| abstract |
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (ELCA) is a predominantly white denomination that made a commitment to inclusiveness and diversity when it was formed in 1988. Historically, the white church has developed in tandem with the white supremist culture that is alive and well in the United States. Notably, the immigrant Lutheran church has assimilated into American culture and legacy by virtue of their white privilege. These power-brokering Lutheran bodies formed the ELCA which is part of a systemic and racialized theology and the institution of racism.
This project recognizes that the trans-Atlantic slave trade (1619-1865) killed and enslaved African peoples; and asserts that the subsequent institutionalized demeaning of African humanity is a sin that scarred both the nation and the church. Given this historical background, this project seeks to explore and assess how foundational Lutheran Doctrines have allowed a quietism about social justice, including racial justice. In what follows I will survey the development of faith practices and social developments that enables the racism in the church to proliferate, such as Luther's two kingdoms theory. I will also critique the primacy of justification by faith alone. In what follows I highlight voices in the struggle, in these contemporary times, including the voices of several ELCA leaders and myself, who has 40 years' worth of encounters in the ELCA as a black female. Finally, I address strategies for transformation that are intentional. I suggest a shift of focus to personal and spiritual change, in individual's hearts and minds. I don't expect systems to change or for institutions to change, before people can be changed by God, on the inside. Racism as sin, is a spiritual matter. Overall, this project contends that attitudes about God's grace as free or cheap, have not been helpful in challenging racism.
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