ABSTRACT
Because of the immense variety of indigenous peoples (estimated to consist of as many as 5000 communities worldwide, more than 5% of the world’s population),1 this chapter cannot hope to cover the subject in a systematic or culture-by-culture way. Our discussion is impressionistic and largely nonhistorical, drawing from crosscultural observations to illustrate certain great themes and motifs. Not all of these are shared by all such cultures, of course, but they provide insight into a worldview that shares much across the religions of indigenous peoples. As you read this chapter, also keep in mind that today indigenous peoples’ religion has frequently been challenged by disruptive modernizing and missionary influences from outside. In some places, though traditional feeling about sacred places, shamanic vision, and life-cycle celebrations remain, their expression may be mixed in with features of modern life, such as urbanization, and with nominal or integrated acceptance of another religion religions, such as Christianity or Buddhism.
