Nearly all U.S. Protestant pastors and churchgoers believe people with disabilities would feel welcomed and included in their congregations, according to a new Lifeway Research study.
The findings are based in part on a phone survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors conducted Sept. 2-24, 2025, using a stratified random sample of Protestant churches.
Among pastors, 98 percent said a person with a disability would feel welcomed and included at their church, including 73 percent who strongly agreed.
That strong agreement has declined since 2019, when 81 percent of pastors said they were highly confident their churches would provide a welcoming environment for people with disabilities.
Churchgoers expressed similarly high levels of confidence. Ninety-seven percent said visitors with physical disabilities would feel welcomed, while 96 percent said the same for those with dyslexia or other reading challenges and 96 percent for those with cognitive or developmental disabilities.
Among respondents, 82 percent strongly agreed their congregation would welcome someone with a physical disability, compared with 78 percent for those with reading challenges and 75 percent for those with cognitive disabilities.
Churchgoers attending congregations of 50-99 people (98 percent) and 500 or more (99 percent) were more likely to agree than those at churches with 100-499 attendees (94 percent).
Pastors also overwhelmingly supported improving accessibility, with 98 percent saying churches should make necessary facility modifications for people with physical disabilities even when the law does not require them.
Still, the share who strongly agreed fell from 82 percent in 2019 to 76 percent in the latest study.
Most pastors, 83 percent, said their church had modified facilities, activities or volunteer assignments during the previous year to assist someone with a disability.
Two-thirds of churches, 66 percent, made changes for wheelchair users. Half accommodated someone with a mental health diagnosis, while 48 percent adjusted for an intellectual disability and 46 percent for a sensory processing disorder, including autism.
Smaller shares made accommodations for people who are deaf (27 percent) or blind (21 percent), while 48 percent reported changes for another type of disability. Seventeen percent said they made none of the listed modifications.
Larger churches were more likely to report making accommodations. Only 11 percent of congregations with 250 or more attendees said they had made no modifications, compared with 18 percent of churches with 50-99 attendees and 25 percent of those with fewer than 50.
Beyond physical accommodations, 95 percent of pastors said their congregations were supporting people with disabilities and their families in at least one practical way.
Three-quarters said their churches provide financial assistance to families facing ongoing disability-related needs, while 64 percent encourage participation in community programs such as the Special Olympics.
Other forms of support included providing an additional teacher in class for someone with disabilities (58 percent), offering respite care for family caregivers (57 percent) and holding classes or events specifically for people with disabilities (31 percent).
Only 4 percent of pastors said their churches were not providing any of the forms of assistance measured in the study.
