Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is associated with the German reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) and separated from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1987.   

Number of Members: 5 million.

Governing Body: The Churchwide Assembly, which consists of 60 percent lay and 40 percent ordained ministers, convenes every two years. The last meeting was Aug. 6-11, 2007.

Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice, a social statement from The General Board of Church and Society

"Scripture speaks of humanity's kinship with other creatures … God's command to have dominion and subdue the Earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion, a special responsibility, should reflect God's way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant, wearing a crown of thorns."

"We are called to name animals. As God names Israel and all creation as the shepherd calls by name each sheep, naming unites us in a caring relationship." P2-3

In the section, "Commitments of the Church," congregations are directed to discuss the "treatment of animals in livestock production, laboratory research, and hunting." P10

Martin Luther on Animals:

Like most theologians of his day (and ours), Martin Luther (1483-1546) saw humans as superior to other animals because unlike all other animals, humans were made in the image of God and have reason. For instance, in his lectures on Genesis, Luther wrote: "In the remaining creatures, God is recognized by His footprints; but in the human being, especially in Adam, He is truly recognized" since humans were "not created like the rest of the animals but according to God's image." And, in the same lectures, Luther observed that "The human being is endowed with reason, which has the advantage over all the animals."

Yet, Luther saw other than human animals as being divine, since they, too, were created by the word of God. Furthermore, he describes animals as praising God better than humans, and having more compassion for their fellow animals than humans do for other humans. Luther even believed there would be dogs in heaven. Perhaps for all these reasons, Luther thought that even though God told Noah that humans could eat animals after the flood, there was not reason that we had to--and, in fact, we should not, since animals were created primarily as another way for us to praise God.

Luther on animals as being divine because they reveal the hand of the Creator:

"The sun warms; but it would bring nothing into being unless God said by His divine power: 'Let a mouse come out of the decay.' Therefore the mouse, too, is a divine creature. . . . [F]or its kind it has a very beautiful form--such pretty feet and such delicate hair that it is clear that it was created by the word of God with a definite plan in view. Therefore here, too, we admire God's creation and workmanship. The same thing may be said about flies." (Luther's Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 1-5).

Luther on animals as praising God better than humans:

"All animals live in contentment and serve God, loving and praising Him. Only the evil, villainous eye of man is never satisfied, nor can it ever be really satisfied because of its ingratitude and pride. It always wants the best place at the feast as the chief guest (Luke 14:8); it is not willing to honor God, but would rather be honored by God." (Luther's Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount).

Luther on animals as having more compassion for their fellows than humans:

"Wild beasts and irrational animals keep this law. When a pig is slaughtered or captured and other pigs see this, we observe that the other pigs clamor and grunt as if in compassion. Chickens and geese and all wild animals do the same thing; when they see one of their own kind in trouble, they quite naturally grieve with it and are sad, and if they can, they help it. Only man, who after all is rational, does not spring to the aid of his suffering neighbor in time of need and has no pity on him. What a shame and scandal!" (Luther's Sermons I).

Luther on dogs in heaven:

In his lectures on Genesis, Luther writes, "animals...live only their animal life, without hope of eternal life" (Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 1-5). Yet Luther loved his canine companion Tölpel very much, and did not believe that so faithful a friend could be excluded from heaven. Asked whether he expected to find dogs in heaven, Luther replied, "Certainly, for there the earth will not be without form and void. Peter said that the last day would be the restitution of all things. God will create a new heaven and a new earth and new Tölpels with hide of gold and fur of silver. God will be all in all; and snakes, now poisonous because of original sin, will then be so harmless that we shall be able to play with them." (Table Talk of Martin Luther, DCCXCVII)

Luther on why we shouldn't eat animals:

"It follows not, that because God created all things, we must eat of all things. Fruits were created chiefly as food for people and for beasts; the latter were created to the end we should laud and praise God." (Table Talk of Martin Luther, CXXXI)

Further resources:

Bainton, Roland H. 1957. "Luther on Birds, Dogs, and Babies: Gleanings from the 'Table Talk,'" pp. 3-12 in Luther Today: Martin Luther Lectures, Vol. 1. Decorah, Iowa: Luther College Press.

Ickert, Scott. 1988. "Luther and Animals: Subject to Adam's Fall?" pp. 90-99 in Andrew Linzey and Dorothy Yamamoto, eds., Animals on the Agenda: Questions about Animals for Theology and Ethics. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.