July 9-Amanda Walker

This museum was opened in April of 1993. The building is built over a medieval Bishop’s Castle. The purpose of this museum is to be open to all religious beliefs and backgrounds, to educate others about the beliefs and understandings of other faiths, and to show how they interact within the world. St Mungo was a priest that came to Scotland to spread Christianity.

Our group went to St Mungo’s to learn about tolerance in multicultural communities and how it impacts the immigrant experience. The museum is so much more than just Christianity. The top floor educates the viewer about all the different faiths around the world. A person will find Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All are elaborated on and assist the visitors with understanding of the general faith. My fellow students and I were surprised to see the general similarities between the faiths.

The second floor and an art gallery and hosted paintings on the very human understandings of faith and famine; these paintings and drawings would make the viewer feel the pain, love or joy that each work is conveying. These works are very important, due to the fact that if someone cannot understand by reading the differences in faiths they can at least feel them. All of the works line quality and movement in each piece and done very well. I am and art therapy major and after taking many art classes I would say that these paintings are some of the most impressive and conveying emotion that I have ever had the pleasure to study.

The first floor houses some of the most interesting pieces of the museum’s collection. The works were clothing, such as wedding dresses that would be worn by different faiths on their wedding day. I had no idea nuns wore wedding dresses on the day that they gave their vows to God. The museum had information of the blessing or baptism of a child and other childhood devotions. It took the viewer through all major life events: birth, baptism, coming of age rituals, marriage and death, for each religion covered.

The point of the museum is to stay open to other faiths and they teach tolerance between those that we share the world with. I feel that this is incredibly important, due to the fact that we are more likely to judge than accept change. They welcome anyone from the pope to the non believer. I would have to say no matter what faith a person is they should be welcomed at St Mungo’s.