Denominational Profile

History

merged intoUnited Lutheran Church in America (1918)

merged intoLutheran Church in America (1962)

The 1918 merger of the General Synod, the General Council, and the General Synod of the South formed the United Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran body through much of the twentieth century.

Membership Data

Year	Clergy	Churches	Members
1925	2,891	3,651	850,440
1929	3,147	3,701	924,393
1931	-	-	962,461
1933	-	3,698	1,443,780
1935	3,264	3,702	1,503,803
1937	-	3,713	1,541,841
1939	-	3,750	1,611,778
1941	-	4,046	1,709,290
1943	-	3,762	1,690,204
1946	-	3,798	1,778,943
1947	-	-	1,778,943
1949	3,830	4,134	1,954,342
1951	3,966	3,883	1,962,256
1953	3,971	3,991	2,061,004
1954	4,069	4,015	2,113,779
1955	4,154	4,050	2,175,726
1956	4,177	4,050	2,174,500
1957	4,376	4,171	2,293,902
1959	4,636	4,260	2,369,263
1960	4,761	4,308	2,385,224
1961	4,893	4,363	2,390,075

Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]