Lutheranism

==Throughout the world==
{{Further|Lutheranism by region|Protestantism by country}}
[[File:HKBP DR. I.L. Nommensen, Res. Nommensen Sigumpar (1).jpg|thumb|The building of a congregation in [[North Sumatra]] in [[Indonesia]] belonging to the [[Batak Christian Protestant Church]], which is a merged denomination that includes a Lutheran element]]
[[File:Augvic1.jpg|thumb|The altar and pulpit at the [[Chapel of the Ascension, Jerusalem|Chapel of the Ascension]] in [[Jerusalem]]]]
[[File:HK Pui Tak Street Faith Lutheran School 1 a.jpg|thumb|right|Faith Lutheran School in [[Hong Kong]]]]
Lutheran churches currently have millions of members, and are present on all populated continents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheran.org.nz/about-us/|title=About Us|work=Lutheran Church of New Zealand|access-date=5 March 2015}} However, some Lutherans disagree with the way the Lutheran World Federation arrives at this number, as millions of them actually come from bodies that are largely Reformed, but include some Lutherans. For more information on this, see: {{cite journal|last=Schumacher|first=William|url=http://www.csl.edu/CJApril05.pdf/|title=Theological Observer: How Many Lutherans?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610210044/http://www.csl.edu/CJApril05.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2007|journal=Concordia Journal|date=April 2005}}</ref> The [[Lutheran World Federation]] estimates the total membership of its churches over 77&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/content/member-churches|title=Member Churches |date=19 May 2013 |publisher= The Lutheran World Federation|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> This figure miscounts Lutherans worldwide as not all Lutheran churches belong to this organization, and many members of merged LWF church bodies do not self-identify as Lutheran or attend congregations that self-identify as Lutheran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |access-date=2012-07-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715071837/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |archive-date=15 July 2012 |df=dmy-all|publisher=The Lutheran World Federation|title=Survey Shows 70.5 Million Members in LWF-Affiliated Churches|date=14 March 2012}}</ref> Lutheran churches in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean regions are experiencing decreases and no growth in membership, while those in Africa and Asia continue to grow. Lutheranism is the largest religious group in [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Iceland]], [[Latvia]], [[Namibia]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], and [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]] in the [[United States]].

Lutheranism is also the dominant form of Christianity in the [[Fort Apache Indian Reservation|White Mountain]] and [[San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation|San Carlos Apache nations]]. In addition, Lutheranism is a main Protestant denomination in [[Germany]] (behind [[United Protestant]] (Lutheran & [[Reformed church|Reformed]]) churches; [[EKD Protestants]] form about 24.3% of the country's total population),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ekd.de/ekd_de/ds_doc/Gezaehlt_zahlen_und_fakten_2021.pdf|publisher=ekd.de|access-date=2 January 2022|title=Gezählt 2021 – Zahlen und Fakten zum kirchlichen Leben}}</ref> [[Estonia]], [[Poland]], [[Austria]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Papua New Guinea]], and [[Tanzania]].<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, [http://media-2.web.britannica.com//eb-media/58/67358-004-1E77BA15.gif Dominant Protestant Denomination Per Country] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425001243/http://media-2.web.britannica.com//eb-media/58/67358-004-1E77BA15.gif |date=25 April 2012 }}, 1995.</ref> Although some convents and monasteries voluntarily closed during the Reformation, and many of the remaining [[Stift#Endowment for unmarried Protestant women|damenstift]] were shuttered by communist authorities following World War II, the [[Template:Lüne abbeys|Lüne abbeys]] are still open. Nearly all [[Template:Lutheran orders|active Lutheran orders]] are located in Europe.

