The Museum of World Religions (MWR; ) is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

Yonghe District Yonghe District () is an urban area in the southern part of New Taipei, Taiwan. Yonghe District is the smallest district in New Taipei City. It is primarily a mixed residential and commercial area. With around 38,000 inhabitants per square kilo ...

New Taipei New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

The museum was founded in November 2001 by Venerable Hsin Tao (心道), a Buddhist monk, and set up through the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation. Further elaborate opening ceremonies were held in September and November 2002 with many religious leaders and others from around the world, including the President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

. The Taiwanese architect and educator

Han Pao-teh Han Pao-teh (; 19 August 1934 – 20 November 2014) was a Taiwanese architect, educator and curator. Han Pao-teh (Han Pao Teh) was born in Shandong, China and moved to Taiwan in 1949. He received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the Ta ...

was the first curator. In February 2003, an interactive multimedia was installed at the Hall of Life Travel.

Architecture

The museum building was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates,Museum of World Religions: Project Description
, Ralph Appelbaum Associates Incorporated. the designer of major American museums including the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and the expansion of the

Hayden Planetarium The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the n ...

at the American Museum of Natural History in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

.Two HDS Staff On Hand for Opening of Museum of World Religions in Taipei
,

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, United States, 2002.

Exhibitions

The museum presents exhibits on ten different major

world religions World religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the five—and in some cases more—largest and most internationally widespread religious movements. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are always includ ...

. It also features a model called "Avatamsaka World" illustrating the Avatamsaka Sutra.

Transportation

The museum is accessible within walking distance North West from Yongan Market Station of the

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, which also operates the Maokong Gondo ...

References

External links