natural theology
Transcendentalist writers and the Hudson River School painters formulated their own concept which found God in Nature, especially in the seemingly divinely ordained New World landscapes. Their ideas were congruent with wthe writings of John Ruskin, the English art critic who championed Pre-Raphaelite art and Gothic architecture, especially its pious, didactic aspects. When Ruskin linked Relgiion to Nature and to Art, the ideas rang true in America. He legitimized aesthetic issues and made them palatable to a Christian audience. (Zukowski, 2006)