Although [[Religion in Namibia|Namibia]] is the only country outside Europe to have a Lutheran majority, there are sizable Lutheran bodies in other African countries. In the following African countries, the total number of Lutherans exceeds 100,000: [[Christianity in Nigeria|Nigeria]], [[Central African Republic#Religion|Central African Republic]], [[Christianity in Chad|Chad]], [[Religion in Kenya#Christianity|Kenya]], [[Malawi#Religion|Malawi]], [[Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], [[Religion in Cameroon|Cameroon]], [[P'ent'ay|Ethiopia]], Tanzania, [[Christianity in Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]], and [[Christianity in Madagascar|Madagascar]]. In addition, the following nations also have sizable Lutheran populations: [[Christianity in Canada#Major denominational families|Canada]], [[Protestantism in France#Lutherans|France]], the [[Religion in the Czech Republic#Protestantism|Czech Republic]], [[Religion in Poland|Poland]], [[Religion in Hungary#Christianity|Hungary]], [[Religion in Slovakia|Slovakia]], [[Christianity in Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[Christianity in India#German Lutherans and Basel mission|India]], [[Protestantism in Indonesia#Lutheran denominations|Indonesia]], the [[Religion in the Netherlands#Protestantism|Netherlands]] (as a synod within the [[Protestant Church of the Netherlands|PKN]] and two strictly Lutheran denominations), [[Protestantism in South Africa|South Africa]], the [[Religion in the United Kingdom#Christianity|United Kingdom]], and the [[Protestantism in the United States#Lutheranism|United States]], especially in the heavily German and [[Scandinavian Americans|Scandinavian]] [[Upper Midwest]].<ref>[http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/lutheran.gif Lutherans as a Percentage of All Residents, 2000] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630182008/http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/lutheran.gif |date=30 June 2006 }} (Map by county). Also see comparable maps of other religions along with specific denominations of Lutheran at the main [http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/religion.html American Ethnic Geography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609091659/http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/religion.html |date=9 June 2007 }} site</ref><ref>[http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LWF-Statistics-2011.pdf 2011 World Lutheran Membership Details] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324042910/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LWF-Statistics-2011.pdf |date=24 March 2013 }}</ref>

Lutheranism is also a [[state religion]] in [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]] and [[Iceland]]. Lutheranism was also the state church in [[Finland]], [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]], but its status in Norway and Sweden was changed to that of a [[national church]] in 2017 and 2000 respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-02-03/norway-state-and-church-separate-after-500-years/|title=Norway: State and Church Separate After 500 Years|work=Library of Congress|date=3 February 2017|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/01/local/me-49706|title=Sweden Ends Designation of Lutheranism as Official Religion|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 2000|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
===Brazil===
The [[Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil]] (Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil) is the largest Lutheran denomination in Brazil. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1952. It is a member of the [[Latin American Council of Churches]], the National Council of Christian Churches and the [[World Council of Churches]]. The denomination has 1.02 million adherents and 643,693 registered members. The church ordains women as ministers. In 2011, the denomination released a pastoral letter supporting and accepting the [[Supreme Court of Brazil|Supreme Court]]'s decision to allow same-sex marriage.

The [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil]] (Portuguese: Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil, IELB) is a Lutheran church founded in 1904 in [[Rio Grande do Sul]], a southern state in Brazil. The IELB is a conservative, confessional Lutheran synod which holds to the [[Book of Concord]]. It started as a mission of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] and operated as the Brazilian District of that body. The IELB became an independent church body in 1980. It has about 243,093 members. The IELB is a member of the International Lutheran Council.

The [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (WELS) started a Brazilian mission, the first for WELS in the [[Portuguese language]], in the early 1980s. Its first work was done in the state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]], in the south of Brazil, alongside some small independent Lutheran churches which had asked for help from WELS. Today, the Brazilian WELS Lutheran Churches are self-supporting and an independent mission partner of the Latin America WELS missions team.

=== Distribution ===
This map shows where countries with over 25,000 members of the Lutheran World Federation were located in 2019.<ref name="The Lutheran World Federation Membership Figures">[https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/lwi-2019-statistics-en-20200825.pdf The Lutheran World Federation 2019 Membership Figures]</ref>{{efn|This map undercounts several countries, notably the United States. The LWF does not include the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] and several other Lutheran bodies which together have over 2.5&nbsp;million members}}

{{wide image|Lutheran World Federation Membership Figures.svg|800 px|[[Lutheran World Federation]] membership by country in 2019.
{{center|
{{legend2|black|More than 10 million}}
{{legend2|#002167|5 million to 10 million}}
{{legend2|#0047AB|1 million to 5 million}}
{{legend2|#4169E1|500 thousand to 1 million}}
{{legend2|#a6aeec|100 thousand to 500 thousand}}
{{legend2|#CCCCFF|25 thousand to 100 thousand}}
:<small><sup>a</sup>data for China is explicitly for the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. <br><sup>b</sup>Argentina's LWF member churches include member congregations in Paraguay and Uruguay.</small>
}}
}}
This map shows where members of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference were located in 2013:
{{wide image|World-Microstates.png|800px|Countries with a member of the [[Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference]] as of 2013}}
{{clear}}