There are some difficulties in writing about Native American religion or spirituality because of the variations that exist among the various Native American clans and tribes. In addition to the issue of these variations, the role of the oral traditions in Native American communities make it difficult to say with precision when exactly their religion or religions began. In this brief essay, I will write a summary of Native American spirituality relative to history and beliefs, and then leave it up to you the reader to evaluate it from a Christian standpoint.
1. Native American religion is pre-Christian and pre-Columbian. The people that we refer to as Native American or "Indian" lived in this land thousands of years before the Christian religion was initiated by Jesus and his immediate followers. It has existed in various forms, i.e, animistic (the idea that all objects have a life force in them), monotheistic (the belief that there is only one God), and polytheistic (the idea that there are many Gods or that there are many manifestations of the one God).
There are appears to be a general belief in the "Great Spirit" who is the creator of everything, including human beings.
When Columbus invaded (not "discovered") the Americas, the indigenous people of the land had their own religious practices. The Europeans and Euro-Americans made every effort to suppress and obliterate Native American spirituality and religious practices. There was some resistance on the part of the indigenous people, and others eventually syncretized their beliefs with colonial Christianity. Some of them took the attitude of "if you can't beat them, join them," albeit, by retaining elements of their original belief systems.
2. Native American spirituality does not make a dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual. There is little, if any, evidence of differentiation between the natural and the supernatural. In Native American spirituality, they are intertwined.
3. Native American religion emphasizes the sacredness of the earth and the environment, including the waters. This emphasis is based on the belief that anything created by God is sacred, and therefore to be cared for and duly administered (theological ecology and stewardship).
4. Native American religion emphasizes the brotherhood/sisterhood of all humans. Very rarely do we find in Native American spirituality the distinction of people on the basis of social class. There is a strong emphasis on equality while at the same time defining the specific social functions and roles of each individual within the family, clan, or tribe.
5. The economic outlook of Native American spirituality is more of a "socialistic" one, i.e. the notion of communal or social ownership of the means of production and survival. There is very little, if any, any indication of "obtain what you can regardless of what or at whose expense."
6. While there are leaders in Native American religious practice, one does not find the highly structured order that we find in other faith groups. The notion of leadership is simplified, and therefore, the "politics of religion" are modified.
7. One would be hard-pressed to encounter an elaborate and sophisticated doctrinal or theological system. Native Americans are more oriented towards orthopraxis (correct living and practice) than they are towards orthodoxy (correct belief and doctrine). Survival in the midst of natural calamities and economic reality does not provide the luxury of engaging in extensive theological debates.
I end by once again referring to questions that I have posed before. You as a Christian are invited to consider the following questions and answer them for yourself, and at the same time, share your perspectives with us for dialogue. The questions are the following:
1. Do you see any similarities between Christianity and Native American beliefs and practices? If so, do you think that we as Christians can affirm and embrace these similar beliefs and practices?
2. Since Native American religion is pre-Christian, is there any possibility that Christianity itself may have borrowed some of its beliefs and practices from the indigenous people of the Americas and elsewhere?
3. Is it possible that Native American spirituality, more so than the spirituality of Western Christianity, is more in sync with biblical spirituality?
4. Is Jesus in some way that we cannot fully understand present in Native American beliefs, practices, and spirituality?
Feel free to give you comments on this essay and your response to the questions that I have posed.
Your contributions are important and welcome.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Juan A. Ayala-Carmona
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