Where have all the Lutherans gone?

Since Luther was founded as a seminary for Lutheran ministers, Lutheranism has been an important part of the school’s identity. However, a changing student body is forcing campus leaders to reevaluate what it means to have a Lutheran identity. For the third consecutive year, Luther’s enrollment numbers tell a clear story: less than 50 percent of the student body is Lutheran.

This trend is nothing new to Campus Pastor Mike Blair, who has seen the same issues cropping up in both the ELCA and around the country.

“[The enrollment figures] are a number that we should pay attention to,” Blair said. “The trends of diminishing numbers of Lutheran students is a pattern that fits the larger culture. People are less inclined to identify with a particular tradition.”

Blair sees this as a call to examine Luther’s traditional identity.

“[The enrollment figures] should at least compel us to ask ourselves, what does it mean to be a Lutheran college?”

Luther’s connection to the ELCA has long been one of its primary sources of applications.

“I would say it was pretty important,” Student Congregation Council President Sarah Stadie (‘11) said. “[I chose Luther] mostly because of my background with the ELCA and specifically with my father being an ELCA minister, which was a big part of my life.”

In recent years, the student body has grown increasingly more diverse, shrinking the dominance of Lutherans among the campus community.

“A lot of people come because we’re Lutheran, and specifically ELCA, but for 53 percent of the population, their religious preference is different from the school’s,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Scot Schaeffer said.

Luther works hard to accommodate all student beliefs.

“The church congregation is accepting of anyone from any religious background,” Stadie said.

Catholic Student Union Co-Leader Ryan Deignan (‘10) has a slightly different perspective: Deignan transferred to Luther from Notre Dame University in Indiana.

“At Notre Dame they had chapels in dorms,” Deignan said. “Here it’s a little bit more accepting of a variety of different things.”

Deignan sees a basic difference in philosophy between Luther and Notre Dame.

“Some institutions have to make a choice in how strongly they’re going to identify with their traditions, what kind of atmosphere are they going to create on campus,” Deignan said. “When I was at Notre Dame, I loved that it was very strongly Catholic, but I remember talking to people for whom it was just too much.”

In contrast, Deignan feels that Luther comes across as a much more relaxed religious environment.

“There is hardly any reason why anyone would feel too left out in the cold,” Deignan said.

Creating such an atmosphere is a big goal for Campus Ministries, where leaders are trying to find alternative ways to express worship.

“There might be students who want exposure to other spiritual practices,” Blair said. “We try to look for opportunities for interfaith dialogue and prayer in our services.”

For Campus Ministries, interacting with other faith communities is not just a necessity, but an opportunity.

“In order to understand our faith, we need to understand other faiths,” Stadie said.

Even so, Luther will continue reaching out to the ELCA for students and support.

“We try to find ways to support students who are working at camps and things like that,” Blair said. “The best encouragement to come to Luther comes from current students.”

Regardless of the profile of the student body, Luther remains committed to living up to the ideals of the Lutheran tradition.

“With a college that’s named Luther, it’s important that we take these ideas seriously, but it’s also important that we be very open and engaging,” Blair said. “The quest for academic truth enriches our faith and our understanding; it doesn’t ultimately threaten it.”