Language, faith and identity

What is it about?

This paper discusses the language planning decision by the Lutheran Church in Australia and provides a historical perspective into the relationship between German language maintenance and Lutheran identity. The paper highlights the role the Lutheran church played in promoting the German language and discusses the complex issues surrounding the identity of being German, being Lutheran and being Australian during WWI.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This is important archival research which adds to our understanding of the impact of WWI on the German community and their connection with their language. This paper examined the Australian Lutheran Church’s language decisions during a period when language issues provoked controversy both in the secular world as well as in the Church’s long-term vision of how to keep the Lutheran faith alive. It was a time of a unique juxtaposition of factors in which a large portion of the second generation of Australian-German Lutherans had begun to feel at home in English while others were deeply concerned about the loss of German as their ‘pure’ language of worship. At the same time, any attempts to cling to German were seen by outsiders as anti-Australian in the sensitive wartime political climate.