Atlanta, Ga. ? The United Church of Christ’s rule-making body voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so.

The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some congregations to leave the fold.

Roughly 80 percent of the representatives on the church’s 884-member General Synod voted to approve the resolution Monday, a day after a smaller committee recommended it.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ, said with the vote on Independence Day, the rule-making body “acted courageously to declare freedom.”

The resolution calls on member churches of the liberal denomination of 1.3 million to consider wedding policies “that do not discriminate against couples based on gender.”

It also asks churches to consider supporting legislation granting equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.

A small group of conservative congregations had proposed an alternative resolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and suggested that supporting gay marriage could lead to the church’s collapse.

Formed in 1957 and traditionally strong in New England, the United Church of Christ has a tradition of support for gays and lesbians. It is distinct from the more conservative Churches of Christ, which has some 2 million members in the U.S.

In the early 1970s, the UCC became the first major Christian church to ordain an openly gay minister.