5 things to know about Tim Walz's faith, church and the ELCA
The ELCA is notoriously progressive
The ELCA is known as one of the most left-leaning mainline denominations.
In 2017, the ELCA Church Council adopted a resolution expressing complete agreement with "Campaign Zero," described as a "10-point policy platform" created by activists with the Black Lives Matter movement designed to "improve relationships between local law enforcement officers and the communities in which they serve."
In 2020, the ELCA distributed a handbook titled Lutheran Introduction To Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Gender Expression to its churches. The ECLA promoted the handbook on its X account, which showed several name tags giving people space to write their names and identify their pronouns. The list of available pronouns to choose from extends far beyond those associated with male and female.
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The handbook provides definitions for the terms "sexual orientation," "gender identity" and "gender expression." It insists that "gender identity" is "a person's innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or another gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth." It defines "gender expression" as "the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, grooming, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions."
The handbook defines "sexual orientation" as "the term used to describe what gender(s) someone is physically and/or emotionally attracted to."
In 2021, the ECLA became the first mainline denomination to install a trans-identified bishop, although Rev. Megan Rohrer resigned a year later due to allegations of racism.
A 2022 vote taken by the ECLA suggests that the church may abandon conscience protections for clergy members who still believe in traditional teachings about sexuality.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
