Articles

[1] The ELCA social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-Being of All defines Christian Nationalism as:  A cultural framework that idealizes and advocates fusion of highly selected Christian beliefs with U.S. civic life. This nationalistic ideology holds, among other   things, that the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired, that Christianity should be a […]

[1] Richard Lischer invites us into a compelling story told by a wonderfully diverse cast of storytellers. Readers of the JLE would likely have already met many of the folks here, but probably not in this way, with the types of questions Lischer poses for them (and us) to ponder. As we read their stories, […]

[1] Esteemed readers of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, this “Summer Books Issue” contains four reviews and recommendation of readings on the issue of Christian Nationalism. We include book reviews from a broad range of topics including travel, philosophy, ethics, and spirituality. It is our hope that these diverse reviews resonate and influence a decision […]

(Contact Book Review Editor William Rodriguez if you are interested in reviewing any of these books. We will get you a copy of the book for free.)   A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century: Confrontations with Nothingness by Jon Stewart (physical copy available for mailing) A Guidebook to Progressive Church by Clint Schnekloth […]

[1] In January, the Lutheran Ethicists Network held its annual conference in Washington D.C. before the meeting of the Society for Christian Ethics. The topic of the conference, “Ethics and Democracy,” was chosen because of the location and the times. Two of the three plenary papers are published here in this issue of JLE. The […]

[1] In this section, readers can find links to study guides as well as questions that will guide discussion based on the articles in this issue. [1]  In August of 2025, the Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA adopted the Social Statement: Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All, a social statement that began, […]

[1] I am Rev. Dr. Laurie Jungling, and I was born and raised in Great Falls, MT. I have been a Lutheran all my life, though I came close once to becoming a Presbyterian (USA). After spending a few years as a full-service gas station attendant in far-north North Dakota searching for myself, I found […]

[1] I was invited to ponder the following questions for this essay: What might be the contours of a Lutheran liturgical ethic that shapes our civic engagement? How do worship or prayer equip Lutherans to re-define political power? What roles do liturgy, prayer, and preaching play in fostering, strengthening, or supporting justice and democracy? I […]

A Story from Malaysia: Standing Together Against Violence [1] When I started as a church planter in the year 2000, I never set a goal to be a prophet or social activist. I do not think my Malay-Muslim friend Ali, who was a businessman, not a religious leader, saw himself as my fellow comrade for […]

Introduction [1] Alliances between conservative religious movements and authoritarianism are not historically anomalous, nor uniquely Christian. But with democracy and its legitimacy on the wane in the West,[1] Trumpism’s overwhelming mobilisation of, and sustained appeal to, evangelical Christianity has spurred a re-examination.[2] Trumpism shows that the conservative-religious/authoritarian alliance promises moral and national restoration without the […]