Hawaii Bible Records

This is a page for the State of Hawaii Bible Records.

Hawaiian Religious Beliefs
Traditional Hawaiian religion of the indigenous people was polytheistic, believing in many deities, and was also animistic in that it was based on a belief that spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as animals, the waves, and the sky. Today, Hawaiian religious practices are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

Christianity
Missionaries arrived in 1820, and most of the aliʻi converted to Christianity, including Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, but it took 11 years for Kaʻahumanu to proclaim laws against ancient religious practices. “Worshipping of idols such as sticks, stones, sharks, dead bones, ancient gods and all untrue gods is prohibited. There is one God alone, Jehovah. He is the God to worship.

With the arrival of other immigrant groups, particularly early explorers in the early 1800s, many Hawaiians practice Buddhism, Shinto, and Christianity.

Actual written records did not exist until the 1800's. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were translated in 1828. The rest of the New Testament was translated in 1832, the Old Testament was translated in 1839, and the translation was revised in 1868. . Other sources of Historical records can be found at the Historical Society webpage