Abstract

What is Lutheran social ethics? In order to answer this question, the chapter takes its point of departure in a classical – or maybe the classical – account, namely German theologian Ernst Troeltsch’s Die Soziallehren der christlichen Kirchen und Gruppen first published in 1912. Troeltsch’s perception of the Lutheran social ethics of his time is briefly presented. Next, a picture of Luther’s own social and political thinking which differs from Troeltsch’s is given, and finally the possibility of formulating a Lutheran social ethics for our time is discussed.