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Religion in Greenland

Madison Fowler

MLFTC, Arizona State University

GCU 114: World Social Studies

Diane Godfrey

October 19, 2022

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Religion in Greenland

Religion often plays a critical role in the development of nations and the definition of

their culture. Greenland is no exception to this standard. There are a few different practices that

currently account for Greenlandic religion. However, the two most prominent are indigenous

Inuit spirituality, as well as the Christian Lutheran beliefs brought forth by Danish influence.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that Greenland’s indigenous population

has a religion all their own. In fact, the inuit spiritual beliefs can be likened to that of other

countries. Most Greenlandic indigenous beliefs often focus around a powerful sea goddess,

whom they began appeasing through worship and offerings for successful hunts of whales and

seals (Sawe 2019). These myths and legends tying into Inuit spirituality, which is still practiced

by some small but dedicated groups today, commonly revolve around the conception of nature,

particularly when it comes to sea life. This is comparable to Greek mythology, who have

separate deities to provide explanations for the way life is. Furthermore, some groups of Inuit

people of Greenland (and Alaska) still practice ceremonial tattooing in a woman's life to express

certain momentous occasions she has experienced (Identifying marks: Tattoos and Expression).

This is similar to the practice of face painting in indigenous American cultures. However, these

groups are still vastly outnumbered by those who practice Christianity.

Modern-day Greenland, however, is predominantly made up of Christian beliefs brought

from Denmark. When the Danish colonized the island, they were the ones that introduced many

of the religious beliefs that Greenlandic society has formed over the last few centuries. The

Danes held Christianity in high regard, as most European nations did. As such, religion has

become a part of the people's everyday life. Churches can be found in almost every town and city

across Greenland and most of the population attends adamantly.

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The most prominent is Protestant beliefs that are tied closely to the Church of Denmark.

Roman Catholics are the other branch of Christians, though the numbers are much smaller and

all the members can be found in one parish of the Capital, Nuuk. The Lutheran Church is one of

the few semi-independent churches away from Denmark, but like the Catholics, their numbers

are much smaller than the overwhelming protestant population. Christianity was first introduced

to Greenland's native people, the Inuit, around 1000 AD by Norse Settlers but was further made

an official religion in the then colony by the Danish in the 18th century.

The Christian religions are tied either semi-independent or fully dependent on the Danish

church, which is controlled by the ruling monarchs of the country. Interestingly enough, the

Danes did tend to allow the colony at that time more freedoms than most other empires typically

do. This is exemplified by the Danes allowing them to still retain their native cultures and beliefs

and a level of independence within their activities, economy, and society (United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees n.d). Despite this, the Danes still actively sought to convert as many

of the indigenous people to beliefs of Christianity as possible during the earlier years of

colonization.

Unlike many other religions, there are not very many places that are deemed sacred in the

Lutheran religion. In fact, the closest probable case of one being the Wartburg Castle that Martin

Luther hid away in after his ex-communication and condemnation as a criminal (Patheos n.d).

However, because of this there is no evidence of truly sacred Lutheran locations within

Greenland beyond places of worship, such as Lutheran churches. There also seems to be no

documented evidence of any locations of temples or that the Inuit held sacred to their people or

religion, their beliefs mainly focused on animism and spiritualism rather than a location for the

people to worship or travel to for any significance.

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Ultimately, Greenland society benefited from Danish colonization and rule as they were

urbanized and grew a larger economy to support their people, freedom to have their religion, as

well as be introduced to new religions that easily took footing in the country. The country may

not have the most diverse group of religions, but the Inuit religions are still celebrated and

practiced around the country instead of being forced down by the ruling country. Religion was

just one of the many things given to Greenland by the Danish government that helped expand

their society and diversify their beliefs. The chapels and churches that erupted through the cities

and towns just give a visual representation of a growing and successful country with a rich and

complex history.
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References

Identifying marks: Tattoos and expression. Anchorage Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3,

2022, from

https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits/identifying-marks-tattoos-and-expression/#:

~:text=Inuit%20tattoos%20throughout%20the%20Circumpolar

Patheos. (n.d.). Sacred Space. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from

https://www.patheos.com/library/lutheran/ritual-worship-devotion-symbolism/sacred-spa

ce

Sawe, B. E. (2019, May 7). Religious beliefs in Greenland. WorldAtlas. Retrieved November 3,

2022, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-greenland.html

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (n.d.). World directory of minorities and

Indigenous Peoples - Denmark : Inuit (Greenlanders). Refworld. Retrieved November 3,

2022, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d307.html