methodist congregations around the world to
BULLET include the problems of alcohol and the value of abstinence as a part of Christian education.
BULLET demonstrate active concern for alcohol abusers and their families and to support the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of problem drinkers.
BULLET uphold abstinence from drinking alcohol as a viable and faith-based option;
7. We call on all members of The United Methodist Church to take a firm stand focused on reducing alcohol-related problems, not only as a personal matter, but as a concern for congregations, communities, regions, states, and nations, and to communicate that the United Methodist Church stands actively and effectively through action and organizing, to change the social norms of the world regarding alcohol uses and abuse.
Date: August 26, 2019
The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe
General Secretary
Bishop Sally Dyck
President of the Board
General Board of Church & Society
Phone: 202-488-5629
E-mail Address: gso@umcjustice.org