We Have a Religion

A stellar display of original archival research and conceptual nuance. . . . A masterpiece of exposition and interpretation. Very highly recommended.--Choice

Groundbreaking and important. . . . A seminal study of American Indian affairs in the early twentieth century recommended for all libraries and academic programs in which modern Native American and indigenous religious issues are discussed.--American Historical Review

The reader is provided with an overview of various perspectives . . . which Wenger shares from her extensive research in archives across the nation. . . . [Wenger's] analysis offers Indigenous scholars a vehicle for navigating the confluence between 'documented' history and narratives of oral tradition.--American Indian Quarterly

This is a work of exemplary archival research and conceptual nuance. I cannot overstate the importance of the insights Wenger provides for our understanding of the concepts or religion and religious freedom for Native Americans today.--Journal of Arizona History

Well-researched and eminently readable. . . . This rich book is highly recommended. . . . Copious endnotes and a serviceable index increase the scholarly value of the book.--Western Historical Quarterly

Well-researched and intelligent. . . . Offers a compelling cultural history. . . . This approach to discourse of religion serves up a rich helping of analysis for religious studies and cultural and intellectual history.--Journal of Religion

While [Wenger's] rich history of the intersection of Pueblo customs and American law will doubtless be useful for those within American Indian studies, her historically routed mediations on the category of religion makes this book essential reading for everyone who studies American religions, and arguably many others in religious studies as well. Wenger's meticulously researched and theoretically sophisticated work is exceptional in any number of ways. . . . So often, books engage well with either theoretical ideas or with detailed historical work. Wenger is able to do both.--Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies