About the Archdiocese of Anchorage

Outstanding Characteristics of the Surrounding Culture

Like many areas of the Northwest United States, the majority of the population in Alaska is unchurched. There is, however, a long history of Catholic missionaries in Alaska. Those who traveled to Alaska at the turn of the century include the Jesuits, Sisters of St. Anne, and the Sisters of Providence. All three of these groups have had a presence in Alaska and the Archdiocese for over 100 years.

Working with the mainline Protestant Churches, the Catholic community has been a part of an active interfaith council in Anchorage. This group has undertaken several projects together to provide housing, taking public and political stands on issues, and has come together in community-wide worship programs.

Issues of major concern for the Church and all of Alaska are addressed by the Alaska Catholic Conference. This cooperative effort of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Diocese of Fairbanks, and Diocese of Juneau has only been active for about two years, but already has addressed issues such as Alaska Native Subsistence Rights, Minimum Wage laws, Abortion Funding, fairness of state budget issues related to the treatment of the poor, and other similar issues.

Each of the three Alaska dioceses has recently had unflattering press about the sexual abuse crisis affecting the Church here and in the nation. Because the population of Alaska is so small, press coverage of issues like these resonate strongly throughout the community and have had an adverse affect on contributions from Church members, at least in the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

Characteristics of the Groups to be Served by the Archdiocese

The latest demographic data continues to be from the 2000 census which reported the total population of Alaska to be 626,932. The data for the total state is also indicative of the population of the archdiocese. It shows that 73% are Caucasian, 7% are Alaskan Native (Eskimo, Indian, and Aleut), 3% are African American, 4% are Hispanic, and less than 1% are Asian and Pacific Islanders. The relative age of the population is young. Data indicates that only 4.9% of the population is over age 65. Additionally, this young population tends to be highly mobile. For example, it is estimated that approximately 12.5% of the Anchorage population moved in or out of town in 1998. This overall young age and mobility of the population continues to be an obstacle to ministry in the Church since there tends to be less involvement with organized religion among young adults. As noted above, a further obstacle to ministry is the fact that, like much of the Northwest United States, a majority of the general population is unchurched. In fact, only 8% of the general population of the archdiocese is estimated to be Catholic. Population trends continue to show the Hispanic community to be the fastest growing population base, growing from 4% to 6.5% of overall population, in the 10 years since the last census. The second largest population growth has been in the Asian and Pacific Islander groups.

With the assistance of the Committee on the Home Missions, the Archdiocese is able to serve the ethnic and minority Catholic populations who continue to migrate to Alaska. Through its Hispanic, Alaska Native, Pacific Island, Korean, and Filipino Ministries, the Archdiocese is able to offer a welcome and support to newly arrived individuals and serve their communities of faith.

Photo by Kelly DuFort