| Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Lutheran |
| Scripture | Protestant Bible[a] |
| Theology | Mainline Lutheran |
| Polity | Modifiedepiscopal polity with some powers reserved to the congregation as incongregationalism |
| Presiding Bishop | Yehiel Curry |
| Full communion | |
| Associations | |
| Region | United States andCaribbean |
| Headquarters | Lutheran Center, 8765 W Higgins Rd,Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | Constituting Convention on April 30, 1987, inColumbus, Ohio,[2] operations began January 1, 1988[3] |
| Merger of | |
| Separations | |
| Congregations | 8,386 (2024)[4] |
| Members | 2,677,239 baptized members (2024)[4] |
| Missionaries | About 150 fully supported, including nineevangelists[5] |
| Official website | www |
TheEvangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is amainline Protestant church headquartered inChicago, Illinois, in theUnited States. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of threeLutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2024, it has approximately 2.68 million baptized members in 8,386 congregations.[4]
In 2025,Pew Research estimated that 1.4 percent[6] of the U.S. adult population self-identifies with the ELCA; more broadly, 2% of US adults, or 5.2 million people, identified with the ELCA and mainline Lutheranism.[7] It is the seventh-largest Christian denomination by reported membership[8] and the largestLutheran denomination in theUnited States.[9] The next two largest Lutheran denominations are theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) (with over 1.7 million baptized members[10]) and theWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) (with approximately 340,000 members).[11] There are also manysmaller Lutheran church bodies in theUnited States, some formed by dissidents to the major 1988 merger. Its members are largely descendants ofScandinavians andGermans who emigrated from countries where Lutheranism was thestate religion.
The ELCA belongs to theWorld Council of Churches, theNational Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and theLutheran World Federation. It is infull communion with theEpiscopal Church,Moravian Church,Presbyterian Church (USA),Reformed Church in America,United Church of Christ, and theUnited Methodist Church.[12]
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Various Lutheran church bodies in the United States formed resulting from immigration waves from various countries. For instance, members of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) (centered inNew York City,New York, andPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania) were largely descendants of immigrants in the colonial and mid-19th century period. The American Lutheran Church (ALC), with headquarters inMinneapolis, Minnesota, was influenced by descendants of the waves of Scandinavian and German immigration to the Midwest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In their countries of origin, especially in Scandinavia and northern Germany, the Lutheran churches were thestate churches.
As Lutherans emigrated to America, they initially saw themselves as part of these churches, though they lacked the same organization and formal status in the New World. Over time Lutherans formed church organizations in America. The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), which withdrew from the LCMS in 1975, comprised many congregations throughout the lower Midwest. Over time, church associations' national or ethnic identification lessened as descendants assimilated into general American society. Members across organizations began to have more in common as areas of the country urbanized and more people made their livings in suburbs and cities, rather than in rural farming areas. The ALC and LCA were already the result of earlier mergers among associated congregations once related to ethnic immigrant groups.[13]
In 1970, a survey by Strommen et al. found that 79% of Lutheran Church in America clergy, 62% of American Lutheran Church clergy, and 58% of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod clergy agreed that "a merger of all Lutheran groups in the United States into one organization is desirable".[14] A group of congregations left the LCMS after 1975 as it became dominated by theological and social conservatives; they formed the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC).[13]
After several years of discussion, the LCA, ALC, and AELC formally agreed in 1982 to unite. Implementing this agreement took longer: the new Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) was effective on January 1, 1988, creating the largest Lutheran church body in the U.S. The ALC and LCA had been formed by previous mergers.[13][15]
In 1960, theAmerican Lutheran Church formed as a merger of the earlierALC of 1930, largely members of German heritage; theUnited Evangelical Lutheran Church (UELC), with members ofDanish background; and theEvangelical Lutheran Church (ELC), made up of members ofNorwegian background. TheLutheran Free Church (LFC) joined three years later in 1963.
The ALC brought approximately 2.25 million members into the new ELCA. It was the most theologically conservative of the forming bodies, having a heritage ofOld Lutheran theology.[16] It had been in fellowship for a decade with theLutheran Church—Missouri Synod and officially held tobiblical inerrancy in its constitution. It seldom enforced that stance by means of heresy trials or other doctrinal discipline. Its geographic center was in theUpper Midwest, especiallyMinnesota. Its headquarters and publisher (Augsburg Publishing House) were based on South Fifth Street inMinneapolis and one of its several seminaries was in neighboringSt. Paul. Its denominational magazine wasThe Lutheran Standard, published in Minneapolis. Some ALC congregations chose not to join the 1988 merger and instead formed theAmerican Association of Lutheran Churches.
