The first religious influences in Minnesota were the spiritual practices of Native American tribes, such as the Dakota and Ojibwe (Anishinaabe), whose traditional beliefs focused on nature and ancestral spirits and included Midewiwin and Wabunowin.^[5][6] In 1680, Father Louis Hennepin, a Catholic missionary from Belgium, arrived in the Lake Pepin region. At that time, the area was claimed by France. Despite the efforts of Hennepin and subsequent Protestant missionaries, the conversion of the Dakota and the Ojibwe peoples to Christianity was largely unsuccessful due to the differences between their spiritual beliefs (e.g., Wakan Tanka) and those of the Christian faith.^[7]

The first Catholic Jesuit priest to arrive at Grand Portage was Father Charles Messager in 1731. International borders between Minnesota's Arrowhead Region and Canada were clarified in the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which split the Ojibwe community in two.^[8]

By the time the Roman Catholic diocese of Saint Paul was established in 1851, Christianity was dominant in Minnesota.^[9] With the gradual increase of population, the Archbishop John Ireland, serving from 1888 to 1918, was instrumental in the church's growth, advocating for "Americanism" and the integration of Catholic children into public schools. In these early years, there was stark ethnic divisions between German and Irish Catholics which bore out in the cultural practices and politics of the state.^[10]

Protestant Christian denominations, particularly Lutheranism, took root with the arrival of Scandinavian and German immigrants. Between 1850 and 1930, over a quarter of a million Swedes immigrated to Minnesota, a portion of whom were motivated by religious freedom, escaping intolerance by the Church of Sweden.^[11] These and other Scandinavians who settled in Minnesota formed several distinct Lutheran synods as well as their own Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Mission Covenant churches.^[12] Some degree of reconciliation eventually emerged, and between 1890 and 1930 a series of mergers produced several new Lutheran churches. Many churches that had worshiped in Swedish, Norwegian, or German transitioned to English-language services in the 1920s and 1930s.^[11] These churches ultimately fed into the 1988 formation of the mainline Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).^[13] The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church of Minneapolis is one of two American churches as of 2024 still using Norwegian as the primary liturgical language.^[14]

The ecclesiastical fragmentation and the schismatic nature of Protestantism in Minnesota, however, lessened its cultural dominance. This period also saw the rise of African American Protestant churches in North Minneapolis as well as the spread of movements like the Holiness movement.^[15]

Native Americans in Minnesota faced renewed efforts to suppress their culture, including the legacy of missionary-run boarding schools.^[16] This era was also marked by spiritual movements like the Ghost Dance, which faced severe repression.^[7]

Minnesota's Protestant conservatism, particularly among Baptists, was exemplified by William Bell Riley, a Minneapolis pastor who led the fundamentalist movement and opposed Darwinian evolution and harbored anti-Semitic views. His influence nearly led to a ban on teaching evolution in public schools in 1927, but this was defeated due to concerns over religious freedom. By the mid-20th century, Riley handed over his ministry to Billy Graham, who later established his evangelistic association in Minneapolis.

Ethnic and doctrinal divisions within churches diminished throughout the 20th century in Minnesota, giving way to a broader progressive-conservative split. This divide became more pronounced with issues such as religious and racial discrimination, anti-Semitism, and gender roles in society. The debate over distinct gender roles created a schism between progressive mainline Protestant churches, conservative evangelical and Pentecostal churches, and the Catholic Church.

By the 1960s and 1970s, the religious landscape in Minnesota was also shaped by political issues such as abortion and LGBT rights. In 1968, the American Indian Movement was formed in Minneapolis by two Ojibwe leaders to reconnect Dakota and other native peoples with their language and spirituality.^[17] The founding of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, also in 1968, marked a significant political influence that disrupted traditional party alignments, including a pro-life Catholic Democrat governor and a pro-life Jewish U.S. senator in 1978.

