Essay On Native American Religion

For Native Americans, religion was their way to understand and harmonize with the world around them. They used different types of rituals to maintain a morally neutral universe. However, with the encounter of European colonists, Native Americans experienced a constant struggle for religious freedom and survival. The encounter caused a major cultural and religious shock for the Native Americans as their religion could no longer provide answers as to what they were experiencing. The Native Americans acted in predominately in two different responses: to convert to European Christianity or fight preserve to their traditional religion.
During this time of religious insecurity, Christian Missionaries stepped in to convert Native Americans to follow Christianity. Specifically, these missionaries were Moravian Missionaries, who preached less of the word of God, and more of the love of Jesus
They chose to fight back in order to preserve their native religion. The Native Americans created a hidden set to beliefs to reinforce their identity as Indians and strengthen their will to survive and resist (Class Lecture 11). Some of their rituals began to intensify in response to European challenges (Class Lecture 11). For example, the Mourning War was a community ritual for the Iroquois that was meant to replenish the spiritual power in the tribe after one or some of the members were killed by an enemy tribe (Class Lecture 2). The Iroquois would kill or capture a member of the same enemy clan that killed their member in order to compensate for their loss. This ritual was performed in an effort to preserve universal harmony among spiritual forces of the Earth. After the Europeans arrival, the Mourning War ended, due to sheer murdering replaced logical rituals. The Native Americans also resorted to eating these captives to attain/ maintain spiritual power (Class Lecture