Spirits of empire : how settler colonialism made American religion / Tisa Wenger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wenger, Tisa Joy, 1969- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Algonquian Indians--Middle West--Religion.

Algonquian Indians.

Algonquian Indians--Middle West--History.

Religion and state--Middle West--History--19th century.

Religion and state.

Settler colonialism--United States.

Settler colonialism.

United States--Race relations.

United States.

United States--Church history--19th century.

United States--Church history--18th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white), maps

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2026]

Summary:

"The Declaration of Independence depicted Native Americans as bloodthirsty savages, and from its founding the United States aimed to expand westward by seizing Indigenous lands. While white settlers saw these conquests as victories for 'true religion,' native people invoked the spirits in their own defense. Some claimed the powers of Christianity, while others drew on the English-language concept of religion to redefine their own ancestral traditions. As all sorts of people struggled to make their way within this new empire, a broad variety of new religious movements emerged. In this groundbreaking book, historian Tisa Wenger shows how the history of American religion unfolded on these settler colonial foundations. The imperatives of US empire, she argues, shaped the category and traditions of what we know as religion. Wenger also introduces the concept of 'settler secularism' to explain how white settlers defined and managed religion in their own image, in order to facilitate their own rule. She shows how the concept of 'religion' - whether as a special thing that requires protection or a mark of the primitive that must be transcended - has most often served the interests of those in power. Ultimately, settler colonialism organized American religion and created religious hierarchies that still influence the United States today"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The imperial foundations of American religion

The Shawnee imposter: Indigenous futures and secular subjects in the War of 1812

What hope for religion! Imperial Catholicism in Anishinaabewaki

The principle of benevolence: Baptist feelings and good religion under US empire

The want of a preacher: law, science, and religion in Sault Ste. Marie

The Great Spirit is angry: new formations of Anishinaabe religion

The spirit of our government: managing religion in a settler state

He is called a prophet: making religion on Kickapoo lands

The place for the city of Zion: Latter-Day Saints and secularism's disciplinary force

Imperial enchantments: religious studies and colonial extraction

Settler secularism and American religion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed March 30, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Wenger, Tisa Joy, 1969- Spirits of empire

ISBN:

9781469693644

1469693658

9781469693651

146969364X

9781469686790

1469686791

9781469693637

1469693631

OCLC:

1572420205

Publisher Number:

CIPO000336989

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license