Roman Catholics in Alaska - Research Paper Example

Roman Catholics in Alaska While Alaska contains some tribal and specifically regional religions, similar to the lower forty-eight s they are very influenced by Christianity. Virtually all religions that exist in America are also in Alaska. For instances, it’s noted that Anchorage itself has close to two-hundred churches and temples. There has been a long-history of religion in Alaska. The 18th century saw a large influx of Russian Orthodox versions of Christianity, particularly within the Aleut tribe.

In terms of regional affiliations, Orthodox congregations are still active on the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak, southeastern Alaska, and also contiguous to the Yukon River. Today, Russian Orthodox Christianity claims over 20,000 followers and over 46 congregations. In addition to Russian Orthodox, general Roman Catholicism represents over 50,000 individuals, with over sixty-eight congregations (‘Alaska Religions’). Remaining within the Christian understanding of religions, other major groups include the Latter-Day Saints, the Assembly of God, and the Episcopalians.

While Christianity represents the dominant religion, just like the lower forty-eight states, the other monotheistic religions are prevalent throughout the state. In these regards, both Judaism and Islam have a minority contingent of followers. In terms of specific regional religions, the Thlingets have been demonstrated to exhibit particular spiritual elements specific to the state. In considering the Thlingets, it’s been noted that, “men naturally grope after the Supreme Being, ‘if haply they may find Him.

’ The Thlingets of Alaska are no exception to the rule” and in speaking about Alaskan natives, “religion has been and is yet a great factor in their lives” (Jones, pg. 231). In these regards, it’s indicated that in terms of regional religions, there are high amounts of importance placed on spiritual concerns of creation and existence; further it’s noted that these are not simply passing interests, but full scale religious passions. In the early days of these regional religions there were no ceremonies or temples that resembled traditional European Christian religious organization, yet the importance of spirituality and the question of a Supreme Being was a thematic element within their daily belief structure.

While later Russian missionaries would come and deliver at great deal of structure to these beliefs in the form of Russian Orthodox beliefs, it’s still argued that these early beliefs constituted a religion. Other theorists contend that rather than constituting a religious order, these pre-Orthodox belief patterns represented more Shamanism than genuine religious belief structures. From this perspective, it’s argued that rather than constituting a religious belief, the spirituality of pre-Orthodox Alaska was only a belief in spirits.

While the spirits functioned as a response to questions of meaning and existence, in the end they were only a form of heathen Shamanism. It seems that a great part of these criticism are rooted in an ethnocentric European perspective. Today, many of the pre-Orthodox religious persists in regions throughout the state. While it would be exhaustive to articulate their various elements, they all stand in contrast to the structures of Christian religion. Alongside these traditional regional religions, exist the monotheistic religions that were popularized there in the 18th century.

References Jones, Livingston French (2010). A study of the Thlingets of Alaska?.  New York: General LLC.