The Domino Church: How Mob Mentality Is Spreading Through the Pews

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It’s easy to assume pastors, preachers, and priests are always right. They look polished, confident, and are well-versed in Scripture. They’ve immersed themselves in countless hours of study and claim to seek God’s will.

But here’s a terrifying reality: many aren’t teaching the Word of God anymore. They’re teaching a version of Christ they created, a version that satisfies something within their nature, and this should scare you. 

More and more leaders act like they’re God’s mouthpiece on Earth, untouchable and unquestionable. But the blame doesn’t land solely on the leadership. It rests on their congregations, too.

I’ve sat in pews and watched in horror as congregations went along with whatever the leader(s) decided or demanded, no matter how clearly off-course it was. I’ve spoken up, I’ve challenged unbiblical teachings and behavior. 

Those were crushing days for me, when God whispered, No more, it’s time to go. I had said what needed to be said, called out the false teaching, but my words weren’t meant to break through hardened hearts that day. They were seeds.

My Unique Experience

What many don’t realize is that I’ve attended A LOT of churches across all denominations, including many sub-denominations, and in a few states. For years, I couldn’t understand why God kept bouncing me around, and this isn’t a brag about how many churches I’ve attended; it’s simply a fact that proves very useful at times.

And it’s starting to make sense now. I have seen it all, the good, the twisted, and everything in between. I’ve witnessed the rare beauty of genuine faith, and I’ve also seen the dark underbelly of churches.

A Mob In Place Of Congregation

Have you ever looked up the terms “mob mentality” or “herd mentality” by chance? Well, I did one day. I’ll pass on some of what I learned.

“the tendency of the people in a group to think and behave in ways that conform with others in the group rather than as individuals” (1)

“Herd mentality, also known as mob mentality or crowd mentality, refers to the phenomenon where individuals in a group often adopt behaviors and attitudes that differ significantly from their own personal beliefs or morals.” (2)

Starting to sound familiar?

There’s so, so much more to learn about this psychology, but I won’t blow this up with quotes. To read more, check out the links I’ll include at the end.

The Domino effect

Ever be chilling with your friends when one of them just goes completely unhinged? They start tossing out stupid ideas, say mean stuff about someone behind their back, or just straight-up lie through their teeth?

You know it’s wrong. You feel it in your gut. But you stay silent.

And because you don’t speak up, the next person doesn’t either, then the next one follows suit etc. etc. etc. And, bam, just like that, you have a whole bunch of grown adults folding like lawn chairs, because none of them have a backbone and are weak-minded.

That’s what I like to call the domino effect.

From where I’m standing, churches are starting to look like a trail of fallen dominoes, one goes down, then another, and so on.

Leaders push the boundaries of what they can get away with, and the congregation lets it happen. Meanwhile, congregations spend more time reading the room than reading the Bible, trying to fit in instead of trying to be Christlike, and that energy circles back and empowers the leader even more.

It’s a closed loop of delusion dressed up in church clothes, all wrapped up pretty in church language, religious rituals, and holier-than-thou attitudes.

Domino effect, hamster wheel, snowballing. Whatever metaphor you want to use, it’s happening, and it’s happening fast. Why?

Because leaders are no longer bowing to God, and neither are their congregations. They’re bowing to public opinion, politics, personal feelings, and DEI talking points. We are now drowning in “Christian” churches that have zero to do with Christ.

Zero.

Mob/Herd mentality isn’t some rare psychological phenomenon only talked about in medical schools or a therapist's office; it’s alive and well in many churches. 

We’ve Been Warned

And they would know this if they spent time with their noses in their Bible and not anywhere else.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3

© Jane Isley

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Sources & those recommended reads.

(1) Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Herd Mentality

(2) EBSCO Research Starters: Herd mentality (mob mentality)

Phil Cooke: The Internet and the Rise of Christian Mobs

Psychology Today: The Psychology of Mob Mentality

WebMD: What Is Mob Mentality?

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