lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major Protestant denomination which originated as a 16th-century movement. It was led by Martin Luther. Luther was a German Augustinian monk and professor of theology. He originally planned to reform the Western Christian church. Because Luther and his followers were excommunicated by the pop, however, Lutheranism developed in a number of separate national and territorial churches. This indicated the breakup of the organizational unity of Western Christendom. The largest Protestant denomination in …

…the resistance to Nazi occupation of their countries. European settlers brought Lutheranism with them to North America. In the 17th century European Lutherans settled in New Amsterdam, which is now New York City, and in Delaware. German Lutherans settled in large numbers in Pennsylvania at the beginning of the 18th century. Lutheranism was divided into numerous German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and Slovak groups. Lutheranism is the third largest Protestant denomination in the United States.