Some Find Path to Navajo Roots through Mormon Church
The New York Times’ Fernanda Santos reports that as Navajo Native Americans struggle with unemployment and domestic violence, many are turning to the Mormon Church for solace. While Mormonism urges Navajos to abandon some rituals, it reinforces the traditional Navajo values of charity, camaraderie, and respect for the land. “No other form of Christianity gives the native people such a unique place in their story,” says Peter J. Thuesen, chairman of the department of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.