Lutheran Church


A Protestant denomination that arose from the teachings of Martin Luther. Lutherans are known for their stress on the doctrine of justification by grace, through faith, and for their insistence on the Bible (see also Bible) alone as a rule of faith. Lutherans practice baptism of infants and believe that Jesus is really, not just symbolically, present in the sacrament of Communion.

Notes for Lutheran Church

The Lutheran Church is strongest among the people of Germany and Scandinavia, where it is an established church (see also established church), supported by the government. In the United States, it is strongest among people descended from Germans and Scandinavians.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

How to use Lutheran Church in a sentence

  • He found a Lutheran Church almost two miles away, and declared that it was better than the one in Cleveland.

    Jennie Gerhardt | Theodore Dreiser