TheLutheran Church in America (LCA) was created in 1962 by a merger among theUnited Lutheran Church in America, created in 1918 by an earlier merger of three German Lutheran synods in the eastern U.S.;Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Swedish ethnicity with some dating to the colonial era; theFinnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; andAmerican Evangelical Lutheran Church, made up of ethnic Danish families.
The LCA was the slightly larger partner and brought approximately 2.85 million members into the ELCA. Its administrative offices were in the Church House, a former townhouse mansion on Madison Avenue inNew York City. Its publishing house,Fortress Press, was on Queen Lane in northwestPhiladelphia, and produced the church magazine,The Lutheran. Its demographic focus was on theEast Coast, centered onPennsylvania. It also had large numbers in theMidwest and some presence in theSouth Atlantic States. There are notable exceptions, but LCA churches tend to emphasize liturgical expression more than the ALC-background churches. Its theological orientation ranged from moderately liberal toneo-orthodox, with tendencies toward conservativePietism in some rural and small-town congregations. Its theology originated inNeo-Lutheranism.[16]
In 1976, theAssociation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was formed by 250 congregations that had left theLutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) in aschism precipitated by disputes overbiblical inerrancy andecumenism. These were part of the overallfundamentalist–modernist controversy that had been roiling AmericanProtestant churches for several decades. In 1969 the LCMS had elected more conservative leadership under PresidentJ. A. O. Preus II, replacing moderate incumbentOliver Harms. The new leadership opened an investigation at the synod'sConcordia Seminary inSt. Louis, Missouri, about the faculty's commitment to inerrancy in biblical interpretation. It also opposed ecumenism.
As a result, most of the faculty and student body walked out and established a separate institution initially named "Concordia Seminary-in-Exile" (but usually referred to as "Seminex"). The AELC formed in 1976. It brought approximately 100,000 members into the ELCA. Its ethnic heritage was primarily from German immigrants of the mid-19th century, who came to the U.S. after the revolutions in various principalities. Many were abolitionists and Unionists during the American Civil War. By the 1980s, the AELC theology generally resembled the LCA's.
The ELCA is headed by apresiding bishop, who is elected by the Churchwide Assembly for a six-year term (it was a four-year term until 1995). To date, five people have been elected to the position of presiding bishop of the ELCA.Herbert W. Chilstrom served as the first presiding bishop from 1987 to 1995. He was followed byH. George Anderson (1995–2001), who had previously been the president ofLuther College. The third presiding bishop wasMark Hanson, who is the past president of theLutheran World Federation, headquartered inGeneva, Switzerland. Hanson began his tenure as bishop of the Church in 2001 and was re-elected in August 2007 for a second term.Elizabeth Eaton was elected presiding bishop in August 2013 and took office on November 1, 2013. She was reelected for a second term in 2019. In November 2023, Michael Burk was appointed Presiding Bishop Pro Tempore by the ELCA Church Council following a request by Bishop Eaton to take a 4–6 month leave of absence.[17]Yehiel Curry, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, was elected presiding bishop in July 2025 and took office on October 1, 2025. He was installed on October 4, 2025 at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.[18]
In addition, the body of the Church Council is composed of representatives elected for a stated number of years from the varioussynods. These meet regularly with legislative powers in between sessions of the Churchwide Assemblies.
The Conference of Bishops, which meets at least twice a year, is formed of 66 bishops (the 65 elected synodical bishops, together with the presiding bishop), plus the ELCA church secretary. It is consulted by the presiding bishop and the Church Council for advice on matters of doctrine, faith and order, and ecumenical relations. The ELCA website states that "While primarily advisory, the role of the Conference of Bishops is significant within the life of this church."[19]
The ELCA is divided into65 synods, one of which is non-geographical (theSlovak Zion Synod) and 64 regional synods in the United States and the Caribbean, each headed by a synodical bishop and council; these synods are in turn grouped into nine regions.[20] Within the ELCA the termsynod refers to themiddle judicatory, which is referred to in some other denominations as "presbyteries", "districts", "conferences" or "dioceses" (the most ancient and traditional term in Christianity). In other Christian churches, the term "synod" is used for a meeting or conference of ministers such as priests or bishops of a diocese, province (region) or nation or, in some Protestant churches, as the term for their annual governing convention. Some Evangelical Lutheran denominations overseas continue to use the ancient church title of "diocese".
Outside of the United States, ELCA also has congregations in theCaribbean region (Bahamas which is combined with Florida in one synod;Bermuda,Puerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands); and one congregation in the border city ofWindsor, Ontario, a member of theSlovak Zion Synod. Before 1986, some of the congregations that form theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Canada were part of the ELCA's predecessor churches.
