Martin Luther's birthday a federal holiday in the US

[David T]

You have to get the idea that the US is a basically Protestant nation, that the Reformation was the source of its freedom, etc.--an idea common enough in the nineteenth century--acceptable in the twentieth, and not tainted by association with the Ku Klux Klan. (Even if this happened, perhaps Reformation Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Day would be a more likely candidate than Luther's birthday--but perhaps it would popularly be known as Martin Luther Day anyway...)

Also, you have to get Luther accepted as a symbol of Protestantism even among non-Lutherans. To a great extent, of course, this has indeed happened. Witness a Black Baptist preacher from Georgia changing his name (and that of his oldest son) from Michael to Martin Luther in the 1930s... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Sr.

(OK, I'll admit I got the idea from https://comb.io/dISuVd But I still mean it seriously.)

 

[EagleKeeper]

Separation of church and state. Even Easter is not a federal holiday. Most of the U.s. may be protestant but the Catholic and Jewish faiths are well represented as well. Protestantism is a very fractured community. Episcapals are probably closer related to Catholics than Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian groups and had a pretty tight control on the upper (ruling) class. So I'm pretty sure that you couldn't get enough momentum behind a Martin Luther holiday.

 

[Anarch King of Dipsodes]

Also, you have to get Luther accepted as a symbol of Protestantism even among non-Lutherans. To a great extent, of course, this has indeed happened.

But not to the extent required for official recognition. I would add that Lutheranism was the creed of somewhat exotic ethnicities: Germans and Scandinavians. The "anglo" mainstream (Congregationalist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian) would balk. So would Baptists (MLK str notwithstanding), and Catholics, and "free-thinkers".

 

[overoceans]

But not to the extent required for official recognition. I would add that Lutheranism was the creed of somewhat exotic ethnicities: Germans and Scandinavians. The "anglo" mainstream (Congregationalist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian) would balk. So would Baptists (MLK str notwithstanding), and Catholics, and "free-thinkers".

I dunno. The fact that an African American Baptist minister would (re-)name both himself and his son after Luther would seem to indicate that the man's prestige extended somewhat beyond Lutheranism itself. He IS the founder of protestantism, which is a pretty major deal in the history of Christianity, and arguably was a big step toward creating the western world as we know it today.

I do agree that the idea of a Martin Luther Day is rather far-fetched, but I have to confess that, having read this OP, I really do love the idea. Is it maybe kinda sorta semi-plausible that, as part of a neo-puritan backlash against Halloween, a few state legislatures somewhere in the midwest could be cajoled into declaring Martin Luther Day for Oct. 31st(the purported date of the theses)? Mostly, I'd really like to know what sort of cards, music, activities etc would accrue to this holiday. Marathon TV showings of the Davey And Goliath claymation show?

 

[SavoyTruffle]

A few things to consider:

* Separation of church and state, and the corollary religious freedom, being less sacrosanct in American society, especially from birth. Somewhat tough to do, given how a lot of immigrants to the embryonic USA were religious dissenters.
* Weakened Manifest Destiny, minimizing or preventing the US from taking over lands from Catholic Mexico (for example).
* Reduced Irish migration to the US - while Catholic Irish were discriminated against in the 19th century, by the close of the century they were more and more being integrated into white American society, ditto with Italian immigrants.

@overoceans makes a great point, too - a religious backlash against the secular, or even downright "pagan", celebration of Halloween by promoting Martin Luther Day would probably be your best bet.

 

[Anarch King of Dipsodes]

I dunno. The fact that an African American Baptist minister would (re-)name both himself and his son after Luther would seem to indicate that the man's prestige extended somewhat beyond Lutheranism itself.

Certainly. But there is an enormous gap between a feeling of respect that induces a gesture from one person, and the sort of near-universal consensus required to establish a national holiday.

(I am quite aware that a lot of people disapproved of ML King jr; but when that holiday was established, there was overwhelming mainstream consensus in favor, and the sentiment underlying most opposition had been barred from respectable discourse.)

There is also the point that "Luther Day" or "Reformation Day" would be perceived as a shot at the Catholic Church. In the 20th century, there were far too many Catholics in the US for that to get through.

And even in the later 19th century, the growing number of American "freethinkers" would be opposed to any official side-taking in religion.

 

[Marius Mazzini]

To specifically have Martin Luther rather than Reformation Day you probably need an ethnic pluralist United States that officially celebrates a holiday for each major ethnic group (ie Columbus Day for Italians).

 

[Polish Eagle]

I could see "Reformation Day" instituted as a federal holiday in a US where the Republican Party leans more heavily into Know-Nothingism. Dress it up in the typical American virtues--"right to protest," "freedom of speech," and the like, call it a celebration of liberty from foreign domination. Catholic schools, naturally, would intentionally do business on that day but give November 1 (All Saints Day) off instead. If there is anything like the World Wars that still happens, you could see the holiday abandoned--either as part of the anti-German sentiment during WWI, or as a combination of that and Luther's antisemitic tendencies during/after WWII.

 

[Anarch King of Dipsodes]

To specifically have Martin Luther rather than Reformation Day you probably need an ethnic pluralist United States that officially celebrates a holiday for each major ethnic group (ie Columbus Day for Italians).

Columbus Day has a secular basis - Columbus's discovery was fundamental to the entire formation of America. There was no "ethnic" aspect to the immense 1893 Columbian Exposition. His Italian background was incidental, even if Italian-Americans later seized on it to "ethnify" the holiday. Whereas "Reformation Day" would relate (ethnically) only to Germany - and a large number of Germans were Catholics.

Besides which - what other ethnic groups would be honored with a holiday? Irish? Poles? Mexicans? Swedes? Russians? Jews? (Ashkenazic Jews are an ethnic group, with a distinct language and cookery and music.) Scots? Dutch? French? Chinese? Blacks?

 

[Theoretical_TJ]

You would need something like a Catholic gunpowder plot in the US or a state like Maryland aimed at creating a repressive Catholic state either broken off from the US or in open defiance of the 1st Amendment that’s actually persecuting Protestants in a visible way, and not just one but multiple Catholic conspiracies where the Know Nothings position on Catholicism is at least supportable given the environment.

In that setting, Luther is seen as the beacon of freedom against a tyrannical church that might be tolerated but would likely face some significant political restrictions.

But it’s a little anachronistic because Reformation Day is really only something that’s come about in the last 50-100 years as a reaction against Halloween in Protestant evangelical circles.