Historic Churches of New Mexico Today is an interpretive ethnography based on fieldwork among hispanic villagers, Pueblo Indians, and Mescalero Apaches. The fieldwork was reinforced by extensive research in archives and in previous scholarship. The book presents scholarly interpretations in prose that is accessible, often narrative, at times lyrical, and crafted to convey the experience of researching in New Mexican villages. Descriptive guide information and directions to remote historic churches are provided. Themes treated in the book include the interactions of past and present, the decline of traditions, a sense of place and attachment to place, the church as a cultural legacy, the church in relation to native traditions, resistance to Catholicism, tensions between priests and congregations, maintenance and restoration of historic buildings, and, in general, how the church as a place and devotion as a practice are important (or not) to the identities and everyday lives of individuals and communities. Among many others, the historic churches discussed in the study include the Santuario de Chimayó, San José de Gracia in Las Trampas, San Francisco de Asís in Ranchos de Taos, the village churches of Mora County, St. Joseph Apache Mission in Mescalero, and the mission churches at Laguna, Acoma, and Picurís Pueblos.
