NUUK, Greenland (AP) 鈥� Most are proudly Inuit, having survived and thrived in one of most remote and .
And they鈥檙e Lutheran.
About 90% of the 57,000 Greenlanders identify as Inuit and the vast majority of them belong to the Lutheran Church today, more than 300 years after a Danish missionary brought that branch of Christianity to the world鈥檚 largest island.
For many, their devotion to ritual and tradition is as much a part of what it means to be a Greenlander as is their fierce deference to the homeland. The one so despite his .
Greenland is huge 鈥� about three times the size of Texas; most of it covered in ice. Still, its 17 parishes are located across many settlements in the icy land and people endure the frigid Arctic climate to fill up church pews on Sundays.
Some even tune in to radio-transmitted services on their phones on a break from fishing and hunting for seals,鈥痺hales鈥痑nd polar bears, as their ancestors have done for generations.
That rugged yet vulnerable lifestyle helps fuel people鈥檚 devotion, said Bishop Paneeraq Siegstad Munk, leader of Greenland鈥檚 Evangelical Lutheran Church.
鈥淚f you see outside, nature is enormous, huge, and man is so little,鈥� she told The Associated Press after a recent Sunday service in the capital city, Nuuk, where slippery ice covered the city鈥檚 streets.
鈥淵ou know you won鈥檛 be able to survive by yourself,鈥� she said.
That is, unless 鈥測ou have faith,鈥� she added. 鈥淕od is not only in the building of the church but everywhere where he has created.鈥�
Religiosity levels vary in Greenland as it does elsewhere. Sometimes being a member of the Lutheran Church here doesn鈥檛 mean one believes fully 鈥� or at all 鈥� in the church's teachings, or even the presence of God.
Recently, Salik Schmidt, 35, and Malu Schmidt, 33, celebrated their wedding with family members, who joyously threw rice on them to wish them good fortune outside the red-painted wooden Church of Our Savior. Built in 1849, it is known as the Nuuk Cathedral.
Malu is spiritual but not religious; Salik is an atheist. Both said they鈥檒l proudly belong to the Lutheran Church for life.
鈥淭raditions are important to me because they pass on from my grandparents to my parents, and it鈥檚 been my way of honoring them,鈥� Malu said later in their home while her sister babysat their daughter.
It also provides a sense of safety and permanence among change, Salik said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that is always there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t brings joy to us.鈥�
There are two Lutheran churches in Nuuk.
The Hans Egede Church is named for the Danish-Norwegian missionary who came to Greenland in 1721 with the aim of spreading Christianity, and who founded the capital city seven years later.
A short distance away stands the cathedral, and next to it, a statue of Egede remains on a hill in the Old District. In recent years, the statue was vandalized, doused with red paint and marked with the word 鈥渄ecolonize.鈥�
Egede鈥檚 legacy is divisive. Some credit him for helping educate the local population and spreading Lutheranism, which continues to unite many Greenlanders under rituals and tradition.
鈥淭he positive side is that the church made people literate in less than a hundred years after the mission started,鈥� said Flemming Nielsen, head of the University of Greenland's theology department.
鈥淲hen you can read, you use your skill for anything,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a rich Greenlandic literature starting at the middle of the 19th century. 鈥� It was the missionaries who invented a written language. And that is an important legacy.鈥�
But for some, Egede symbolizes the arrival of colonialism and the suppression of rich Inuit traditions and culture by Lutheran missionaries and Denmark's rule.
鈥淗is statue should be taken down," wrote Juno Berthelsen, a co-founder of the Greenlandic organization Nalik, in 2020.
鈥淭he reason is simple,鈥� said Berthelsen, who is a candidate in next week's parliamentary election for the Naleraq party. 鈥淭hese statues symbolize colonial violence and stand as an insult and an institutionalized daily slap-in-the face of people who have suffered and still suffer from the consequences of colonial violence and legacies.鈥�
Greenland is now a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and Greenlanders are increasingly in favor of getting full independence 鈥� a crucial issue in the election on March 11.
Some say Greenland鈥檚 independence movement has received a boost after by threatening to take it over.
At a time of uncertainty, 鈥渋t's important for us to have faith,鈥� said the Rev. John Johansen after a service at the Hans Egede Church, where an American couple visiting Greenland attended wearing pins that read: "I didn't vote for him."