Within the church structure are divisions addressing many programs and ministries. Among these are support for global mission, outdoor ministries, campus ministries, social ministries, and education. They include theLutheran Peace Fellowship,Lutheran Women's Caucus,Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and the Lutheran Youth OrganizationELCA Youth Gathering (formerly known in predecessor denominations as theLuther League). They cooperate with an ecumenical inter-Lutheran college/university student organization known as the Lutheran Student Movement-USA founded in 1922 and reorganized in 1969. The denominational publishing house isAugsburg Fortress, and the official denominational magazine isLiving Lutheran. ELCA predecessor bodies established twenty-sixcolleges and universities, which are now affiliated with the ELCA and a large number of associated theological seminaries. Some of these are associated with neighboring universities or theological consortia.
Most local congregations are legally independent non-profit corporations within the state where they are located and own their own property. Governing practice within the congregation ranges from congregational voters' assemblies or annual and special congregational meetings to elder-and-council-led, to congregations where the senior pastor wields great, if informal, power (more common in larger churches).[21]
The Churchwide Assembly consists of elected lay and ordained voting members. The Churchwide Assembly met biennially in odd-numbered years until 2013. Between meetings of the Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA Church Council governs the denomination, along with the advisory Conference of Bishops.
At the Assembly, elections are held for general officers of the Church such as the presiding bishop, vice president and secretary, budgets are adopted, social statements examined and approved, and various other church business enacted, along with reports made and ecumenical visitors acknowledged. A constitutional amendment was passed in 2011 to change the Assembly to one meeting on a triennial basis after 2013. The Assembly was known as the "General Convention" in the ALC and the "Biennial Convention" in the LCA.
Lutheranism is associated with thetheology of Martin Luther, with its official confessional writings found in theBook of Concord. The ELCA accepts the unalteredAugsburg Confession (not thevariata) as a true witness to theGospel. The ELCA is lessconservative than theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and theWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the second and third largest Lutheran bodies in the United States, respectively.[22] Most ELCA Lutherans are theologically moderate-to-liberal, although there is a sizable conservative minority. Other Lutheran bodies in the U.S. tend to hold more strictly toConfessional Lutheranism.
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Constituent congregations of the ELCA hold many differences of opinion, and have had disputes over social and doctrinal issues. In part, this is related to the history of having assimilated three different Lutheran church bodies, each with its own factions and divisions, but also to responses to changing social conditions in the United States. Old intra-group conflicts were inherited and new inter-group ones were created. Differences on issues usually reflect theological disputes between various parties.
The ELCA is a very broad denomination. It contains groups of socially and/or theologically conservative or liberal factions with differing emphases on various topics such asliturgical renewal,[23][24] confessional Lutheranism, charismatic revivalism, moderate to liberal theology, and liberal activism. The socially liberal segment of the ELCA is represented by independent organizations such asReconcilingWorks,Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, and theEvangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus. What is now known as theLutheran Coalition For Renewal (Lutheran CORE) is made up ELCA congregations as well as socially conservative congregations that left the ELCA after it (the ELCA) decided to accept openly gay clergy for ordination and calling. Adherents ofEvangelical Catholicism practiceHigh Church Lutheranism and include the members of theSociety of the Holy Trinity. Those oriented toward Confessional Lutheranism,Evangelicalism, or an admixture of the two include theWordAlone network. Members of theCharismatic Movement include congregations and pastors associated with the Alliance of Renewal Churches and some ethnic congregations. Additionally, there has been a recent growth in Franciscan spirituality in the ELCA through theOrder of Lutheran Franciscans.
The ELCA constitution states: "This church accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life."[25]
ELCA clergy tend not to subscribe to a doctrine ofbiblical inerrancy, but see validity in variousscholarly methods of analysis to help in understanding the Bible,[26] a process sometimes called Higher Criticism.[27]
Like other Lutheran church bodies, the ELCA confesses twosacraments:Communion (or theEucharist) andHoly Baptism (includinginfant baptism). Guidance on sacramental practices in the ELCA is provided inThe Use of the Means of Grace, a statement adopted by the 1997 Churchwide Assembly.[28]
In addition to the two sacraments, ELCA churches also practice acts which are orders. These includeconfirmation,ordination,anointing the sick,confession and absolution, andmarriage.
With respect to the eucharist or the Lord's Supper, the ELCA holds to the Lutheran doctrine of thesacramental union, that is, that Christ's body and blood is truly present "in, with and under" thebread and wine.[29] All communicantsorally receive not only bread and wine, but also the same body and blood of Christ that was given for them on the cross.[30] Members of other denominations sometimes refer to this as a belief inconsubstantiation. Lutherans, however,reject the philosophical explanation of consubstantiation, preferring to consider the presence of the Lord's body and blood as mysterious rather than explainable by human philosophy. The Lutheran belief in the holy mystery character of the consecrated bread and wine is more similar to that ofCatholic andEastern Orthodox belief than to the views of other Protestants.
