Series editor’s note: In 2025, “Deeper understandings” is focusing on the ELCA social statements. We hope to reintroduce them to readers as a means of provoking fruitful, enriching conversation between Christians with different understandings and convictions, and as a springboard for active discipleship in the world. Each article will introduce a particular statement and its Lutheran theological underpinnings, then suggest ways in which it can spark faithful conversation and action in the service of your baptismal vocation.
My hope is that you will find this series relevant to your current context and that it will help you express your Lutheran faith in your daily interaction with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers—for the sake of the flourishing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world and the life abundant of the neighbor and stranger.
—Kristin Johnston Largen, president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, on behalf of the ELCA’s seminaries
In 1991 the ELCA adopted a transformative social statement opposing the death penalty, rooted in Lutheran theological principles and infused with a call to justice and restoration. This document is still a clarion call for people of faith to reflect critically on the relationship between justice, mercy and liberation. When viewed through the lens of liberation theology, the statement becomes an even more urgent call to confront the systemic inequalities and cycles of violence perpetuated by the death penalty, aligning the church with the marginalized and oppressed.
By centering the gospel’s message of grace and liberation, the ELCA invites faithful reflection and action. U.S. theologian Cornel West often says, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Therefore this work is not simply about public policy change but about embodying a radical commitment to God’s justice—a justice that lifts the lowly, restores the broken and challenges systems of oppression through God’s everlasting love.
The ELCA’s social statement “The Death Penalty” is rooted in the Lutheran understanding of law and gospel, but it also resonates with liberation theology’s emphasis on God’s preferential option for the poor and marginalized. These are the key themes of the statement:
The sanctity of all life
Lutheran theology affirms that all life is sacred because every person bears the image of God. The death penalty violates this sanctity, disproportionately targeting those who are poor, Black, brown or otherwise marginalized. The ELCA’s statement explicitly recognizes that biases related to race, gender, mental ability and economic status corrupt the fair and just application of capital punishment. A theology of liberation insists that this systemic injustice is not a mere flaw in the system but a symptom of deeper structural sin—sin that the church is called to resist and dismantle.
Restorative justice over retribution
The statement calls for restorative practices that center healing, accountability and community. The ELCA statement draws on Jesus’ teachings to advocate for justice that is redemptive rather than retributive. In the face of violent crime, the gospel invites believers to transcend cycles of vengeance, following Christ’s example of mercy and reconciliation.
The liberation of the oppressed
The ELCA statement recognizes the death penalty as a tool of oppression that reinforces social hierarchies and perpetuates violence. By opposing capital punishment, the church aligns itself with those dehumanized by the justice system and embodies a commitment to liberation and equity.
The social statement calls for us to discuss moral principles about the death penalty even though people hold different views on its use. Moreover, our discussion on the death penalty needs both understanding and real action to create change. These talks gain their power from both Scripture and the true stories of victims of unfair treatment, centering marginalized voices, engaging in prayer and Bible study, and confronting power and privilege.
Concrete steps
Our baptismal call to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth” demands that Christians not only speak out against the death penalty but also actively work to transform the systems that sustain it. Liberation theology encourages believers to embody their faith through concrete actions that reflect God’s liberating love. Here are a few concrete steps you can take to participate in this liberating work.
First, engage in advocacy: Partner with organizations working to abolish the death penalty and promote restorative justice, and advocate for legislation that addresses systemic inequalities in the criminal justice system, such as sentencing reform and racial justice initiatives.
Second, engage in specific congregational practices: Develop prison ministries that offer spiritual care, education and pathways to restoration for incarcerated individuals, and support programs for victims of violent crime, providing spaces for healing and reconciliation.
The gospel invites believers to transcend cycles of vengeance, following Christ’s example of mercy and reconciliation.
Third, seek to build up the beloved communities in the places where you live and work: Engage in community organizing to address the root causes of violence, such as poverty, systemic racism and lack of access to mental health care, and create partnerships across faith traditions, with ecumenical partners and community groups, to build networks of support for justice and liberation.
Finally, lift up your voice in prophetic witness: Use the church’s voice to challenge narratives that dehumanize offenders and justify violence, and engage in public demonstrations, letters to policymakers and educational campaigns that call for an end to the death penalty.
Toward a world of justice and peace, this social statement is a powerful expression of faith in action, calling the church to embody God’s justice and grace in a world marked by brokenness. When read through the lens of liberation, the statement becomes an even more radical challenge to confront systemic sin and work for the liberation of all people.
As followers of Christ, we are called to stand with the oppressed, to advocate for justice that restores rather than destroys and to proclaim the gospel’s liberating power. Through faithful conversation and action, the church can become a transformative force, bearing witness to God’s vision of a just, peaceful and fair world. In doing so, we honor our baptismal vocation and join in God’s work of restoration for all creation.
