Explaining the differences among Lutheran denominations

St. Olaf Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion L. DeAne Lagerquist

--by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott

If you're not a Lutheran, you might be tempted to think that all "Lutherans" have the same beliefs.  They don't.

So in order to get an understanding of the differences between members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America--the denomination to which Luther College is affiliated--and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, I contacted L. DeAne Lagerquist, who is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at St. Olaf College.

She points out that the founders of Luther College were allied not only with the Norwegian Synod of the Lutheran Church, but also with the Missouri Synod.  However, "doctrinal purity" disputes led the leaders to solely associate with the Norwegian Synod, which eventually became the American Lutheran Church.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church Missouri Synod all began discussing ways they could cooperate--a movement called "altar and pulpit fellowship."  Says Lagerquist, "At that point, issues related to biblical interpretation, sparked by debated about women's ordination, undermined the nascent cooperation."

The ALC and the LCA agreed to merge into what is now the ELCA.  The LCMS went its separate way.  Since then, says Lagerquist, "The LCMS has been increasingly theologically conservative and unwilling to engage in cooperation."

For example, a Missouri Synod pastor recently got in trouble--for taking part in an interfaith service in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, following the mass shooting.

But Lagerquist points out that all of this history describes the official positions of the various Lutheran denominations--It does NOT necessarily apply to a lay person.  "He doesn't have the same issues," Lagerquist says of potential new Luther College President Mark Hagerott, suggesting it would be possible for Hagerott to join First Lutheran Church upon arriving in Decorah--and the current controversy might be forgotten.