Religion in the National Parks

Religion in the National Parks

Religion has been an implied value in America’s national park idea from the time of the earliest nineteenth-century parks to the present. But the religious element usually remains buried in visitors’ private aesthetic responses to park experiences and attractions. Rarely do specific theological views appear in the parks, even in unofficial activities or park uses. Certainly, the National Park Service…

San Antonio Missions Added to the World Heritage List

San Antonio Missions Added to the World Heritage List

Today’s announcement from the World Heritage Committee approving the addition of five cultural sites on their World Heritage List, including the San Antonio Missions in Texas, has me wondering about the process of gaining World Heritage status. Certainly, the Spanish colonial missions in San Antonio are as deserving as any site of cultural significance, but so are the Newark Earthworks…