The Lutheran Church, in strict adherence to Scripture and the Confessions, could not proclaim political views. The official journals of the Lutheran Church reaffirmed this doctrinal position as an editorial policy. 2 Consequently, the Church could not give a party preference, or even state an opinion on the merits of candidates or 1egislative proposals. However, in the criticism of the various movements and organizations in America during this period, under the rubrics of the doctrine of Church and State, the political views were stated but always as an outgrowth of the tension between the role of the church in public life and the role of the state in religious activities. Political views, then were limited to the broad question of the role of government in American life. The application of the doctrine of Church and State to specific issues, though, tended to accentuate Lutheran political views. The research was directed to the official literature of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, 3 which included: the Lutheran Witness, the Theological Monthly, the Concordia Theological Monthly, the Lutheran School Journal, the Proceedings of the Lutheran Church, 1920-- 1938, selected District Proceedings through 1933, and the Lutheran Layman's League. The editors of the Lutheran Witness, Theodore Graebner and Martin s. Sommer as well as H. T. Dau of the Theological. Monthly and Arndt, of the Concordia Theological Monthly, being members of the faculty of the Concordia Seminary, not only reflected Missouri Lutheranism, but shaped and influenced the new generation of pastors.