Unlike certain other American Lutheran church bodies, the ELCA practicesopen communion, permitting all persons baptized in the name of the Trinity with water to receive communion. Some congregations alsocommune baptized infants, similarly to Eastern Orthodox practice. The ELCA encourages its churches to celebrate the Eucharist at all services, although some churches alternate between non-eucharistic services and those containing the Lord's Supper.
The ELCA's stances on social issues are outlined in its Social Statements and Messages.[31] Social Statements, which are usually, but not always, adopted by a two-thirds majority of a Churchwide Assembly, have been adopted on the following topics:
The ELCAordains women as pastors, a practice that all three of its predecessor churches adopted in the 1970s (TheALC andLCA in 1970, theAELC in 1976). Some women have become bishops. The first female bishop,April Ulring Larson, was elected in theLa Crosse area synod in 1992. In 2018, the ELCA elected its first African-American female bishops: Patricia Davenport in SoutheasternPennsylvania and Viviane Thomas-Breitfeld in South-CentralWisconsin.[32] In 2013,Elizabeth Eaton became the first woman to be elected presiding bishop of the ELCA. The most recent ELCA hymnal,Evangelical Lutheran Worship, includes alternate gender-neutral invocations and benedictions in all settings. All of the psalms and many of the hymns and parts of the liturgy have been altered to remove masculine pronouns referring to God.[33] In 2000, the Cooperative Clergy Study Project surveyed 681 ELCA pastors and found that 95 percent of ELCA clergy thought that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 2 percent disagreed.[34]
On August 21, 2009, the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis voted to allow congregations to call andordain gays and lesbians in committed monogamous relationships to serve as clergy.[35] By a vote of 559 to 451, delegates approved a resolution declaring that the church would find a way for people in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamoussame-gender relationships" to serve as official ministers. Congregations that do not wish to call these persons to ordained ministry are not required by these policy changes to do so.[36]
In reaction,Lutheran CORE, which opposed the decision, stated that it would "initiate a process that we hope will lead to a reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism."[37] In February 2010, Lutheran CORE announced that it would secede from the ELCA and form a new denomination to be named theNorth American Lutheran Church (NALC).[38] As of 2008[update], 37 percent of ELCA pastors were found to supportsame-sex marriage.[39]
The ELCA, in removing sexual orientation as a bar for candidacy in the professional ministry, joined most of its Lutheran sister churches in Europe, including in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Austria.[40] The ELCA is also among a growing number of Christian churches in the United States to make this move, which include theUnited Church of Christ, theEpiscopal Church, thePresbyterian Church (USA), and theUnited Methodist Church.
In contrast, the board of one of the ELCA's partner churches, theEvangelical Mekane Yesus Fellowship in North America, voted in October 2009 to declare disunity with the ELCA. A press release stated that the board was no longer "in good conscience" "able to commune and partner with ELCA Church that has willfully disobeyed the word of God and regrettably departed from the clear instructions of the Holy Scriptures" that "marriage is only between a man and a woman". This was followed by the general synod of theEthiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus also breaking links with the ELCA.[41]
In April 2010, the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted revisions to ministry policy documents to bring them in line with the August 2009 vote, as well as adding sections on integrity, substance abuse and addiction. The release noted that the revised ministry policies would be posted on the church's website by the end of April 2010.[42]
Since August 2009, according to the office of the ELCA secretary, over 600 congregations have left the ELCA through January 2011. Income declined, with revenue of $66.7 million in 2010, down from $76.5 million in 2009.[43]
On May 31, 2013,Guy Erwin became the first openly gay man to be chosen bishop in the ELCA when he was elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Southwest California Synod.[44] In 2015, the denomination ordained, officially, the first transgender pastor.[45]
Also in 2015, after the Supreme Court legalizedsame-sex marriage nationally in the US, the office of the presiding bishop released a letter informing members that each congregation is free to marry gay and lesbian couples or to choose not to do so.[46]
Since 2009blessings of same-sex marriages are allowed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[47]
The ELCA has not adopted an official position oncreation orevolution, but there is general agreement on interpreting the Bible within its historical contexts and applying critical methods of research. In 2000, the Cooperative Clergy Study Project surveyed 681 ELCA pastors and found that 26 percent of ELCA clergy thoughtScientific Creationism should be taught alongside evolution in biology classes, while 57 percent disagreed.[34]
The ELCA has not yet taken an official position regarding reproductive cloning. However, Task Force on Genetics of the church's "Church in Society" initiative is studying the theological and ethical issues that the world is likely to face in coming years as a result of Genetic Science. The task force has issued a draft report[48] for comment and discussion. The draft statement covers a wide range of topics, fromgenetic testing toGMOs. A section in this report which has been described by an independent reviewer as "a remarkably nuanced analysis and statement regarding a very complex scientific, social, and religious issue."[49] The task force recommends opposition to reproductive cloning, as almost all religious groups currently do. However, the main theological reasoning is unique. Lewis D. Eigen explains:[49]
The argument they articulate is not the common but weak argument that it would be "offensive to God," "against the will of God" or "man encroaching into God's domain", but they observe that the clone would be denied the dignity of possessing a unique human genotype. This is an extremely interesting argument—that each and every human being has the right to his or her own uniqueness—particularly a unique genotype.
