CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) now have some help thinking about how their Christian faith addresses the growing availability of gambling in the United States. The ELCA Division for Church in Society has produced a 29-page study guide, "Gambling: A Study for Congregations," and will send it to the church's 11,000 congregations by May.
Current ELCA understandings of gambling are based on "Gambling and the Public Good," a statement of the former American Lutheran Church adopted in 1984. The new ELCA study points out that gambling has changed dramatically, from being largely illegal in the United States to being entirely prohibited only in Hawaii and Utah.
"We really haven't taken the time to consider what the expansion of gambling means to us as Christians," said the Rev. John R. Stumme, ELCA associate director for studies. "This study will offer the occasion to discuss this controversial issue."
The ELCA's Minneapolis Area Synod asked the church to write a new social statement on gambling, said Stumme. "The social statement that we have offers sufficient guidance for advocacy," he said, but "we should be in the process of discussing this issue."
The 1984 statement said, "The absence of direct biblical prohibition does not resolve moral and ethical questions related to gambling." It suggested that people consider all related issues when "making decisions about lending their support to legalized gambling or participating in gambling where it is legal."
That statement and additional research guided Dr. Robert W. Tuttle in writing the study materials. Tuttle is a member of Georgetown Lutheran Church and an associate professor at George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.
The new study materials are "designed to provoke and guide discussion of gambling" and are divided into six segments:
"Understanding Gambling" helps the reader define gambling and grasp the history of gambling in the United States. It says that gambling requires three elements -- the risk of something valued, a significant prize and the impulse of chance. It traces a brief history of gambling in North America from colonial lotteries of the 17th century to "Video Lottery Terminals" of today.
"Gambling and the Godly Life" looks at the role of greed in gambling and the Christian's chances of avoiding greed. "Insofar as gambling is entangled with greed, hopelessness, selfishness and careless stewardship, it is an activity that is incompatible with the godly life. If our gambling can avoid these vices ... gambling belongs within the broad area of Christian freedom," says the study.
"The Vulnerability of Addiction" is an explanation of "compulsive gambling" and the moral responsibility to help people break their addictions. It asks, "Does your congregation (or one in your area) minister in any direct way to those who are addicted to gambling, or to the families of those who are addicted?"
"Lotteries, the Poor and the State" reviews the modern experience of state-run lotteries and their possible impact on the poor. "Poor people spend a much larger proportion of their income on the lottery than do those in middle or upper income brackets," it says, and lottery advertising seems to target the poor. States have become addicted to gambling, says the study, because it is seen as an easy alternative to raising taxes.
"Gambling and the Economic Common Good" weighs the economic benefits of gambling against the dangers of compulsion. This section of the study also looks at a few examples of communities economically improved or damaged by gambling and leads a discussion of what future gambling may have in the United States.
"Gambling on American Indian Reservations" explains the distinctive status that American Indian tribes have as "domestic dependent nations." It argues both that the same moral and economic concerns discussed earlier apply also to gambling on reservations and that Christians need to take into account the history and legal status of American Indian tribes.
The purpose of the study is to facilitate discussion in ELCA congregations. It is not a preliminary step in the development of a social statement for the church, so the study does not include an instrument for formal response. It does invite comments to the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
A related resource is included in the Spring 1998 edition of "Mosaic," the ELCA's quarterly video news magazine. "Small Town, Big Casinos" is a segment of the program that is meant to initiate discussion and introduce the study.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
