It is an ecumenical Christian or all-faith chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodist Church.

Finished in 1935, the chapel seats about 1,800 people and stands 210 feet (64 m) tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Durham County.

John Wesley, founder of Methodism, stands atop the inner arch within the portal, directly above the chapel doors.

According to "Duke lore," the architects gave Donnelly the choice of which figures to represent, which he did after consulting with an unnamed Vanderbilt professor.

[9] On Lee's carving, the belt buckle was initially inscribed 'USA' rather than 'CSA' for Confederate States of America; it was partially chiseled away but was still visible.

The university removed the statue of Lee from the entrance after it was vandalized in August 2017 as part of nationwide protests against Confederate memorials.

Like the rest of the edifice, its main body is constructed of stone from the Duke Quarry near Hillsborough, North Carolina, while its upper trimmings are of limestone from Bedford, Indiana.

The bell tower is not open to the public, and restricted for Duke University students to special times during Orientation and Graduation.

The 77 Chapel windows were designed and constructed over a three-year period by 15 artists and craftsmen, including S. Charles Jaekle of G. Owen Bonawit, Inc.

Patriarchs, apostles, saints, and other religious figures carved in limewood, and oak appear in the niches of the choir stalls and in the decorative screen behind the altar.

The organ's main case, in which most of the pipes are housed, is built of solid mahogany and decorated with various colors and gold leaf.

It produces a gentle, sparkling tone with very low wind pressure, and like instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries, it is tuned in meantone temperament.

Several important people of Duke University are interred in the crypt directly beneath the Memorial Chapel, including three presidents of the university: William Preston Few (1924–1940), Julian Deryl Hart (1960–1963) with his wife Mary Johnson Hart, and Terry Sanford (1969–1985) with his wife Margaret Rose Sanford.

Two plaques on the walls of the crypt commemorate university presidents Arthur Hollis Edens (1949–1960) and Robert Lee Flowers (1941–1948).

"[14] A week after the events in Charlottesville, Duke University president Vincent Price approved the removal of the statue.