Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective articulates the teaching of the ELCA on the church's relation to society and its public presence and responsibilities. The statement begins with the claim that the witness of the church in society flows from its identity as a community that lives from and for the gospel. It sets forth the basic affirmations that structure how faith is active in a love that calls for justice in relationships and structures of society. The statement also identifies as basic commitments the church's institutional witness in society, the baptismal vocation of individual Christians, and the church as a community of moral deliberation. This document was the first ELCA social statement, adopted in 1991.
Follow these links to find resources for understanding this social statement:
