But traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs remain strong in many of Greenland's remote communities.
Lutheranism, mostly represented by the Church of Denmark, is the predominant religious category within Christianity, followed by small communities of Baptists, Mormons, Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, Presbyterians, Calvinists, Evangelists, and Orthodox Christians.
It is not certain what happened to the Norse but they eventually disappeared, likely because of an increasingly harsh climate, decline in trade with mainland Europe, and possibly conflicts with native tribes.
When Norway and Denmark separated in 1814, Greenland remained Danish, though with a certain degree of autonomy necessitated by its remoteness.
The Church of Greenland, in common with other institutions within the territory, is governed from Denmark, but with a large measure of autonomy.
In common with other evangelical episcopal Lutheran churches, the Church of Greenland recognises the historic three-fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons; it acknowledges the two dominical sacraments of baptism and the eucharist; it provides liturgies for other rites including confirmation, marriage, ordination, confession, and burial; its faith is based on scripture, the ancient creeds of the Church, and the Augsburg Confession.
Catholic priests have been visiting Greenland since 1930, after the Bishop of Copenhagen, Benedictine monk Theodore Suhr, received permission from the Vatican to ask the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to missionize there.
Denmark has requested UNESCO to acknowledge the ruins of the episcopal residence at Garðar as part of a World Heritage Site.
It is said that the Inuit population is descended from Siberians who crossed from Asia to North America on that island.
[6][7][8] There currently is one Jewish man named Paul Cohen who has been living in the city of Narsaq, who works as a translator.