Who are Greenland's Christians?

It’s the largest island in the world (excluding Australia) – yet a country with one of the smallest populations. It’s also a land which is nominally 96.6% Christian – but where the Evangelical witness is small. As Greenland unexpectedly hits the news in 2026 with President Trump vowing to “get” the nation one way or another, en looks into the spiritual landscape of this beautiful land.

Christianity has had a presence in Greenland since the 1000s, when Norse settlers first brought it to the territory. It has since become a noteworthy part of its culture, predominantly in the form of Lutheranism.

Paneeraq Siegstad Munk, the current Bishop of Greenland, told en that 94% of Greenland’s citizens are members of the Lutheran church, with membership remaining stable. She said: “The Church of Greenland is the public church in Greenland. It is one of the 11 dioceses of the Danish church but falls under Greenland home rule, both in terms of legislation and financing.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Greenland is generally considered theologically liberal, reflecting its close ties to the equivalent denomination in Denmark. However, in a series of articles, religious historian Dr Rebecca Jane Morgan has detailed how Greenland’s Evangelical movement grew during the latter 20th century, primarily through Pentecostalism and, to a lesser degree, Baptist churches.

American missionary Chris Shull, who heads one of Greenland’s only Baptist churches, is perhaps the island’s most prominent Evangelical presence. He arrived in 2007 and is based in the western city of Illulissat, which hosts less than 5,000 people.

The man from Maryland, who describes his base as “the coolest place on earth”, has spoken about how his family’s evangelistic efforts appeal mostly to poorer people, with most funding coming from US partner churches.

Their work has borne fruit, with Shull revealing in interviews that the church operates from its own building and runs various initiatives including Sunday services, youth work, boat and prison ministries.

Shull said: “The big thing is getting to know people and care about them. All the people who’ve come to church, we’ve already spent many hours with them. I probably know half the town.”

Shull revealed that alcoholism and broken families are among the most common problems they encounter, while the island’s suicide rates are among the world’s highest. One of their biggest challenges is trying to dissuade people from culturally intrenched Lutheranism, which he describes as a “dead religion”.

However, Shull is not deterred by such challenges; he has spoken of how he was told that he had arrived in “the devil’s town” when he first arrived in Greenland. However, he simply responded, saying: “Well, this is the town for us.”