The draft statement further asserts that any clones that might be created should have full acceptance as human beings and access to rites of the church.
The issue ofabortion is a matter of contention within the ELCA. In a Social Statement adopted in 1991,[50] the church set out its position on the matter as follows. The ELCA describes itself as "a community supportive of life", and encourages women toexplore alternatives to abortion such asadoption. However, the Social Statement asserts that there are certain circumstances under which a decision to end apregnancy can be "morally responsible". These include cases where the pregnancy "presents a clear threat to the physical life of the woman", situations where "the pregnancy occurs when both parties do not participate willingly in sexual intercourse", and "circumstances of extreme fetalabnormality, which will result in severe suffering and very early death of an infant." Regardless of the reason, the ELCA opposes abortion when "a fetus isdeveloped enough to live outside a uterus with the aid ofreasonable and necessary technology." The ELCA opposes "laws that deny access to safe and affordable services for morally justifiable abortions", and "laws that are primarily intended to harass those contemplating or deciding for an abortion." The statement emphasizes the prevention of circumstances leading to abortion, specifically encouraging "appropriate forms ofsex education in schools, communitypregnancy prevention programs, andparenting preparation classes." In 2000, the Cooperative Clergy Study Project found that one fifth of ELCA clergy favored banning abortion with a constitutional amendment.[51]Lutheran CORE, which represents theologically conservative members of ELCA, together with theNorth American Lutheran Church, through their Joint Commission an Theology and Doctrine, approved an officialanti-abortion stance in the document "The Lord Is with You" – A Word of Counsel to the Church – The Sanctity of Nascent Life", on December 14, 2012.[52]
The ELCA official statement on "End of Life Decisions", adopted on November 9, 1992, disapproves euthanasia: "We oppose the legalization ofphysician-assisted death, which would allow the private killing of one person by another. Public control and regulation of such actions would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. The potential for abuse, especially of people who are most vulnerable, would be substantially increased."[53]
As a Lutheran church body, the ELCA professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther'sTo the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. Some people are called to "rostered ministry", or vocations of church leadership and service. After formation, theological training, and approval by local synods these people are "set aside, but not above" through ordination.[54]
An extensive "Study of Ministry" was embarked upon immediately after the 1988 merger as it became apparent that there were still discordant viewpoints and influences, especially by the pressure for a renewal of the office of deacon and its different manifestations to a more ancient and traditional view predating the Reformation into the earliest days of Christianity. The church makes a clear distinction between the deacon's "Ministry of Word and Service", and the Pastor's "Ministry of Word and Sacrament".
In the ELCA,ordination refers to the setting apart of pastors in the ministry of word and sacrament and deacons in the ministry of word and service (before 2019, consecration was the term for setting apart deacons). The similar rite for setting apart a bishop is called installation. These rites (for bishops, pastors, and deacons) are formal liturgies, with prayer and the laying-on of hands by the bishop, or by the presiding bishop in the case of the installation of a new bishop. Since 2000, the ELCA has required all installations of new bishops to include the laying-on of hands by not fewer than three bishops who are known to be within the historic line ofapostolic succession.
Deacons are called to a "Ministry of Word and Service".[55] The former lay rosters of deaconess, diaconal minister, and associate in ministry were all merged onto one roster, called Deacons, beginning in January 2017.
Deacons serve in many roles in and beyond congregations. At their ordination they may be presented with a towel and basin (in reference to Jesus washing the feet of his disciples) as a sign of their servant ministry, but the rite of ordination (published in January 2017) also allows for other symbols to be presented, reflecting the broad range of diaconal service. The rite states: "Other symbols of the ministry of word and service may be given, which may reflect a particular focus of the deacon's call and vocation, such as a vessel containing oil, a Bible, or the book of worship."[55]
Pastors are called to the "Ministry of Word and Sacrament" and considered a "steward of the mysteries" of the Church (themeans of grace). Pastors primarily serve congregations, but some serve in specialized ministries including those of hospitalchaplain and military chaplain.
Pastors are ordinarily trained at one of sevenELCA seminaries located throughout the United States, although there are alternative paths for ordination to serve particular communities in which it is difficult to provide trained ministers or to allow rostering of clergy transferred from other denominations. Pastors generally hold a Bachelor of Arts degree or its equivalent, as well as a four-yearmaster of divinity degree. They are required to learn biblicalHebrew andGreek, and spend at least a summer doing clinical pastoral education—an intensive program that gives them time to reflect on their pastoral craft, usually in a hospital setting. They are required to complete a one-year internship of full-time service in pastoral ministry.
