Why Biblical Church Discipline Has Disappeared in Modern Protestant Churches
According to a new survey from Lifeway Research, formalized church discipline is rarely practiced in the majority of U.S. Protestant churches. The research found that one in six pastors said their church had discipled a member in the previous 12 months, The Christian Post reported.
"The infrequency of church discipline is not because church members aren't sinning," said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. "Church discipline typically occurs when a member is not repentant for a sin or is no longer qualified for a role because of sin."
Over half (54 %) of pastors stated that their congregations had never formally reprimanded a member while they were in office nor were they aware of past cases.
According to McConnell, another 22% of respondents said that discipline happened three or more years ago, 6% during the last year, 6% within the last six months, and 3% within the last month. These results are consistent with a past Lifeway Research survey in 2017.
Notably, Church discipline is less common in Mainline denominations, including 47% of Evangelical pastors and 70% of Mainline pastors who said they were unaware that their church disciplined anyone. Meanwhile, Methodist pastors (82%) were the most likely to say no discipline had ever taken place.
"The more people you have in your church, the more likely someone's behavior warrants discipline," McConnell explained. "Teachings and traditions also play into a church's willingness to discipline someone."
Approximately 80% of churches have official discipline procedures, but they are rarely enforced. Additionally, just 14% of pastors said there are no formal policies in place.
There are differences in who is responsible for enforcing discipline: 14% said it is the elders' responsibility alone, 11% said it is the pastor's, 10% said the congregation as a whole, and 35% stated many groups must concur. The likelihood of having no disciplinary policies was almost twice as high among mainstream pastors (21%) as Evangelical pastors (12%), with Methodists (36%) having the highest likelihood.
The Lifeway Research survey was conducted between August and September 2024 with a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 Protestant pastors.
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Originally published July 09, 2025.
