American Evangelical Lutheran Church, church established by Danish immigrants who in 1874 took the name Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and formally organized as a synod in Neenah, Wis., in 1878. A constitution was accepted in 1879, and the present name was adopted in 1954. In 1962 the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (with about 24,000 members), the United Lutheran Church in America, the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Suomi Synod merged into the Lutheran Church in America.