Abishop is a pastor called to serve (usually for a six-year term, which may be renewed) as the overseeing minister of asynod, or called to serve as thepresiding bishop of the ELCA.
TheCalled to Common Mission agreement with theEpiscopal Church in 2000 means that bishops are now installed according to Apostolic Succession. The fixed term of service as head of a synod has not changed, and there was no requirement in 2000 for existing ELCA bishops to be re-installed within the historic episcopate; instead, the apostolic succession was received as a sign of historic continuity, without denying the traditional Lutheran belief that the Church is truly present where the sacraments of baptism and holy communion are administered, regardless of the historic nature (or otherwise) of the ministry. Before 2000 a pastor had served in the office of bishop and then returned to being known simply as a pastor when service as a bishop had ended. Following the 2000 agreement a former bishop may still return to the work of a local pastor, but is often referred as bishop emeritus, even if not exercising that ministry.
Published in 2006,Evangelical Lutheran Worship is the mainhymnal used in congregations. Some congregations, however, continue to use the olderLutheran Book of Worship published by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship in 1978, and some even continue to use the olderService Book and Hymnal (SBH) of 1958 or its antecedent precedent-settingCommon Service of 1888 which laid out a traditional American Lutheran liturgy and later was included in subsequent worship books and hymnals of various churches especiallyThe Common Service Book of 1917, adopted by the oldUnited Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor of the LCA to 1962, andThe Lutheran Hymnal (TLH-1941) of the LCMS. Many congregations also make use of supplementary resources recently published as well besides those authorized for theLBW by Augsburg-Fortress, Publishers. Many ELCA congregations are classicallyliturgical churches. Their liturgy is rooted in the Western liturgical tradition, though recent international Lutheran-Orthodox dialog sessions have had some minimal influence on Lutheran liturgy. Because of its use of theBook of Concord of 1580, with the Confessions, documents and beliefs of the Reformers, including theAugsburg Confession of 1530,Luther's Small Catechism of 1529 and theLarge Catechism and its retention of many pre-Reformation traditions, such asvestments,feast days and the celebration of theChurch Year, thesign of the cross, and the usage of a church-wideliturgy, there are many aspects of the typical ELCA church that are very catholic and traditional in nature. Many Evangelical Lutheran churches use traditional vestments (cassock,surplice,stole for services of the Word or non-Eucharistic liturgies oralb,cincture,stole,chasuble (pastor) ordalmatic (deacon),cope (processions) for Eucharists (Mass, Holy Communion), etc.). On special rare occasions even a bishop's cross/crozier andmitre (bishop's headpiece) have been used to designate the ancient robes and traditions of the Church originating inRoman times of whichLuther and his fellow Reformers likePhilip Melanchthon considered as "adiaphora" or of permissive use. Since theSecond Vatican Council of the 1960s, most major parts of the ELCA's popular liturgies are worded exactly like the English language Mass of 1970 of theRoman Catholic Church. Many ELCA congregations use informal styles of worship or a blend of traditional and contemporary liturgical forms.
Springing from its revered heritage in theLutheran chorale, the musical life of ELCA congregations is just as diverse as its worship.Johann Sebastian Bach, the most famous Lutheran composer and African songs are part of the heritage and breadth of Evangelical Lutheran church music. The musical portion of the Lutheran liturgy includesmetrical psalter, metrical responses and hymns.Evangelical Lutheran Worship has ten settings of Holy Communion, for example. They range from plainsong chant, to Gospel, to Latin-style music. Congregations worship in many languages, many of which are represented inEvangelical Lutheran Worship. Other books used in ELCA churches include theLutheran Book of Worship (1978), and its supplements:With One Voice,This Far by Faith, and for Latino/Hispanic congregations:Libro de Liturgia y Cántico.
The ELCA is a member of theNational Council of Churches, theWorld Council of Churches, andChristian Churches Together and is a "partner in mission and dialog" with theChurches Uniting in Christ (formerly the Consultation on Church Union) formed in 1960.
