Covering more than 200 years of history from pre-contact to the present, this textbook places religion at the center of the history of the American West, examining the relationship between religion and the region and their influence on one another.
- A comprehensive examination of the relationship between religion and the American West and their influence on each other over the course of more than 200 years
- Discusses diverse groups of people, places, and events that played an important historical role, from organized religion and easily recognized denominations to unorganized religion and cults
- Provides straightforward explanations of key religious and theological terms and concepts
- Weaves discussion of American Indian religion throughout the text and presents it in dialogue with other groups
- Enriches our understanding of American history by examining key factors outside of traditional political, economic, social, and cultural domains
Table of Content
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1 Indigenous Religions in the West 8
Arctic 12
Sub-Arctic 13
Northwest Coast 16
Plains 18
Plateau 20
Great Basin 22
California 23
Southwest 24
Common Themes 27
Conclusion 29
Suggested Reading 30
2 Missions to New Worlds 32
Spain 34
France 50
Russia 60
Conclusion 66
Suggested Reading 67
3 Migrations, Manifest Destiny, and Mormons, 1803-1860 69
Transplanting Religions in the US Imperial Period 71
Protestantism 71
Roman Catholicism 80
Judaism 83
Asian religions 85
Religion and Manifest Destiny 86
Mormons and the Quest for Zion 91
The Mormon Question, 1852-1860 103
Conclusion 107
Suggested Reading 108
4 The West and Religion in the Era of the Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1890 109
Protestantism in the West 112
Catholicism in the West 119
Judaism in the West 124
Asian Religions in the West 127
The Mormon Question and the Mormon Answer, 1862–1890 127
American Indian Religious Experiences 135
Conclusion 150
Suggested Reading 150
5 Religion in the Modern West, 1890-1945 152
Mormonism 155
Catholicism 157
American Indians and Religion 162
Asian Religions and Influence 169
Modernism, Fundamentalism, and the Spirit of the West 172
World War I and Religion in the West 177
The Sunbelt and the Bible Belt 178
World War II and Religion in the West 188
Conclusion 189
Suggested Reading 190
6 Religion in the Cold War West, 1945-1965 192
Religious Innovation 197
Buddhism and the Beats 197
Scientology 198
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and religion 199
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 201
The Native American Church 206
Hispanics and Religion in the West 207
Evangelicals and the Sunbelt West 210
Conclusion 216
Suggested Reading 216
7 Creativity and Controversy after 1965 218
Immigration Reform and Asian Religions in the West 220
Religion in the Hispanic West 224
New Religious Movements 227
Religion and the Internet in the West 240
The Megachurch Boom 242
Religion in the Native West 251
Paths to the Present in Mormon Wests 254
Conclusion 258
Suggested Reading 258
Conclusion: The Frontier that Wouldn’t Close 260
Index 266
About the author
Todd M. Kerstetter is Associate Professor of History at Texas Christian University. He teaches courses on the American West, American Indian history, and US environmental history. He is the author of God’s Country, Uncle Sam’s Land: Faith and Conflict in the American West (2006), which examines religious freedom in the American West by discussing relationships between the US government and Mormons, Lakota Ghost Dancers, and Branch Davidians. He has also published in scholarly journals on water issues and images of the American West in rock music.
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