Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
University · Saint Paul · United States

Luther Seminary

In research, Luther Seminary stands highest in Social Sciences (#10,152 of 14,833 worldwide), Arts and Humanities (#2,685 of 3,511 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#7,987 of 9,330 worldwide), over all time.

luthersem.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#31,954
of 34,923
Rank in United States
#6,727
of 7,310
Research works
393
▼ 28% vs 2018-21
Citations
565
1.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
4.7%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.78×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
12%
world 40%
International
26%
world 18%
Luther Seminary

What is Luther Seminary known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Social SciencesDomain #10,152 of 14,833 5.7%381
Arts and HumanitiesField #2,685 of 3,511 6.6%230
Social SciencesField #7,987 of 9,330 4.5%139

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Luther Seminary sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Luther Seminary work in?

In 2022-now, 98% of research at Luther Seminary is in Social Sciences, 2% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Arts and Humanities (54%), Social Sciences (43%), Environmental Science (2%). It does 3.1× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 28 fractional works · 97.7% of its workArts and Humanities: 16 fractional works · 54.3% of its workHistory: 6 fractional works · 21.7% of its workReligious studies: 6 fractional works · 21.7% of its workClassics: 1 fractional works · 3.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 1 fractional works · 3.4% of its workPhilosophy: 1 fractional works · 2.8% of its workArcheology: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 12 fractional works · 42.9% of its workSociology and Political Science: 8 fractional works · 26.4% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 2 fractional works · 8.3% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 2.1% of its workAnthropology: 0 fractional works · 1.7% of its workDemography: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workDevelopment: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workLaw: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workClinical Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysical Sciences: 0 fractional works · 1.7% of its workEnvironmental Science: 0 fractional works · 1.7% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 0 fractional works · 1.7% of its workHealth Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMedicine: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workALL ITS WORKLuther Seminary29fractional works, 2022-now
Physical Sciences2%Health Sciences1%Social Sciences98%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 3 domains and 5 fields, with their numbers
    1. Arts and Humanities1654.3%
    2. Social Sciences1242.9%
    3. Psychology00.6%
    1. Environmental Science01.7%
    1. Medicine00.6%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Who are the top researchers at Luther Seminary?

Ranked on the quality score, Terence E. Fretheim, Arland J. Hultgren and Roy A. Harrisville lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Luther Seminary.

  1. 1 Terence E. Fretheim United States · #623,251 worldwide 663 citations · 83 works
  2. 2 Arland J. Hultgren United States · #1,079,081 worldwide 340 citations · 56 works
  3. 3 Roy A. Harrisville United States · #1,575,263 worldwide 277 citations · 56 works
  4. 4 Craig R. Koester United States · #1,584,116 worldwide 776 citations · 100 works
  5. 5 James Limburg United States · #1,631,559 worldwide 147 citations · 40 works
  6. 6 Eric D. Barreto United States · #2,011,033 worldwide 83 citations · 45 works
  7. 7 Mark A. Throntveit United States · #2,240,337 worldwide 198 citations · 44 works
  8. 8 Richard W. Nysse United States · #2,593,258 worldwide 29 citations · 27 works
  9. 9 Paul Varo Martinson United States · #2,694,818 worldwide 127 citations · 23 works
  10. 10 Jerome M. Dittberner United States · #2,938,619 worldwide 1 citations · 15 works
All ranked researchers at Luther Seminary

What are the most cited papers from Luther Seminary?