The Church maintainsfull communion relationships with other member churches of theLutheran World Federation (which is a communion of 140 autonomous national/regional Lutheran church bodies in 78 countries around the world, representing nearly 66 million Christians) which was reorganized in 1948 from the earlier Lutheran World Convention of 1923. The ELCA has additionally full communion with theEpiscopal Church, in which several congregations are jointly affiliated and hold mixed services. Also the ELCA has since established official full communion relationships with other Christian denominations such as theMoravian Church in America (with the exception of the Alaska Province), thePresbyterian Church (USA), theReformed Church in America, theUnited Church of Christ, theEpiscopal Church, and TheUnited Methodist Church.[56]
In 2013, theEthiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus severed ties, including communion and pulpit fellowship, with the ELCA over the issue of practices and teachings connected with homosexuality.[57]
On October 31, 1999, inAugsburg, Germany, the Lutheran World Federation – of which the ELCA is a member – signed theJoint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. The statement is an attempt to reconcile a historical theological divide between the two communions. TheDeclaration also states that the mutual condemnations between 16th century Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church no longer apply to those that have signed onto the document. This was part of a series of "Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogues" have been taking place on an official basis every few years with statements and booklets on various theological topics published since 1966.
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The differences between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and theLutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) arise from theological, historical, and cultural factors. The LCMS was briefly in fellowship with the former American Lutheran Church, one of the ELCA predecessor bodies from 1969 to the early 1980s. Although the denominations have limited cooperation throughLutheran World Relief and some university/college student ministries and military chaplaincy, they are not officially in communion with each other.
When the first Lutheran immigrants came to North America, they started church bodies that reflected, to some degree, the churches they left behind in Europe. Many maintained until the early 20th century their immigrant languages. They sought pastors from the "old country" until patterns for the education of clergy could be developed in North America. Eventually,seminaries and church colleges were established in many places to prepare pastors to serve congregations.
The earliest predecessor synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was constituted on August 25, 1748, in Philadelphia under the influence ofHenry Muhlenberg, known as the "Patriarch of American Lutheranism". It was known as theMinisterium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States. The earliest nationwide "synod" or "union of synods" was established in 1820 as theGeneral Synod, followed later by theGeneral Council. The ELCA was created in 1988 by the merging of the 2.85-million-member Lutheran Church in America (1962), 2.25-million-member The American Lutheran Church (1960), and the 100,000-member Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (1978). Previously, the ALC and LCA in the early 1960s came into being as a result of two mergers of eight smaller ethnically based Lutheran bodies composed of German, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Slovak, Dutch, and others organized over 150 years. Some of these smaller ethnically based bodies previously had ecumenical arrangements involving the Missouri Synod.
The LCMS was established in 1847 by German immigrants fleeing the forcedPrussian Union between Lutherans and Reformed church members in European Germany, who later settled inPerry County, Missouri. It grew through immigration, offspring, and church mergers while participating in some, but not all of the dialogues, controversies, and compromises which affected the various predecessors of the ELCA during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the mid-1970s theSeminex controversy at their Concordia Seminary in St. Louis over use of historical-critical biblical study led to the formation of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, later one of the predecessor bodies of the ELCA. The LCMS is the second largest Lutheran church body in North America with 1.8 million baptized members.
The ELCA tends to be more involved in ecumenical endeavors than the LCMS, which prohibits its clergy from worshiping in ecumenical gatherings. The ELCA is a member of theLutheran World Federation,World Council of Churches and theNational Council of Churches of Christ, USA. The LCMS rejects these as beingunionist.
Both the LCMS and the ELCA have policies relating to clergy sexual misconduct. Perry C. Francis, a former ELCA pastor turned professor, along with psychology professor Tracy D. Baldo, published the results of their 1994 study of clergy sexual misconduct in the journalPastoral Psychology. Out of 270 ELCA and 117 LCMS clergy surveyed, 13.7 percent of ELCA clergy and 4.3 percent of LCMS clergy admitted to sexual misconduct with another person since they began their ministry.[58]
Comparison to LCMS in ELCA's point of view according to the 1999 bookHonoring Our Neighbor's Faith[59] These conclusions are not agreed upon by the WELS or LCMS.
| Number | LCMS | ELCA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Believe intriune God | Same |
| 2 | Accept Lutheran Confessions astrue teachings of biblical faith | Same |
| 3 | Believe that God comes to us through theWord and thesacraments | Same |
| 4 | Teachjustification by grace through faith | Same |
| 5 | Believe that the Bible shouldnot be subject to higher critical methods | Many within the ELCA believe that the Bible can speak effectively through the use of higher critical study. |
| 6 | Believe that the Bible restricts women from certain church positions includingordained ministry | Believes the Bible permits, even encourages, full participation by women in ordained ministry |
| 7 | High degree of doctrinal agreement necessary before fellowship is possible | Agreement on a more basic level is sufficient forfellowship. |
The table below presents demographic data for two different years of thePew Research Center U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, 2007 and 2014.[60] It is divided into several demographic categories like age, gender, marital status, etc. The categories have percentages out of 100 for 2007 and 2014, along with a column indicating the percent change (±).
