ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Beyond a resolution

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Five years have passed since the 2016 Churchwide Assembly approved (912-28) a declaration repudiating the 15th-century Doctrine of Discovery. The doctrine, sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, gave European nations license to “discover” undeveloped lands, annex them, exploit their resources and rule over the native peoples there. Many of the world’s Indigenous peoples, including those from the Americas, say Europeans used the doctrine to justify stealing their land and resources, and oppressing their people—crimes for which there has been no restitution and whose effects still linger.