Arctic religions

The religions of the far northern regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. The term Arctic religions usually refers to the traditional religions of Arctic peoples. Today, most of them practice CHRISTIANITY. For example, the Inuit (formerly called Eskimo) of North America mainly practice ROMAN CATHOLICISM and ANGLICANISM. The Saami (formerly called Lapps) in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia practice LUTHERANISM and EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY. The former Soviet Union tried to make the peoples in its far northern territories, such as the Samoyed, into atheists (see ATHEISM). They had only limited success. As the names just mentioned indicate, the Arctic is a large region. As one would expect, the traditional religious practices of the Saami in far northern Europe differed from those of the Inuit in Alaska, as well as from other peoples who lived closer to them. But Arctic religions show some striking similarities, too. In the Arctic it is not possible to grow plants. The people who live there have to get their food from animals or import it. Traditionally, they have hunted and fi shed. In Europe and Asia they have also kept herds of animals, such as reindeer among the Saami. (Recently Inuit in northern Canada have also experimented with herding caribou.) Much of the religious life of Arctic people focused on the animals. They believed that animals, like people, had souls. Hunters performed rituals addressed to the souls of the slain animals. Some scholars think that they were giving the souls of the animals gifts so that they would be happy and return again. Especially important for most Arctic peoples were rituals for slain bears. They treated the bear as an honored guest and carefully disposed of its bones. The Inuit in Alaska treated whales in a similar way. Arctic peoples believed that there were many spirits in nature, not just the souls of animals and people. Some spirits connected with features of the landscape, such as mountains and lakes. Arctic peoples often believed that special spirits controlled animal life. Each species had its own protector; in addition, a special protector, whom modern scholars sometimes call the Master or Mistress of Animals, had charge of many animal species. A good example of such a protector is Sedna, whom the Inuit thought of as the mistress of sea animals. Many Arctic peoples also assigned a special role, such as the role of creator, to the Sun, the Moon, or both. People everywhere in the region had the same kind of religious leader, the shaman (see SHAMANISM). Some shamans inherited their positions; others received them as a result of special experiences that they had. Shamans were healers. They often healed by traveling to the realm of spirits, as the Arctic peoples thought, trying to bring back the soul that had left the sick person. In addition to healing, shamans performed hunting and fi shing rituals, helped people fi nd objects that they had lost, and performed funerals. They had relationships with special animals, such as birds or fi sh, who helped them do these things. It is hard to know to what extent any of these practices continue today. Many seem to have disappeared completely, but occasionally researchers fi nd that some people continue a practice that was thought to have vanished. In the territories of the former Soviet Union, people preserved some traditional religious practices as a way to resist unwanted pressure from outsiders. Still, religious people in the Arctic today often have other concerns besides preserving traditional religious practices. For example, many are working hard to combat various social ills found in the far north, such as alcoholism, sexual abuse, and suicide.