By Nate Feldman
Today, I took a train ride to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in order to take part in a tour titled The Sacred Arts of Asia. The tour is a part of the Art of Interfaith Understanding initiative, a program with the Philadelphia Interfaith Association, an organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between people of different religious traditions in the Philadelphia area. The Art of Interfaith Understanding gives people a chance to learn about one another's beliefs through artwork, while trying to find potential commonalities with their own traditions.
The program this afternoon began with tour participants sharing their names and their religious faiths. From there, Reverend John Hougen, the tour guide for the Art of Interfaith Understanding, guided us through rooms showing artwork from Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, and Jain cultures. While looking at the different works, he explained how elements of different religions were expressed in drawings and sculptures.
The event was highly informative, and I strongly recommend it to both passionate art lovers, along with people who are interested in understanding the different religions of the world.
