Paper short abstract:

Against the background of the debate about the importance of ethnicity in describing the religious field in the USA, the paper studies the pluralist self-understanding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its realization on the ground in German-speaking Lutheran congregations.

Paper long abstract:

In 1972, Lutheran church historian Martin Marty defined ethnicity as the “skeleton of religion in America” (Marty 1972). He underlined the historical importance of ethnicity against contemporary interpretations that in his eyes tended to neglect or “obscure the durable sense of peoplehood in the larger American community” (Marty 1972:8). According to Marty, the religious pluralist interpretation “born in the face of the problem of identity and power” (Marty 1972:15) was part of the problem as it led to the blurring of boundaries that he felt instrumental to the religious field in America.

Taking a look at the official self-understanding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) today, one can get the idea, that the pluralist school of thought has become hegemonic. The United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, for example, explicitly formulates an all-inclusive agenda that invites the diversity of traditions ranging through “races, ethnicities, national origins, (…) mental illnesses, physical attributes or abilities, ages, family structures, gender identities” (United Lutheran Seminary 2020) to study theology at the seminary and serve in the ELCA.

On the ground, in German-speaking Lutheran congregations in the USA, the author studied a certain resistance towards official ELCA policies when it comes to gender orientations and pluralism. The ELCA remains the second monolithic church in the USA when it comes to race. Racist resentments can be observed. The paper investigates in how far the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America manages to live the role-model it aspires to be – a pluralist, postmodern church.