A01=Thomas S. Bremer
American History
American Religion
American religious history
American West
American West history
Author_Thomas S. Bremer
Category=NHK
Category=QRAX
Category=WQH
Environment
environmental history
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
formation of the U.S. national park system
genocide
History
history of religion in Yellowstone
History of the western US
Manifest Destiny
Montana history
national parks
national parks history
Religion
religion and nature
religion at Yellowtone
religious history
settler colonialism
tourism
United States history
US religious history
white supremacy
Yellowstone history
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park history
Product details
- ISBN 9781496209955
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jul 2025
- Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Since its beginning in 1872, Yellowstone National Park has been an alluring destination with significance beyond its stunning mountain scenery, abundant wildlife, and the world’s largest collection of geysers and hot springs. Once deemed America’s “wonderland,” this national park has long been a repository of meanings for and aspirations of the American people. In Sacred Wonderland Thomas S. Bremer explores the historical role of religion in making Yellowstone National Park an American icon.
The park’s religious history spans nineteenth-century evangelical Christian ideas of Manifest Destiny in addition to religiously informed conservationist movements. Bremer touches on white supremacist interpretations of the park in the early twentieth century and a controversial new religious movement that arrived on the scene in the 1980s. From early assumptions about Native American beliefs to eclectic New Age associations, from early rivalries between nineteenth-century Protestants and Catholics to twentieth-century ecumenical cooperation, religion has been woven into the cultural fabric of Yellowstone. Bremer reveals a range of religious beliefs, practices, and interpretations that have contributed to making the park an appealing tourist destination and a significant icon of the American nation.
The park’s religious history spans nineteenth-century evangelical Christian ideas of Manifest Destiny in addition to religiously informed conservationist movements. Bremer touches on white supremacist interpretations of the park in the early twentieth century and a controversial new religious movement that arrived on the scene in the 1980s. From early assumptions about Native American beliefs to eclectic New Age associations, from early rivalries between nineteenth-century Protestants and Catholics to twentieth-century ecumenical cooperation, religion has been woven into the cultural fabric of Yellowstone. Bremer reveals a range of religious beliefs, practices, and interpretations that have contributed to making the park an appealing tourist destination and a significant icon of the American nation.
Thomas S. Bremer is professor emeritus of religious studies at Rhodes College. He is the author of Formed from the Soil: An Introduction to the Diverse History of Religion in America and Blessed with Tourists: The Borderlands of Religion and Tourism in San Antonio.
