| Summary: | Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2009 Religious conversion is often highly unstable, can be nominal in nature, and may not have lasting effects on converted people and their culture. For the Sugpiaq of Nanwalek, however, Russian Orthodoxy has become "native" (and Native) in the sense that it has been incorporated into everyday Sugpiaq reality, and referred to as such by all in the community. Therefore, examining the unique history and practice of Orthodoxy in Nanwalek provides insight into the process of integration of a foreign religious idea into a new cultural environment. The focus of this dissertation is on contemporary Sugpiaq Russian Orthodoxy, as it is formulated in culture-specific analogies and conceptualized through the process of religious synthesis. In Sugpiaq Russian Orthodoxy, Russian traditions and Russian Orthodoxy are mediated through a Sugpiaq cultural logic to create and re-create a culturally specific religious identity. To better understand the process of internalization, this dissertation explores the interplay between Orthodox and traditional Sugpiaq understandings of power, hierarchy, social status, and authority. By doing so, it offers insight into how people interpret certain aspects of their religion according to their own ontological reality, in order to integrate foreign religious ideas into the local cultural context. Based on Sugpiaq Russian Orthodoxy, I propose a new term, conceptual analogy, which can be used to explore people's thought processes in assigning cultural significance to religious meaning, as well as through cultural dynamics that govern the selection and maintenance of religious affiliations. Although conceptual analogy is not restricted to one particular religious or cultural tradition the analogy that is conceptualized is always culture-specific. Therefore, conceptual analogies can be found in all situations where an ongoing conversation develops through syncretism, which is an inherent aspect of religion, as cultural internalization and ...
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