The most cited paper from Luther Seminary is "Individual moral judgment and cultural ideologies." (Darcia F. Narvaez, Irene Getz, James R. Rest et al., 1999), with 107 citations. Next come "BEYOND PROOFTEXTING: APPROACHES TO THE QUR'ĀN IN SOME EARLY ARABIC CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES" (69) and "Ethnography on Holy Ground: How Qualitative Interviewing is Practical Theological Work" (40).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Individual moral judgment and cultural ideologies. Darcia F. Narvaez, Irene Getz, James R. Rest et al. · Developmental Psychology 1999 107
2 BEYOND PROOFTEXTING: APPROACHES TO THE QUR'ĀN IN SOME EARLY ARABIC CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES Mark N. Swanson · The Muslim World Oct 1998 69
3 Ethnography on Holy Ground: How Qualitative Interviewing is Practical Theological Work Eileen R. Campbell‐Reed, Christian Batalden Scharen · International Journal of Practical Theology 2013 40
4 Rhetorical Reversal and Usurpation: Isaiah 10:5-34 and the Use of Neo-Assyrian Royal Idiom in the Construction of an Anti-Assyrian Theology Chan · Journal of Biblical Literature 2009 36
5 The Message to Laodicea and the Problem of Its Local Context: A Study of the Imagery in Rev 3.14–22 Craig R. Koester · New Testament Studies Jul 2003 27
All 61 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Luther Seminary?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Theology, Religion, Church History, Cultural Identity, Calvinism, Reformation, African Christianity and Development.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Theology8▲ 281×2 topics
  2. Religion6▲ 47×7 topics
  3. Church History6▲ 482×2 topics
  4. Cultural Identity6▲ 41×3 topics
  5. Calvinism5▲ 815×1 topic
  6. Reformation5▲ 655×1 topic
  7. African Christianity4▲ 543×2 topics
  8. Development4▲ 35×2 topics
  9. Humanitarianism4▲ 205×2 topics
  10. Civil Society3▲ 108×2 topics
  11. Community Development3▲ 65×2 topics
  12. Faith-Based Organizations3▲ 378×1 topic
  13. Social Services3▲ 257×1 topic
  14. Global Christianity3▲ 695×1 topic
  15. Short-Term Missions3▲ 695×1 topic
  16. Biblical Monotheism2▲ 293×1 topic
  17. History2▲ 11×5 topics
  18. Jewish Society2▲ 293×1 topic
  19. Politics2▲ 24×3 topics
  20. Culture2▲ 11×3 topics
  21. Globalization2▲ 2.9×4 topics
  22. Nationalism2▲ 13×5 topics
  23. Society2▲ 30×3 topics
  24. Colonialism2▲ 11×5 topics
  25. Climate Change1▲ 1.68×3 topics
  26. Ethics1▲ 9.0×3 topics
  27. Historical Narratives1▲ 84×2 topics
  28. Human Rights1▲ 4.5×5 topics
  29. Migration1▲ 13×2 topics
  30. Vatican II1▲ 570×2 topics
  31. Biblical Interpretation1▲ 129×2 topics
  32. Conservation1▲ 9.3×2 topics
  33. Decolonization1▲ 49×3 topics
  34. Eritrea1▲ 302×1 topic
  35. Ethiopia1▲ 302×1 topic
  36. Sustainability1▲ 1.64×2 topics
  37. Spirituality1▲ 38×3 topics
  38. Christian-Jewish Relations1▲ 676×1 topic
  39. Religious Politics1▲ 676×1 topic
  40. Social Justice1▲ 5.8×2 topics

Which research topics does Luther Seminary publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Reformation and Early Modern Christianity, Religion, Society, and Development, Christian Theology and Mission and Biblical Studies and Interpretation.

Reformation and Early Mo…5Reformation and Early Modern Christianity: 5 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 3 fractional worksChristian Theology and Mission: 3 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Int…2Biblical Studies and Interpretation: 2 fractional worksAfrican history and culture analysis: 1 fractional worksReligion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity: 1 fractional worksPentecostalism and Christianity Studies: 1 fractional worksHistorical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 1 fractional worksReligion, Ecology, and Ethics: 1 fractional worksHistorical, Literary, and Cultural Studies: 1 fractional works
HistorySociology and Political ScienceReligious studiesPolitical Science and International Relations2 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 5 works
  2. 2 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  3. 3 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 3 works
  4. 4 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 2 works
  5. 5 African history and culture analysis Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  6. 6 Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  7. 7 Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies Religious studies 1 works
  8. 8 Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis History and Philosophy of Science 1 works
  9. 9 Religion, Ecology, and Ethics Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  10. 10 Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies Classics 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available11.5%not open88.5%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors26.5%domestic only73.5%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Luther Seminary's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 28% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Luther Seminary as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.000096% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%0.0060%Luther Seminary0.00020% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Luther Seminary over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

Other research institutions in Saint Paul

All research institutions in Saint Paul

Share Luther Seminary's ranking

Luther Seminary on Science Explorer

A card with Luther Seminary's standing and the fields it leads in, for a post or a slide. A link to this page previews as the same card.

Download the card

1200 × 630 PNG, sized for social posts, drawn from the latest snapshot.

Badges for a website1Each links back here and updates with every snapshot

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Luther Seminary. Keep it to the research: no personal attacks, advertising or links. Any reader can report a post, which collapses it for everyone until it is opened.