Difference Between Lutheran and Anglican (With Table)

Protestant Christianity is the religious movement lead by Martin Luther in the 16th century in Germany. Martin Luther wrote 95 theses against the churches that practiced corruption by selling indulgences. This protestant reformation movement targeted the churches but also the states and laws of Christianity. Therefore, dividing the Christians into four groups such as Lutherans, Anglicans, Anabaptists, and Calvinist.

Lutheran vs Anglican

The difference between the Lutherans and Anglicans is that Lutherans were a result of the German reformation in 1521 by Protestant leader Martin Luther, whereas Anglicans are the result of the English Reformation in 1534 in England by King Henry VIII. Lutherans are the people who left the catholic churches because of corruption practices, and Anglicans left the church when King Henry refused to accept the catholic laws.

Lutherans do not obey the Roman Catholic Church laws and rules. They believe that the holy book is the source of gaining forgiveness and faith is the gift of salvation. Lutheranism has spread through North America, Russia, Scandinavia, and other countries. There are millions of Lutherans present worldwide.

Anglicans also believe in the Lutheran’s logic of faith, forgiveness for sins. King Henry disagreed with the pope’s judgment on his divorce and cut all his ties with Rome. He also changed the name of the Roman Catholic Church to Anglican Church in England. They also follow the holy book, Apocrypha, articles of religion, and other books of common prayer.

Comparison Table Between Lutheran and Anglican

Parameters of Comparison	Lutheran	Anglican
Founder	Martin Luther protested against the laws and practice of corruption in the catholic churches in which the Lutherans group was formed.	King Henry VIII violated the pope’s decision on his divorce case and created his own laws on following Christianity. Thus formed an Anglican group.
Formation Year	In 1521, Catholics were divided into Lutheran groups in the German Reformation movement.	In 1534, King Henry violated the rules of the church that resulted in the English reformation movement in which the Anglican group was formed.
Holy Book	The Holy Bible, Creeds of Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian	The Book of Common Prayer, Creeds of Apostles, Nicene, and Anglicans.
Protestants	Lutherans are the first protestants in the protestant branch.	Anglicans are also one the branches of protestants but are considered reformed Catholics.
Major Church	Evangelical Lutheran Church in American.	Episcopalian Church in the united states.

What is Lutheran?

Martin Luther, a Christian monk, read the bible and found that Roman Catholic churches are spreading wrong information and practicing the selling of forgiveness and salvation to the Christians. He wrote 95 theses to describe the practices of catholic churches. He argued the churches are selling forgiveness and punishing the people for their sins.

According to Luther, there is no need for churches and popes to gain forgiveness from god. The Holy book is enough to connect and seek forgiveness from god. He translated the holy bible into various languages so that people can read by themselves and understand Christianity.

In this German reformation movement, the Christians were divided into Lutheran groups lead by Martin Luther. According to Luther, people who have faith in Jesus follow the right way, and others go on the wrong path. A sinner can connect to god directly to seek forgiveness. Lutheran prays using the rosary similar to Roman Catholics. Today there are more than five million Lutherans are present in the United States and Germany.

What is Anglican?

In 1534, King Henry VIII decided to divorce his wife, but the rules and laws of the Catholic Church did not allow the pope to permit to do so. It was the English reformation period when the king disagreed with the pope and changed the name of the Catholic Church to Anglican Church. He became the head of the church where both the catholic and protestant ideas were adopted. The 39 articles written in the same century describes the Anglican principles. The significant church of Anglicans is situated in the United States with the name Episcopalian Church.

Anglicans symbolize the presence of Jesus Christ with bread and wine, where bread denotes the body and wine denotes the blood of Jesus. They believe in praying to god in privacy. The Anglicans also follow the Lutheran’s ideas of faith and forgiveness. The Anglican churches are of two types one is a high church for wealthy people and Low Church for the middle class and poor people. They also have two sacraments like baptism and Holy Communion.

Main Differences Between Lutheran and Anglican

1. Lutherans are the Protestants formed by Martin Luther, and Anglicans are the reformed Catholics found by King Henry VIII.
2. The Lutherans group formed as is a result of the German reformation movement took place in 1521, and the Anglicans group as a result of the English reformation movement took place in 1534.
3. Lutherans follow the Holy Bible with old and new testaments, the book of concord, and the creeds of Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian. The Anglicans follow the Book of Common Prayer and the creeds of Apostles, Nicene, and Anglicans.
4. The major church of Lutherans is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, and Anglicans are Episcopalian Church in the United States.
5. The Lutherans and Anglicans believe that only the holy book is enough for the people to connect with the god, and there is no need for popes and other magistrates.

Conclusion

During the 16th century, Protestants were divided into many groups like Lutherans, Anglicans, Calvinists, and Anabaptists when martin Luther-a protestant, protested against the churches for practicing indulgences. Anglicans and Lutherans believe is faith in God is the gift of salvation. They left the catholic churches to fight for equality and privacy in prayers. They believe that people should have privacy and have all the rights that a pope has to worship god. Only the holy books are enough to increase faith in God and achieve forgiveness from god.

References

1. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3286074
2. https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2119&context=consensus

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