Acts of Faith

Religion and the American West

On view April 5, 2025 to August 24, 2025

 

Inside the Exhibition

The exhibition explores the interaction of religion and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century through the stories of preachers, pilgrims and visionaries. The narratives in Acts of Faith display how religion has and continues to shape identity, drive community, organize society and serve as a source of strength and resistance. The exhibit highlights accounts of Native American religious movements, Protestant missionaries and Catholic communities, African American migrants who were formerly enslaved and started new lives in the West, Jewish traders, Latter-day Saints bound for Utah and Chinese immigrants honoring their ancestral religious practices.

Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West is presented in English with Spanish translations available via the Bloomberg Connects app. 

Learn more at the Acts of Faith exhibition page.

Please submit an Information Request to:

  • Schedule a press visit for the exhibition
  • Schedule an interview with Bullock Museum staff
  • Request images of the exhibition for publication
Exhibition Credits

This exhibition has been organized by The New York Historical. Lead support for Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Major support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Research for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art. 

National Endowment for the Humanities logo Henry Luce Foundation logo TERRA Foundation for American Art logo

Sponsored by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is a division of the State Preservation Board. Additional support of exhibitions and programs is provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.

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Acts of Faith explores the interaction of religion and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century through the stories of preachers, pilgrims and visionaries.
Acts of Faith explores the interaction of religion and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century through the stories of preachers, pilgrims and visionaries.

Press Releases

graphic with exhibition title Acts of Faith Religion and the American West

Bullock Museum highlights the intersection of religion and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century with new exhibition

April 03, 2025 (Austin, Texas) -- Bullock Museum highlights the intersection of religion and U.S. westward expansion in the 19th century with new exhibition, Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West. View Press Release