Recalculation Shows Only Small Drop in Lutheran Numbers
The Lutheran World Federation, citing an “unfortunate calculation error,” has revised upward by nearly 1 million its recently issued census of worldwide Lutheran church membership.
New figures show total membership declining by 48,325 in 1985, not by more than 1 million as listed in the federation’s annual survey released early last week.
The earlier calculation omitted about 975,000 Lutherans in West Germany, according to a federation statement. The new figures show West German membership declined by 192,050 in 1985.
According to the revised total, the world’s Lutheran churches counted 68,444,845 members at the end of 1985, down from 68,493,170 in 1984.
Gains in African, Asian and Latin American membership failed to offset the loss of about 630,000 members in Europe, the statement said.
The federation counts all Lutherans, including those not affiliated with the federation.
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