In recent decades, Minnesota has seen growth in non-denominational Christianity as well as non-Christian religions. Immigration and refugee resettlement from Southeast Asia has led to the establishment of Buddhist and Hmong religious communities, while immigration from the Middle East and Somalia has contributed to the growth of the Muslim population. The Jewish community, with a history dating back to the late 19th century, is believed to have remained steady.^[18]

Minnesota also has a growing number of people who identify as non-religious, in line with national trends.^[19] The Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study showed that as of 2014, 20% of Minnesotans identified as unaffiliated with any religion, a category encompassing atheists, agnostics, and those who do not identify with any particular religion.^[3]

Lutherans form the largest Protestant branch in Minnesota, with 24% of residents identifying as such.^[3] Among Lutheran denominations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the largest. Divided into six synods across the state, ELCA boasted 527,257 baptized members (9.09% of the population) across 991 congregations in 2022. However, this figure marks a 60,808 drop from the year prior and a significant descent from the 805,000 members observed in 1988 (18.71%).^[22] ELCA was still gaining new Minnesota members as recently as the early 2000s, but subsequently began declining due to fewer baptisms, more deaths, and resignations. A notable decrease in 2009 was linked to the church's newly adopted policy on same-gender relationships, with many congregations leaving.^[23][24] Since 2010, deaths and resignations have vastly outnumbered baptisms in the church.^[25] The other major Lutheran churches, namely the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (5%), the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (<1%), and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (<1%), are also declining in membership and attendance.^[26][27][28] A further 1% of Minnesotans identify as Pietists. While an overwhelming majority of Lutherans in Minnesota are white, some recent immigrants from Ethiopia have established Oromo and Amhara Lutheran (P'ent'ay) churches.^[29][30]

Non-Lutheran Protestants are estimated to be 18% of the population. These include the United Methodist Church (41,466 self-reported members in 2024),^[31] Assemblies of God (109,568 self-reported members in 2023),^[32] Churches of Christ (1% of state), and Southern Baptist Convention (18,154 self-reported members across Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2024).^[33] The United Church of Christ reported 20,139 members in 2022, down from 26,270 in 2015.^[34][35]

An additional 5% of Minnesotans identify as non-denominational and 1% as Historically Black Protestant.^[3]

It is estimated that 1.2 million Minnesotans, or 22% of the state, are Catholic.^[3] The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is the largest diocese with approximately 800,000 Catholics across 186 parishes. Catholic schools educate over 50,000 students statewide.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reports 33,365 members in Minnesota.^[36] The St. Paul Minnesota Temple, located in Saint Paul, was dedicated in 1982.^[37]

There is a small Eastern Orthodox community with many of its members originating from Syria, Ukraine, and Russia.^[38][39] A proportion Minnesota's Ethiopian immigrants are Oriental Orthodox.^[40][41]

The Amish, who practice Anabaptism, have grown from 1,420 in 2000 to 4,740 in 2020.^[43]

Minnesota's first Jewish community formed in St. Paul in the mid-19th century. The Mt. Zion Hebrew Association was established in 1856, which received its charter from the territorial government in 1857 and established Minnesota's first Jewish cemetery.^[80] From 1880 to 1930, a wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants arrived, who settled primarily in the "West Side" of St. Paul.^[80] Eastern European Jews began arriving in large numbers in 1882. By 1936, the Jewish population in Minneapolis was estimated to be 16,260, or about 3.5 percent of the city's total.^[81] At this time, nearly 70 percent of Minneapolis's Jewish residents, or 11,018 individuals, lived in what is now known as the Near North area.^[81] Antisemitism peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, notably during the 1938 gubernatorial election. However, the situation improved significantly in 1945 with the reforms introduced by Mayor Hubert Humphrey in Minneapolis. These reforms led to increased political activism among Jews, resulting in the election of several Jewish mayors and senators, despite Jews making up less than 1% of the state's population.

