Maryland Court Upheld Church Exit Fees

The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled that 37 churches must pay fees to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church.

Updated on Oct. 14, 2026 in Christianity

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a stylized brick church facade, representing the legal finality of the Maryland property ruling. — The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled that 37 churches must pay exit fees to the United Methodist Church to retain their properties. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should local churches be allowed to keep their property when choosing to leave a national denomination?

An appellate court affirmed that 37 congregations must pay exit fees to leave the United Methodist Church in Maryland. The ruling upholds the denomination's policy requiring churches to pay 50% of their assessed property value to retain their buildings upon departure.

Why it matters

The ruling underscores the legal principle that civil courts will not intervene in internal religious disputes regarding church governance. This decision limits the options for congregations seeking to keep their property while exiting their denomination.

The Baltimore-Washington Conference currently includes approximately 560 congregations. The 37 churches involved in the lawsuit face a combined exit fee totaling $10.8 million.

The players

United Methodist Church

This is a major Protestant denomination that operates under the Book of Discipline.

Baltimore-Washington Conference

This regional body oversees approximately 560 congregations in the area.

Appellate Court of Maryland

This is the intermediate appellate court that issued the ruling on the church property dispute.

The details

The court applied the First Amendment's ecclesial abstention doctrine, concluding that it could not adjudicate internal church management or the validity of the UMC Book of Discipline. Consequently, the 37 churches must now choose between paying the fees, vacating their properties, remaining in the denomination, or pursuing a further appeal.

In 2023, 37 churches sued the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
A temporary UMC exit window closed on December 31, 2023.
The state appellate court affirmed the lower court ruling on October 5, 2026.

Culture Shift

This ruling reflects a broader legal trend where courts increasingly defer to internal denominational governance regarding property ownership. It aligns with similar judicial outcomes in states including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Congregants in these 37 Maryland churches face significant uncertainty regarding the future of their local worship buildings. The ruling requires these communities to determine if they can afford the financial cost of independence or must remain within the denomination.

The takeaway

Religious institutions often maintain legal trusts over property that complicate efforts to depart from a denomination. Members seeking organizational change should be aware that civil courts typically decline to intervene in these internal ecclesiastical property disputes.