Lutherans Today American Lutheranism Summary

Introduction

Religion is a big part of American culture. Lutheranism is a branch of Catholicism, and it a huge aspect of who I am as a person. My core text is Lutherans Today: American Lutheran Identity In the 21st Century, written by a collection of authors, and it talks about the identity and values within Lutheranism, before and after it moved to America. I initially chose my core text because it seemed like a source full of information on the aspects of Lutheran culture and because it seemed really interesting to read. There is a lot of aspects regarding Lutheranism and Lutheran life. Lutherans Today shows the aspects of American Lutheranism, including the historical background and the parts of the Lutheran identity.

Summary

In Lutherans

The source is Robert Benne’s article, “The Trials of American Lutheranism”. It talks about the people within the church leadership, and how Lutheranism changed from before it moved to America. Benne talks about how there was not much diversity within the churches before it moved to America. In America, the churches leadership tried to bring in more African Americans into the religion. In my core text, there is a chapter called “North American Lutheranism and the New Ethics”, written by Mark Granquist. Granquist talks about how Lutheranism has changed since moving to North America. In the chapter, he discusses how “Lutheran evangelistic efforts in North America have targeted non-traditional populations, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, to develop ethnic parishes” (Granquist 2003). Before moving to North America, Lutherans were mainly European, and one they moved, Lutherans became very diverse.My other sources did not relate to what I read in Lutherans Today. My other sources talk about the aspects of the religion and certain traditions.

My understanding, and the connection to American

I connect with what the book says and it is part of who I am. I connect with is the chapter on Lutheran youth in America the most. This chapter is called “Loose Bonds, Emerging Commitments: The Lives and Faith of Lutheran Youth”, and is written by Eugene C. Roehlkepartain. As a youth, I relate to what they are talking about in that chapter but at the same time there are some things in the chapter I cannot relate to. One thing that stood out to me is the amount of youth that participate in “risky behavior”, including drugs and alcohol (Roehlkepartain 2003). I personally cannot relate to this statement because I am not involved with those activities. One thing the chapter mentioned is that youth became more engaged in serving others (Roehlkepartain 2003). I relate to this a lot. I go out and do activities with my church that serves others, such as making lunches for the day laborers around town and building houses on Mission