Soli Deo gloria is one of the five solas

Five solas

The Five solas are five Latin phrases that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers' basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone" or "only" in English...

 propounded to summarise the Reformers' basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

; it is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 term for Glory to God alone.
The doctrine states essentially that everything that is done is for God's glory to the exclusion of humankind's self-glorification and pride. Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God's glory and not their own.

Protestant-Catholic relations

The emphasis was allegedly in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 of the day. An opposing view in Catholic ecclesiology

Ecclesiology

Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...

 is that the Church is Mystici Corporis Christi

Mystici Corporis Christi

Mystici Corporis Christi is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII during World War II, on the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. It is one of the more important encyclicals of Pope Pius XII, because of its topic, the Church, and because its Church concept was fully included in Lumen...

, the mystical body of Christ, therefore to honour the Church is to honour Jesus himself.

Connection to J. S. Bach

The Baroque

Baroque music

Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

 composer Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

 appended the initials "SDG" to the musical manuscripts of each of his cantatas http://www.monteverdi.co.uk/about_us/sdg.cfm and many of his other works. This dedication was also used by his contemporary George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

 (see image on right).

The 16th century Spanish mystic

Spanish mystics

The Spanish Mystics are major figures in the Catholic Reformation of 16th and 17th century Spain. The goal of this movement was to reform the Church structurally and to renew it spiritually...

 and poet St. John of the Cross used a similar phrase, Soli Deo honor et gloria, in his Precautions and Counsels.

In the United States

Soli Deo gloria is the motto of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory

Brotherhood of Saint Gregory

The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is a community of friars within the Anglican communion. Its members, known as Gregorians, include clergy and laymen....

, a Christian Community of friars of the Episcopal Church founded within the Anglican communion

Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...

 in 1969. Soli Deo Gloria is also the motto for Wheaton Academy, a high school located in West Chicago, Illinois, which was founded in 1853, and Concordia College

Concordia College, Moorhead

Concordia College is a private liberal arts school located in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and offers bachelors' degrees in the arts and music, as well as a master's degree in education. The college was founded by Norwegian...

.http://www.cord.edu
Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of Luther College

Luther College (Iowa)

Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

 and Dordt College

Dordt College

Dordt College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. The college name is a reference to the Synod of Dort....

.
Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of the Chapel Choir at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of the American Guild of Organists

American Guild of Organists

The American Guild of Organists, or AGO, is a national organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the U.S., headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City. It was founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization...

. It is also the motto of Christ Presbyterian Academy

Christ Presbyterian Academy

Christ Presbyterian Academy is a parochial, coeducational, college preparatory school for students in grades K-12 in Nashville, Tennessee. CPA is affiliated with Christ Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of America.- History :CPA was founded in 1985 as a K-6 school and...

 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Elsewhere

Soli Deo Gloria is also found on the face of the South African one rand coin.

The alternative saying Soli Deo Honor Et Gloria is the motto of the Huddleston family, a family of personal soldiers for Mary I of England

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

 (19 July 1553 – 17 November 1558) during her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism.

As related to Solus Christus

Some believe this sola is redundant vis-a-vis Solus Christus

Solus Christus

Solus Christus , sometimes referred to in the ablative case as Solo Christo , is one of the five solas that summarise the Protestant Reformers' basic belief that salvation is through Christ alone and that Christ is the only mediator between God and man, see also New Covenant.-Protestant-Catholic...

, since the divine nature of Jesus has been a fundamental tenet of Christianity since before the time of the Apostolic Fathers

Apostolic Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers are a small number of Early Christian authors who lived and wrote in the second half of the first century and the first half of the second century. They are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, although their writings were not included in the New Testament...

 and the Council of Nicea

First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...

.

In popular culture

The gothic

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

/futurepop band Apoptygma Berzerk

Apoptygma Berzerk

Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as "futurepop". Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia...

 released an album in 1993 with the title Soli Deo Gloria

Soli Deo Gloria (album)

-Bonus tracks:...

.

The Internet celebrity Christine Gambito of HappySlip fame uses SDG for her G+ tagline

Anah Aevia, a band from Lansing, Michigan released a song on their 'Statistical and Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, 7th Edition' album entitled "Soli Deo Gloria". They are a metal band whose lyrics are rooted deeply in Christianity.

External links

• Articles on the five solas from a conservative
  Conservative Christianity
  Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
  
  Protestant perspective