Lutheran Name Recognition Increases over Five Years, Study Shows

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Between 1996 and 2001, recognition of the Lutheran church name increased from 25 percent to 30 percent in a random sample of the U.S. population, according to results of a study commissioned by the Department for Communication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The Lutheran church was the only significant religious denomination that increased in name recognition during the five-year period, the study said. Most respondents made no distinction between the ELCA and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), the study said.
The ELCA Identity Project, a multimedia advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness for the Lutheran church and specifically the ELCA, was a key factor in the name recognition increase, the study showed. Substantial funds for the Identity Project were provided by Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits organization based in Appleton, Wis., and the ELCA Church Council. The funds were used to create advertisements and provide matching grants to synods and congregations, enabling them to place the advertisements with local media organizations.
The study was done by Parkwood Associates, Allentown, Pa., said Kristi S. Bangert, Identity Project manager and director for internal church communication and marketing, ELCA Department for Communication. It included responses of 1,000 people -- chosen at random -- who were interviewed in a national telephone survey in February, Bangert said.
Parkwood also did an identical benchmark study in 1996, enabling comparisons with this year's findings, Bangert said.
"The ELCA commissioned this research to help us measure public awareness of the Lutheran church and any change in the level of awareness since 1996," Bangert said. "These statistics are important to us because raising public awareness of the Lutheran church was the first goal of the Identity Project."
This year's study included several related findings:
+ 18- to 24-year-olds tended to mention mainline denominations less frequently than other age groups, but between 1996 and 2001, the percentage who identified the Lutheran Church rose from 16 percent to 24 percent, respectively.
+ When "unaided" and "aided" responses were combined, there was significantly greater awareness of the ELCA and LCMS. Unaided responses were those that identified the Lutheran Church without prompting; aided responses were those that recognized the name when presented with a list of churches. The combined figure rose from 28 percent in 1996 to 64 percent in 2001 for the ELCA. The LCMS figure rose from 6 percent recognition in 1996 to 31 percent in 2001.
"The increase from 25 percent to 30 percent in 'unaided' awareness of the Lutheran Church represents more than 14 million people who now know the name 'Lutheran'," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, ELCA Department for Communication. "That's remarkable and was one of the major goals of the Identity Project." "We could not have done this project without the financial support of AAL and the funds provided by the ELCA Church Council from ELCA reserves," he continued. The ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop and many churchwide units also supported the project, Shafer said. In addition, 80 congregations that used the Identity Project materials mentioned attendance increases in their AAL grant reports, Shafer said. Worship attendance increases in those congregations ranged from 3 percent to 78 percent, he said. The Identity Project used broadcast and print advertisements to reach new audiences with information about the ELCA. A companion Web site, in English, is at http://www.sharingfaith.org. Messages were designed for different audiences depending on age, Bangert said. The Department for Communication also produced Spanish-language radio and television Identity Project spots, which aired nationally. A "seekers" Web site in Spanish, http://www.compartiendolafe.org was created. At least 55 of the ELCA's 65 synods were involved in the Identity Project, and at least 720 matching grants were provided to synods and congregations, Bangert said. More than 4,000 of the ELCA's 11,000 congregations were involved in the Identity Project. The project concluded Dec. 31, 2000, she said. AAL provided $1.75 million for matching grants for synods and congregations that were involved in the Identity Project, Bangert said. In addition, the ELCA Church Council provided nearly $3.5 million to fund the project, including a commitment of $2 million in 1999 from ELCA reserve funds. Some of the $2 million was designated for the Spanish-language materials, Bangert said.

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