Sources

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-book-of-discipline-of-the-united-methodist-church.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-book-of-discipline-of-the-united-methodist-church

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-book-of-discipline-of-the-united-met,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-book-of-discipline-of-the-united-methodist-church},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Book of Discipline is the United Methodist Church's own book of order and doctrine, revised at each quadrennial General Conference, and this record deliberately cites no single edition year because the church itself keeps revising it rather than leaving one version fixed. As the denomination's own governing text it is authoritative for what the United Methodist Church currently requires of its clergy and structure, not for how any one congregation actually practices in a given year, nor for how other Methodist bodies that have since separated from it now govern themselves. Use it to establish the United Methodist Church's own stated polity and requirements; a claim about a different Methodist denomination's discipline needs that denomination's own text.

Facts

Citation

Author

United Methodist Church

Publisher

The United Methodist Publishing House

Book-publishing arm Abingdon Press is the retail imprint.

URL

https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-101-general-book-of-discipline

Source Type

primary-text

Assessment

Reliability Tier

The United Methodist Church's own book of order and doctrine, revised at each quadrennial General Conference; this record deliberately cites no single edition year because the denomination itself keeps revising it rather than leaving one version fixed.

Notes

Revised at each quadrennial General Conference; no single edition year is cited here.

Custodian

Custodian Source

Yes

Custodian Body

United Methodist Church

Custodian Basis

The church own book of order and doctrine. Authoritative for what the United Methodist Church requires of itself.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

The United Methodist Church

This source names The United Methodist Church directly: "The Book of Discipline is the United Methodist Church's own book of order and doctrine, revised at each quadrennial General Conference, and this record deliberately cites no single edition year..."

Source The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Churchthe holders' own account

Claims Backed By This Source (155 claims)

This source backs 155 claims across the atlas. As facts: 55 well-attested. As cited relationships: 46 holds, 2 connected, 3 critiqued Here, 3 held Differently. Plus 46 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Beliefs & Restrictions, 31 claims: 6 well-attested, 12 holds, 13 general references.
Doctrines, 26 claims: 9 well-attested, 6 holds, 3 held Differently, 8 general references.
Denominations, 20 claims: 11 well-attested, 4 holds, 2 connected, 3 general references.
Rituals, 20 claims: 10 holds, 10 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 16 claims: 6 well-attested, 7 holds, 3 general references.
Sources, 11 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 holds.
Organizations, 10 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
Articles, 6 claims: 6 well-attested.
Practices, 6 claims: 3 critiqued Here, 3 general references.
Prayers, 6 claims: 3 holds, 3 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Religious Organization & Structure, 1 claims: 1 general references.