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Denominational Profile
History
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Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches |
merged intoEvangelical Lutheran Church in America (1987) |
| The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1987) continues several varied streams of Lutheran church life introduced to America during the Colonial era. The ELCA was formally constituted in 1988 as a merger of the Lutheran Church in America, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the American Lutheran Church. |
Membership Data
| Year | Clergy | Churches | Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 17,052 | 11,133 | 5,288,230 |
| 1988 | 16,083 | 11,120 | 5,251,534 |
| 1989 | 17,246 | 11,067 | 5,238,798 |
| 1990 | 17,402 | 11,087 | 5,240,739 |
| 1991 | 17,426 | 11,074 | 5,245,177 |
| 1992 | 17,416 | 11,055 | 5,234,568 |
| 1993 | 17,455 | 11,023 | 5,212,785 |
| 1994 | 17,322 | 10,973 | 5,199,048 |
| 1995 | 17,425 | 10,955 | 5,190,489 |
| 1996 | 17,402 | 10,936 | 5,180,910 |
| 1997 | 17,510 | 10,889 | 5,185,055 |
| 1998 | 17,589 | 10,862 | 5,178,225 |
| 1999 | 17,611 | 10,851 | 5,149,668 |
| 2000 | 17,651 | 10,816 | 5,125,919 |
| 2001 | 17,693 | 10,766 | 5,099,877 |
| 2002 | 17,706 | 10,721 | 5,038,006 |
| 2003 | 17,666 | 10,657 | 4,984,925 |
| 2004 | 17,725 | 10,585 | 4,930,429 |
| 2005 | 17,665 | 10,549 | 4,850,776 |
| 2006 | 17,655 | 10,470 | 4,774,203 |
| 2007 | 17,619 | 10,448 | 4,709,956 |
| 2008 | 17,660 | 10,396 | 4,633,887 |
| 2009 | 17,609 | 10,348 | 4,542,868 |
| 2010 | 17,258 | 9,995 | 4,274,855 |
Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The National Council of Churches' data collection was discontinued after the 2012 Yearbook was published, and has been resumed by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). The tables and graphs will be updated when the new collection is available. See the Yearbook of Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]
