GA08099

Histories of American West ‘ignore the role religion played’

by John Sniffen

Dr. Elliott West, professor of history at the University of Arkansas, spoke about the spiritual life of western pioneers at the Presbyterian Historical Society Luncheon on Tuesday. Photo by Danny Bolin

SAN JOSE, June 25, 2008 — Most histories of the American West ignore the role religion played among the Native Americans, explorers and settlers, says Elliot West, Ph.D., professor of history at the University of Arkansas.

Speaking to the Presbyterian Historical Society’s Luncheon Wednesday, West said that when religion is mentioned, it is often in institutional histories of denominations, not in the context of religion’s role in people’s lives.

“Religion was critically important to the way they lived,” he said. “If we are going to understand what happened in the remarkable story of western expansion, we’ve got to bring the religious part into focus.”

As one example, he noted that when four Native American men arrived in St. Louis in 1831, the Eastern press reported that they had come seeking “the white man’s great book.” As a result of their visit, the first missionaries from the East went to the Pacific Northwest.

“Historians typically cite this as the beginning of a Christian presence in the far Northwest, but it wasn’t,” said West. Evidence shows that Native American religion in the region was impacted by Christianity as early as the 1780s.

Another example West cited was the California Gold Rush of 1849. This landmark event represented a break from established American society as thousands seeking fortunes left behind institutional structures, said West. “The new society ... stressed acquisition of wealth and, above all, good luck and fortune. And it was in its first full bloom in California.”

“If the purpose of religion was to bring established values to the region, California was a failure,” he said, noting that only 14 percent of the state’s residents said they were Protestants in 1906.

Nevertheless, the church — along with fraternal halls and saloons — was one of the key institutions in even the roughest town. “Social institutions in a chaotic world provided some structure,” said West.

And, he added, if one looks closely at the diaries and journals of the people of the era, one can see the writers “worshiping in their own ways in their own minds.”

The 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is meeting here June 21-28.