The Lutheran Church and The Catholic Church

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“The heart overflows with gladness, and leaps and dances for the joy it has found in God. In this experience the Holy Spirit is active, and has taught us in the flash of a moment the deep secret of joy. You will have as much joy and laughter in life as you have faith in God.” These are the words of Martin Luther, the man who started the Lutheran Church which soon led to the creation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The Church was officially formed on January 1, 1988 and was a combination of three branches of the Lutheran religion: the American Lutheran church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran churches, and the Lutheran Church in America. In 2012 the ELCA had 3,950,924 baptized members. Today, it is the seventh largest religious body and largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S.
Luther, born in 1483, was a German monk and priest of the Catholic Church. While working in the Church, he saw many problems and became determined to fix them. At the time the Catholic Church sold indulgences, which are grants of remission of temporal punishment in purgatory. This was one of Luther's main tribulations with the Church, and he sought to reform the issues. Luther did so by writing 95 points stating the problems he saw in the Church. He then took and nailed these points, which later became known as the 95 Theses, to the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church. Later, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, and when put on trial he refused to deny his accusations of the church. However, Luther continued his reform which became known as Lutheranism. These beliefs began to spread out from Germany and soon reached the United States, where the ELCA was born.
June 25, 1520 was the day on which the Lutheran beliefs were formed a...

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... and teachings, they are accepted as brothers in Christ. The ELCA’s differences are merely alterations of the Catholic Church’s teachings. When looking at the basics of each church, it is clear that both are Christian religions who share the same main faiths.

Works Cited

"Christians Respond to the Actions, Beliefs and Policies of the ELCA." ELCA Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <>.
"ELCA." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <>.
"Exposing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Exposing the ELCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <>.
"Home - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Home - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <>.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Augsburg Confession (Lutheran confession)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <>.

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