The Museum of History of Religion, St. Petersburg

One of the first museums of world religion, the State Museum of the History of Religion which is 75 years old in 2007, was initially housed in the cathedral in St Petersburg. Its existence was due to the changing relationship of church to state and therefore was intended for the dissemination of anti-religious propaganda (Koutchinsky, 2006: 156). As attitudes and political ideologies changed so also did its title being known firstly as the Museum of Atheism, then the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism and latterly the ?and Atheism? part of the title has been removed. From the onset though it set out to collect religious artefacts from across the world not just to create an anti-religious museum based on Orthodox faith  but with the key aim of developing ?a historical and religious establishment? for the study of ?religious typology, of religion as a cultural phenomenon, and of religion as a part of ideology?. (Koutchinsky, 2006: 156). Collections were augmented over time by material that came out of closed churches and which often formed the basis of other museums of anti-religion. The Museum of the History of Religion survived and indeed has flourished as a centre of scholarship and recently moved to new purpose built premises in St Petersburg and currently has some 30 plus curatorial staff looking after some 180,000 objects. This is wholly secular museum although visitors can bring their own sense of religiosity to the displays.

The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow

Unlike the M.H.R., which is based on a scholastic interpretation of objects the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art took the premise that many of the world?s most beautiful, awe inspiring or emotionally moving and powerful objects were created in the name of god or gods and as an expression of faith. Such objected reflected human creativity at its best and occasionally human destructiveness at its worst.  The museum opened in 1993 and aimed to be a space where people of ?all faiths and none? could explore a snapshot of religion in the world today. It was formed in response to the Friends of the Cathedral asking Glasgow?s local government for support to finish a visitor centre adjacent to the protestant cathedral. The council took over the development of the building and determined that a museum devoted only to one faith and a protestant version of that faith was too narrow a remit for contemporary and multi-faith society. At the same time Glasgow Museums acknowledged that many of their objects had a religious meaning that had been lost or under-interpreted in displays. Many such objects were languishing in stores. The museum devotes most of it space to what are acknowledged to be the six main world faiths: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Other faiths and belief systems are included for example Australian Dreamtime or ancestral worship within small scale societies. The museum is very much object led and some faiths have proved difficult to reach or to interpret and staff actively seek to source objects from faiths who wish to be represented. It succeeds in creating a safe, welcoming and calm space in which individuals can explore their own responses to the displays. Glasgow as a post-industrial city has long been troubled by sectarianism with tensions between Catholics and Protestants and the museum provides the opportunity to explore ways of changing attitudes. Like the M.H.R., The St Mungo Museum reflects the political will of, in this case local government, but also the religious legacy and indeed contemporary influence of the dominant local faith, Protestantism. This is a secular space where religious activities can take place. Within months of opening it celebrated its millionth visitor.