Body. Cult. Religion. Perspectives from antiquity to the present
Exhibition of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” on the body in the religions of the world – at the Archaeological Museum and the Bible Museum of the University of Münster in 2024/2025
The body has always been part of the practices and ideas of religions across the world. This is shown in the exhibition “Body. Cult. Religion. Perspectives from antiquity to the present” organized by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster. The exhibition can be seen at the Archaeological Museum and the Bible Museum of the University of Münster from 25 October 2024 to 26 February 2025, and is part of the Cluster of Excellence’s interdisciplinary annual theme for 2024/25 on “Body and Religion”.
The exhibition will present important exhibits from the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, the Kunsthistorische Museum Vienna, the Fundação Pierre Verger in Salvador, as well as from relevant museums in the region. The exhibits range from ancient representations of the body such as the statue of the ancient Egyptian God's Wife Ahmose-Nefertari and the statuette of the Roman god Hermaphroditus, to ritual objects such as a nail fetish from the Congo and a Jewish Levite jug.
Also on display are replicas of famous pieces such as the death mask of the Unknown Woman of the Seine and modern photographs of trance rituals in Brazil. The exhibition also includes films such as the animated film The Public Swimming Pool Between Bikini and Burkini, which is about religion and the body in public spaces, and a multimedia installation with interview films on the subject of religious head coverings.
The human body has played an important role in religious practices throughout the ages and cultures. Examples include asceticism and fasting, initiation rites, healing and purification rituals, as well as practices involving the dead body. The rites often range from ancient polytheistic religions to present-day interpretations of the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The exhibition illustrates this with a wide range of exhibits such as sculptures, paintings and coins, clothing and jewellery, photographs and films from numerous regions of the world.
At the same time, the body expresses religious beliefs in the world’s religions. While a person’s spirit, beliefs and ideas are invisible, the material body can become their visible manifestation. Head coverings, clothing, jewellery and tattoos express spiritual beliefs and membership of a religious group. The rituals and practices on the body take place from birth to death – and beyond. They are subject to constant change. The body thus becomes a religious space of experience for individuals, while at the same time being a display area for religion and a seismograph of its changes.
The exhibition draws on the findings obtained from the Cluster of Excellence’s interdisciplinary and transepochal research on the relationship between religion and the body. Many disciplines are involved, such as ancient studies (Assyriology, Near Eastern archaeology, Egyptology, classical and Christian archaeology), Jewish studies, Arabic studies, Christian and Islamic theologies, religious and social sciences, sinology, and anthropology, aswell as the Brazil Centre of the University of Münster. The exhibition is sponsored by the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the Rectorate of the University of Münster.
