Brian noted, “The museum seeks
to encourage reflection and a sense
of wonder about religious traditions
around the world, past and present,
through an exploration of the cultural
expressions of faith. We hope to
engage visitors in the ongoing dialogue
about the contemporary relevance of
spiritual belief and practice, leading
to understanding, empathy and,
ultimately, compassion and tolerance
for one another in our common human
endeavor to find meaning and purpose
in our lives.
“As a museum of religious art,
we use the art and artifacts in our
collections as clues to understanding
the total religious experience of
the people who used them. We are
interested in what each object can tell
us about the beliefs of its creators, and
about the ways in which they expressed
those beliefs in their practices. Each
object is a gateway to the history of
religion as it has been experienced by
religious adherents in their daily lives.”
Crispin Paine, a world renowned
expert who has visited Glencairn
Museum, said: “In the past, museums
often changed the meaning of icons
or statues of deities from sacred to
aesthetic, or used them to declare the superiority of Western society, or simply
as cultural and historical evidence. The last generation has seen . . . curators
recognizing that objects can only be understood within their original religious
context. In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the role
religion plays in museums, with major exhibitions highlighting the religious
as well as the historical nature of objects.
“Objects have a unique power to speak to people, and do so on a quite
different level to words, or even to images. That is why religious objects in
museums must have an exceptional role and responsibility in the great cause
of helping humankind to understand human motives.
"Too often, museums
don't let the religious
role and significance
of their objects show.
They treat them as art,
or history, or sometimes
science, and their
fascinating back-story
is suppressed. . . . I'm
not suggesting that
there's anything wrong
with this – simply that
it would be valuable for
museums also to help
visitors understand their
religious meanings –
as Glencairn Museum
does." (Crispin Paine,
world-renowned expert)
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