In 2019, a Brandeis University community study of the nine-county Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area estimated that there were 34,500 Jewish households (5% of all households), home to 88,400 people, of whom 64,800 are Jewish.^[82] Among Jewish adults in the Twin Cities who affiliate with a denomination, the largest share affiliate with the Reform movement (30%), followed by the Conservative movement (18%). A significant portion of Jewish adults in the Twin Cities, 47%, do not identify with a specific denomination and indicate they are secular, "just Jewish," or have no specific denomination. 31% of Twin Cities Jewish households belong to a synagogue or another Jewish worship community. However, 63% of Jewish adults attended services at least once in the past year, and 41% attended a service or program at a synagogue.^[82]

The Jewish Virtual Library estimated the Jewish population in all of Minnesota was about 65,900 (1% of all adults) in 2019, and Pew reported that Judaism is practiced by between 0.5% and 1%.^[83]

The University of Minnesota has a Center for Jewish Studies and a Hillel chapter.^[84][85] Notable Jews hailing from Minnesota include musician Bob Dylan, Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey, and U.S. senators Al Franken, Norm Coleman, and Paul Wellstone.^[86][87]

Minnesota has about 50,000 Hindu residents, mainly in the Twin Cities.^[88] This includes Indians, Bengalis, Nepalis and Bhutanese (Lhotshampa), among other groups.^{[89][90][91][92]} The Hindu Society of Minnesota built North America's largest Hindu temple, the Hindu Temple of Minnesota, in 2006.^[93][94] This was later surpassed by the Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Jersey.^[95]

Minnesota also has about 10,000 Cambodians, mostly Theravada Buddhists from the Khmer ethnic group. Most live in the Twin Cities and fled Democratic Kampuchea during the 1970s.^[97] The U.S. accepted Cambodian refugees from 1979, following the overthrow of Pol Pot.^[98] A proportion of the state's 20,000 Karen refugees from then Socialist Burma (Myanmar) are also Buddhist, with influences of animism.^[99] In 2019, a Buddhist monastery was inaugurated in Chisago City modeled after the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar.^[100] Finally, Tibetan Buddhism is practiced by about 3,000 first and second-generation immigrants from the Tibet region.^[101][102]

The Sikh Society of Minnesota, established in the 1980s, serves a community of 400-500 families.^[103]

Jainism in Minnesota began in the 1960s and 1970s, including the first organized Samvatsari Pratikramman in 1974. The Jain Center of Minnesota was established in 1989. In 2007, a new Jain Mini Temple within the Hindu Society of Minnesota was inaugurated.^[104] The Jain Center estimates a membership of around 100 families.

As of recent estimates, there are about 2,000 Bahá'ís in Minnesota, with 17 Local Spiritual Assemblies. The most significant activity centers are in Eagan, Duluth, St. Paul, and Minneapolis, with Minneapolis itself home to around 200 official Bahá'í members.

The Minneapolis Bahá'í community traces its origins to 1903 with the conversion of Albert Hall (who later served as chairman of the Baháʼí House of Worship in Chicago) and Dr. Homer Harper. Abdu'l-Bahá visited Minneapolis in 1912, when the local Bahá'í population was just five individuals. By 1919, this number grew to 42. In 1938, under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, the first Local Spiritual Assembly was established in Minneapolis. By 1979, the Bahá'í population in Minneapolis reached about 80.^[105]

The Bahá'í Center in Minneapolis, located in the Central neighborhood, is a block away from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020.^[106][107]

Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell.^[108] The Temple of Eck, which was built in 1990 and serves as the religion's global headquarters, is located in Chanhassen.^{[109][110][111]} ECKists, followers of Eckankar, believe in the direct personal experience of the Divine through the Light and Sound of God.^[112][113]

The Asatru Folk Assembly, a neopagan group, operates a hof in Murdock, Minnesota.^[114]

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA (license statement/permission). Text taken from Tradition, Schism, and Continuity in Minnesota's Communities of Faith​, Doug Rossinow, MNopedia.

• "The allure of spiritual life draws more Minnesotans to Islam". MPR News. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
• Ibrahim, Mukhtar M.; Xaykaothao, Doualy (January 27, 2016). "Listen: What it's like to be Muslim in Minnesota". MPR News. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
• Patel, Vimal (January 8, 2023). "A Hamline Adjunct Showed a Painting of the Prophet Muhammad. She Lost Her Job". The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

• "Collection: Jews in Northern Minnesota collection". University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.

• Albright, Susan (July 29, 2013). "Seeking to dispel preconceived notions about our (non)beliefs". MinnPost. Retrieved December 26, 2023.