Religion

Followers of many different faiths can find fellowship in the Black Hills. The vast majority of residents, like South Dakotans in general – 78 percent – identify themselves as Christians according to a 2008 national survey. Some of the more common denominations and even individual churches can trace their roots back to the region’s earliest white settlers. Preacher Henry Weston Smith is said to have brought Christianity to the Black Hills, holding the area’s first church service in Custer in May 1876. Smith continued on to Deadwood where he preached to miners and helped establish the Methodist Church before he was killed that August.

Today more than 15 percent of South Dakota’s population is of Norwegian descent and 40 percent are of German ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And as of 2001, more than one in four South Dakotans identifies himself or herself as Lutheran, the predominant religion in both Norway and Germany. Another 13 percent of South Dakotans are Methodist, while 25 percent are Catholic. The Catholic Diocese of Rapid City serves all of Western South Dakota.

The Black Hills are also home to a small but vibrant Jewish community. Jews played a major role in the early days of Deadwood, and Rapid City’s Synagogue of the Black Hills still uses what’s called the “Deadwood Torah.” History holds that the Torah traveled by boat, train and stagecoach from Koenigsburg, Germany, to Deadwood in 1886.

As the largest city in the region Rapid City plays host to a greater diversity of religious groups than do smaller communities. In addition to a wide variety of Christian churches there are several Buddhist Sanghas, a Baha’i community, an Eckankar center and a small Muslim population, many of whose members are or have been students or instructors at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

The Black Hills themselves are at the heart of one religion. About 10 percent of the local population is Native American, most of them Lakota or Dakota Sioux, and many follow traditional Lakota spirituality that views the Black Hills as sacred. Traditional Lakotas believe that their ancestors emerged onto this earth through Wasun Niya, a cave in the Black Hills that is now known as Wind Cave. There are other sites in and around the Black Hills, such as Hinhan Kaga Paha (Harney Peak) and Mato Tipila (Devils Tower) that are recognized as particularly important, and where ceremonies are regularly conducted. Mato Paha (Bear Butte), has special spiritual significance for Lakotas and numerous Plains Indian tribes, is frequently used for prayer ceremonies and vision quests, and hikers are likely to see prayer bundles and offerings along the route to the summit.

In November 2010 the state approved an order allowing for up to 24 oil wells to be drilled within 1.5 miles of Bear Butte. That, along with plans for wind energy development in the area prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name Bear Butte, or “Mato Paha,” to its list of most endangered historic places in June 2011.

A significant number of Native people also belong to the Catholic and Episcopal churches, both of which established missions near the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies in Dakota Territory in the late 1800s. Catholic schools, such as Red Cloud Indian School at Pine Ridge, still thrive on many reservations.

Religion – more specifically, Christianity – has also played a part in the Black Hills economy. Spearfish hosted the Passion Play, an outdoor pageant depicting the last days of Jesus Christ, for more than 75 summers before the show closed in 2008. Hills Alive, a Christian music festival, draws thousands of people to Rapid City each July.

Data on Religion in the Black Hills

A statewide chart of religious adherence shows that residents of western South Dakota, including the Black Hills, are less likely to belong to a religious congregation. While religious adherence in western South Dakota lags the eastern portion of the state, it is only slightly below the nation as a whole. In Pennington County, for example, congregation members account for 34.2 percent of the population, compared to 47.3 percent for all of South Dakota and 35.6 percent for the United States.  (Association of Religion Data Archives) 

Listing of Religious Institutions in the Rapid City Area

For a directory of religious institutions in the Rapid City Area, click here.