| Demographic[60] | 2007 (%) | 2014 (%) | ± (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 18–29 | 8 | 12 |  +4 |
| 30–49 | 36 | 27 |  −9 | |
| 50–64 | 29 | 30 | +1 | |
| 65+ | 27 | 31 | +4 | |
| Gender | Male | 44 | 44 |  no change |
| Female | 56 | 56 | no change | |
| Marital status | Never married | 11 | 16 | +5 |
| Married | 63 | 62 | −1 | |
| Cohabitation | 3 | 4 | +1 | |
| Divorced orseparated | 10 | 9 | −1 | |
| Widowed | 13 | 9 | −4 | |
| Parent of a child under 18 | Yes | 30 | 24 | −6 |
| No | 70 | 76 | +6 | |
| Race and ethnicity | White alone | 97 | 96 | −1 |
| Black alone | 1 | 2 | +1 | |
| Asian alone | 1 | 1 | no change | |
| Other race alone | 1 | 1 | no change | |
| Hispanic and Latino | 1 | 1 | no change | |
| Immigrant status | Immigrant | 3 | 4 | +1 |
| Second gen. | 6 | 8 | +2 | |
| Third gen. or higher | 90 | 89 | −1 | |
| Region | Northeast | 19 | — | — |
| Midwest | 51 | — | — | |
| South | 16 | — | — | |
| West | 14 | — | — | |
| Highest educational attainment | Less than high school | 6 | 31 | −13 |
| High school | 38 | |||
| Some college | 26 | 33 | +7 | |
| Bachelor's degree | 19 | 21 | +2 | |
| Post-graduate | 11 | 15 | +4 | |
| Household income | Less than $30,000 | 24 | 19 | −5 |
| $30,000–49,999 | 24 | 22 | −2 | |
| $50,000–74,999 | 35 | 32 | −3 | |
| $100,000 or more | 17 | 26 | +9 | |
The following table compares beliefs, practices, or views of members of ELCA across two years, 2007 and 2014.[60]Each row represents a specific belief, practice, or view. Columns show the percentages for each year and the change between them. Each entry is broken down into different responses. For example, in the "Do you believe in God or a universal spirit?" row, responses are categorized as "Yes, absolutely certain", "Yes, fairly certain", etc. The percentage of respondents who chose each response for each year is displayed, along with the change in percent from 2007 to 2014.
| Belief, practice, or view[60] | 2007 (%) | 2014 (%) | ± (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do you believe in God or a universal spirit? | Yes, absolutely certain | 77 | 67 | −10 |
| Yes, fairly certain | 19 | 28 | +9 | |
| Yes, not too or at all certain | 2 | 3 | +1 | |
| No, do not believe | <1 | 1 | no change | |
| Don't know, refused, or other | 1 | 1 | no change | |
| Importance of religion | Very important | 62 | 58 | −4 |
| Somewhat important | 32 | 34 | +2 | |
| Not too important | 4 | 7 | +3 | |
| Not at all important | 1 | 1 | no change | |
| Don't know | <1 | <1 | no change | |
| Attendance at religious services | Weekly | 46 | 35 | −11 |
| Monthly/few times a year | 43 | 50 | +7 | |
| Seldom or never | 10 | 14 | +4 | |
| Don't know | <1 | <1 | no change | |
| Belief inHeaven | Believe | 83 | 85 | +2 |
| Don't believe | 8 | 8 | no change | |
| Other or not sure | 10 | 7 | −3 | |
| Belief inHell | Believe | 62 | 59 | −3 |
| Don't believe | 24 | 30 | +6 | |
| Other or not sure | 14 | 11 | −3 | |
| Interpreting the Bible | Word of God to be taken literally word for word | 23 | 20 | −3 |
| Word of God, but not literally true word for word | 49 | 44 | −5 | |
| Not the word of God | 20 | 29 | +9 | |
| Don't know or other | 9 | 8 | −1 | |
| Abortion | Should be legal in all/most cases | 61 | 65 | +4 |
| Should be illegal in all/most cases | 33 | 32 | −1 | |
| Don't know | 7 | 2 | −5 | |
| Homosexuality | Should be accepted | 56 | 73 | +17 |
| Should be discouraged: | 33 | 22 | −11 | |
| Neither/other | 6 | 2 | −4 | |
| Don't know | 5 | 2 | −3 | |
Over 500,000 people have left the ELCA since the church's human sexuality decision in 2009.[61] Approximately 700 congregations have voted to withdraw from the ELCA, representing about 7 percent of its 2009 congregational membership. As of December 31, 2024, the ELCA has a baptized membership of 2,677,239 people.[4] In 2025, Pew Research estimated that 1 percent of the U.S. adult population, or roughly 2.6 million adherents, identify with the ELCA. Another 1 percent, or 2.6 million adherents, identify with mainline Lutheranism in general.[62] A number of members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are former Roman Catholics.[63] As of December 31, 2024, the ELCA has 8,386 congregations.[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
