Blessed with Tourists: The Borderlands of Religion and Tourism in San AntonioMore than a million tourists visit religious landmarks in San Antonio, Texas, each year, observing and sometimes participating in religious activities there. The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park--managed by the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Catholic Church--is one of hundreds of religious places in America and around the world where tourists have become a familiar presence. In Blessed with Tourists, Thomas S. Bremer explores the intersection of tourism and commerce with religion in American, using the missions and other San Antonio sites as prime examples. Bremer recounts the history of San Antonio, from its Native American roots to its development as a religious center with the growth of the Spanish colonial missions, to the modern transformation of San Antonio into a tourist destination. Employing both ethnographic and historical approaches, Bremer examines the concepts of place, identity, aesthetics, and commercialization, demonstrating numerous ways that modern market forces affect religious communities. By identifying important connections between religious and touristic practices, Bremer establishes San Antonio as a distinctive source for anyone seeking to understand the interplay between the religious and the secular, the traditional and the modern. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
aesthetic Alamo American Antonio Conservation Society Antonio Missions National AP folder archdiocese Arts and Crafts authentic battle Bowie CASA Catholic Church celebration Cenotaph ceremony Chapter Christian Coahuiltecan Coppini copy consulted DeVries Dobie efforts Ethel Wilson Harris European expedition Father Francis Bouchu Franciscan groups Harris's HemisFair 1968 heritage Ibid identity Indians interpretive interview itinerant Janacek living locative Lucey's Mexican Mexico Miscellaneous Folder mission churches Mission Concepción Mission Espada Mission San José Mission San Juan missionaries Missions National Historical modern monument Mormon narrative National Historical Park National Park Service native Native American official parish communities parishioners preservation priest rangers Regarding religion and tourism Republic of Texas residents restoration sacramental sacred San Antonio Conservation San Antonio Light San Antonio Missions San Antonio River San José Mission Saving San Antonio sion spaces story Terán Texas Revolution tile tion tour travel practices UTSA walls World's Fairs worship XO series Zavala
References to this book
Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys Dallen J. Timothy,Daniel H. Olsen*1973- No preview available - 2006 |