12 Facts About Lutheranism

1.

Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation.

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2.

Unlike Calvinism, Lutheranism retains many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, though Eastern Lutheranism uses the Byzantine Rite.

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3.

Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation.

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4.

Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway and the monarch of Sweden ( ruling Finland) adopted Lutheranism.

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5.

In lands where Catholicism was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied.

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6.

Lutheranism led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated a return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship.

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7.

Lutheranism held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture.

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8.

Lutheranism earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.

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9.

Lutheranism came to India beginning with the work of Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg, where a community totaling several thousand developed, complete with their own translation of the Bible, catechism, their own hymnal, and system of Lutheran schools.

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10.

Lutheranism is the largest religious group in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Namibia, and North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States.

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11.

Lutheranism is the dominant form of Christianity in the White Mountain and San Carlos Apache nations.

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12.

Lutheranism is a state religion in Iceland, Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.

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