The Lutheran Ethic: The Impact of Religion on Laymen and Clergy

This is a book about the impact of religion on everyday life. The study was focused on the distinct characteristics of the religious ideology of American Lutheranism and the impact of this ideology on an individual's total world view and life organization. An individual's degree of religious commitment was compared with his social, political, and moral attitudes. Religion, despite claims of securalization in American society, was found to continue to be an important factor influencing the attitudes, values, and behavior of Lutherans. These results were found from interviews and questionnaires completed with Lutheran laymen and clergy, along with a random sample of college students of all major religious faiths.The Lutheran ethic, an ideologicial system accompanying an individual's total world view, was found to continue as a viable orientation in twentieth century urban America. A distinctly Lutheran orientation toward man, God, life, and religion was found to exist when comparisons were made with other Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Jews.Vast differences in terms of belief, attitudes, and values were found among individuals belonging to the four major Lutheran bodies in the United States. Little consensus appears to exist. There is also a growing division between laymen and the more theologically liberal clergy in terms of basic beliefs and views regarding the proper role and function of the church. Younger clergymen particularly have dramatically differing views regarding the mission of the church than older clergymen. This is reflected in a trend away from a salvation religion emphasizing "supernaturalism" to one concerned with the social reform of the world emphasizing humanism.