Complicates the religion versus science view of creationism by introducing entertainment, production of history, and taste and aesthetic judgment as analytic tools. This allows for a rich, nuanced understanding of creationist cultural products.
Bielo has made a valuable contribution to several subfields of anthropology. As a well‐organized, insightful book that addresses a topic that interests many students, draws on innovative fieldwork with a design team, and engages and builds on the work of a wide range of anthropologists, Ark Encounter would be an excellent addition to reading lists for courses on the anthropology of public culture, the anthropology of religion, and visual anthropology, and it will inspire further research on the ongoing evolution of fundamentalist public culture.
Peter Stromberg, University of Tulsa:
This thorough study of a creationist theme park explores the ramifications of intertwining religion and entertainment and provides an analysis that has fascinating implications for understanding not only conservative Christianity but also the entertainment-saturated society around it. This compelling and readable ethnography shows that creationism must stake its bid for cultural authority in terms of the largely unquestioned values and techniques of our culture of entertainment.
Jonathan P. Hill:
Through his ethnographic work, Bielo makes a convincing case that the aesthetics, technologies, and professional standards of the modern entertainment industry play a big part in producing material that creationists hope to be seen as legitimate in the public sphere... a pleasure to read.
Timothy Beal, Case Western Reserve University and author of The Book of Revelation: A Biography:
Here, as in his study of Bible study culture in Words Upon the Word, Bielo demonstrates a remarkable ability to invite his readers into a communitys processes of religious negotiation and navigation. In his hands, we discover the Ark Encounter as a story of many fascinating encounters between fundamentalism, creationism, biblical consumerism, and religious entertainment.
Ark Encounter represents a further development of Bielo’s work of exploring the social life of scriptures, that is—how scriptures are made to perform actively in the world. Bielo has been on the forefront of this exciting development within the larger field of the anthropology of Christianity. In this latest addition to the field, Ark Encounter expands the social life of scripture to include materialization.
The book may have appeal in many fields, including anthropology, religion, and tourism.
This book will interest researchers of contemporary religious culture, politics of science, and cultural production and circulation. In addition, it provides thought-provoking reading for anyone interested in the social and cultural context of Ark Encounter and biblical attractions like it.
Ark Encounter is a wonderful book. Written in a straightforward and lively manner accessible to undergraduates, it is also theoretically rich enough to make it compelling reading for scholars of religion, public culture, museums, and American studies. Because each chapter deals with a discrete aspect of Ark Encounter’s project and engages different bodies of literature, it is ideal for classroom use.
Essentially this book is about the three-way relationship of the Ark, the designers, and the visitors. Within this triangle, acceptance of creationism is formed. This is such a valuable book partly because it focuses first on the corner of the triangle too often neglected in discussions of museums and visitor attractions: the designers … he describes four other promised creationist theme parks that will “teach creationists to be proud of creationism, and . . . demand that noncreationist audiences take notice.
Ark Encounter is a useful contribution to the literature in anthropology, religious studies, and material religion, and situates itself within a deep literature in Fundamentalist studies. Bielo’s clear and concise writing style and structure, combined with his thoughtful analysis and discussion, produced a strong text that would be useful for scholars studying the anthropology of religion and is particularly useful for students because of his radical transparency in his research processes.
A much needed contribution to studies of American fundamentalist Christianity, and to the anthropology of fundamentalism. At the same time, [the book] gives a good insight into the place of Christianity in our contemporary Western society, its relation to popular culture and commerce, and the power of 'religious entertainment.'
