Ralph Appelbaum Associates

The Museum of World Religions is dedicated to fostering greater understanding, respect, and tolerance for all the world’s religious faiths. The project was conceived and sponsored by the Venerable Buddhist Dharma Master Hsin Tao, spiritual leader of the Ling-Jiou Mountain Wu Sheng Monastery in Taiwan, as a public forum for interfaith dialogue.

RAA collaborated with the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University, where a team of scholars, curators, and graduate students worked to develop content and the final script, drawing upon insights from the disciplines of art history, fine arts, and museum education.

Inside a 60,000-square-foot, two-story space, RAA created a series of passages to guide the visitor on a spiritual journey through a set of experiences with religious ritual, history, and traditions. Upon entry, visitors encounter universal questions about the meaning of life and faith. Intriguing and delightful stories of creation are told in the museum’s Creation Theater.

In the Great Hall of World Religions, large display cases present over two thousand artifacts, ritual objects, and textiles related to ten major religions: Hinduism, Shinto, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism. Two rotating displays are dedicated to ancient religions and indigenous faiths. There is also a display dedicated to Taiwanese beliefs.

Multimedia installations illustrate the role religion plays in daily life, from birth through death, and the traditions of purification, blessing, and gratitude. The special practices of meditation and prayer are presented in the Meditation Theater, and moving testimonials from several renowned world leaders, scholars, artists, and scientists about the importance of faith are located in the Testimony Theater.