Greenlanders "always have faith, no matter what," Johansen said. "Of course they worry about Trump because they can lose their independence, their freedom. They don't want to be American; they don't want to be Danes. They only wish for their own independence."
The separated from Denmark鈥檚 Evangelical Lutheran Church in 2009 and is funded by Greenland's government. Although the Lutheran Church comes from Denmark, the leader of the church in Greenland is proud that it remains uniquely Greenlandic.
鈥淚t was translated often from Danish rituals, but since the beginning we have always used our language and it goes directly to our heart,鈥� Siegstad Munk said. 鈥淲hen I see other Indigenous people, most go to their church in the state鈥檚 language. But here in Greenland, everything goes from Greenlandic. It鈥檚 good for us to have our own religious language.鈥�
In recent years, young people have increasingly demanded the revival of pre-Christian shamanistic traditions like drum dancing; some have been getting Inuit tattoos to proudly reclaim their ancestral roots. For some, it鈥檚 a way to publicly and permanently reject the legacy of Danish colonialism and European influence.
Still, the Lutheran Church, Nielsen said, remains for many an important part of the national identity.
鈥淧eople wear the national costumes when children are present or at funerals and weddings and the religious holidays,鈥� he said.
Greenland鈥痺as a colony under Denmark鈥檚 crown until 1953, when it became a province in the Scandinavian country. In 1979, the island was granted home rule, and 30 years later Greenland became a self-governing entity. But Denmark retains control over foreign and defense affairs.
Until 1953, no other denominations were allowed to register and work in Greenland other than the Lutheran Church, said Gimmi Olsen, an assistant professor in the theology department at the University of Greenland.
Since then, Pentecostal and Catholic churches 鈥� mostly serving immigrants from the Philippines 鈥� have settled in Greenland. Other Christians include Baptists and Jehovah鈥檚 Witnesses.
As in other parts of the world, younger people tend to go to church less, and more are joining the ranks of the religiously unaffiliated 鈥� even when, at least on paper, they remain part of the Greenlandic Lutheran Church.
鈥淧eople are not always 鈥榖elonging鈥� to the church, in the sense, that they do not go there every Sunday,鈥� said Olsen.
鈥淔or the vast majority of the Greenlandic Society, being a member of the Lutheran Folk-Church is the normal," he said, even if it is normal to only go to church a few times a year, for baptisms, weddings, funerals, or on Christmas and Easter.
That kind of solemnity and joy coexist through ritual and tradition. On the same day, even in the same service, there can be contrasting emotions.
In Nuuk, a pastor dressed in black robes and white ruff collar faces the altar with the rest of the congregation to somberly speak to God. In nearly full wooden pews, congregants follow the service in silence.
But then, the quiet, prayerful service goes from what seems like a black-and-white silent film to a technicolor talkie. Pastor and congregants will sing hymns and beam with a smile and cheer on the couple about to get married, or the baby about to be christened. The men are in white anoraks and women in the traditional national dress of shawls stitched with colorful beads and boots made of sealskin reserved for formal occasions.
鈥淚鈥檓 not worried about the church,鈥� said the Rev. Aviaja Rohmann Hansen, a pastor of the Hans Egede Church.
鈥淚f we saw few people like in Denmark, I鈥檇 be worried. But we have people at the church every Sunday. We have a lot of baptisms, we have a lot of confirmations, we have a lot of marriages. So, I鈥檓 not worried about the church. I hope this will continue because it makes Greenlanders come together.鈥�
On a recent day, she baptized Marie Louise Nissen鈥檚 grandson at the Nuuk Cathedral.
鈥淏aptism is important,鈥� Nissen said, smiling as she was briefly interrupted when one of her young family members had to be rescued from slippery ice outside the church.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to us to invite the kids into the Christian faith,鈥� she said. "This is a good day to celebrate and give a name 鈥� that鈥檚 what is important to us.鈥�
Her daughter, Malou Nissen, then chimed in: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 more a tradition thing for me. It鈥檚 a day you鈥檒l remember forever.鈥� When asked what the Lutheran Church means to her, she said: 鈥淓verybody is welcome. It鈥檚 a place for tears and for happiness.鈥�
Her mother agreed: 鈥淭oday is a celebration; maybe next month it鈥檚 a funeral, and it鈥檚 the same place we go 鈥� it鈥檚 the same place to make memories.鈥�
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Associated Press journalist Emilio Morenatti contributed to this report.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Luis Andres Henao, The Associated Press
