Munster, September, 10th 2024. Cluster of Excellence „Religion and Politics“ presents an exhibition on the body in the world’s religions from antiquity to the present day in the themed year „Body and Religion“- Opening on 25 October 2024 at the Archaeological Museum and Bible Museum of the University of Münster – Outstanding exhibits from Paris, Vienna and Berlin on religious practices and ideas

The body has always been part of the practices and ideas of religions worldwide. This is shown in the exhibition „Body. Cult. Religion. Perspectives from Antiquity to the Present“, which the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster is presenting from 25 October 2024 to 26 February 2025 in the Archaeological Museum and the Bible Museum at the University of Münster. „The human body is an important part of religious practices across eras and cultures,“ explains Egyptologist Angelika Lohwasser. „Examples include asceticism and fasting, initiation and purification rituals as well as practices involving the dead body. They can already be found in ancient polytheistic religions and are still visible today in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.“

The exhibition is based on the results of the Cluster of Excellence’s cross-epochal, cross-religious and cross-disciplinary research into the relationship between religion and the body. „The exhibition illustrates the content of the theme year using a wide range of exhibits from numerous regions around the world,“ says archaeologist Achim Lichtenberger. „It shows how religious traditions shape and influence the human body. The body can serve as a projection surface for religious ideas and be modified through ritual practices, clothing, jewellery and tattoos. Such body modifications can serve to achieve spiritual experiences or to signal religious affiliation.“

„Divine figures’ and ’rituals of life“

The exhibition is divided into seven thematic areas, as theologian Holger Strutwolf explains. The Archaeological Museum is showing the thematic areas „Divine Figures“, „Gender Roles?“, „Religion and Healing“ and „After Death“, which deal with the physical representation of the divine, the handling of gender roles, religious healing rituals and the handling of the dead body in past and present religions.

In the Bible Museum, the topics „Rituals of Life“, „Purity for Mind and Body“ and „Disembodiment“ will be addressed, which deal with initiation rituals, purification rites and the relationship between mind and body in the world’s religions. (fbu/vvm)

More Information:

https://www.uni-muenster.de/Religion-und-Politik/aktuelles/schwerpunkte/ausstell… – Webseite zur Ausstellung „Körper. Kult. Religion.“
https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/religion_und_politik/aktuelles/fa… – Flyer zu Ausstellung und Begleitprogramm im Themenjahr „Körper und Religion“ des Exzellenzclusters