If your congregation sings Martin Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” in worship on October 26, it won't be alone. Many Protestant churches mark the last Sunday in October as Reformation Sunday. Tradition holds that on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a copy of 95 theses (propositions for debate) challenging medieval church teaching and papal authority to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Although this fiercely dramatic scene probably never took place, Luther’s document is real, and it really did help spark the Protestant Reformation.
Many Americans today don’t know much about Luther. In 2010, the Pew Research Center found less than half of respondents (46 percent) could identify him and his significance. More Jews (70 percent), atheists and agnostics (68 percent), and Mormons (61 percent) knew about him than did Protestants (47 percent).
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