As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we recognize the role religious freedom played in colonial American experience and the newly independent United States. As we look at early printed texts from the Rosenbach’s collection, we will discuss how faith-related narratives were transmitted through time and across geography and became part of the American story.

The objects represent early Chinese religious philosophy, Indigenous culture in early New England, ancient pantheism, as well as Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. We’ll uncover historic moments of interfaith engagement that might help us consider opportunities for action and hope in the present.

Participants need only curiosity and enthusiasm; no specialized language skills or historical knowledge are required.

View the Rosenbach’s Treasures: History & Literature of the Americas gallery as part of this program.

Facilitators
Judith M. Guston, Curator and Director of Collections Emerita, Rosenbach Museum & Library
Rev. John B. Hougen, PhD, Coordinator of Interfaith Philadelphia’s series: The Art of Interfaith Understanding and a guide at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Art of Interfaith Understanding is a program of Interfaith Philadelphia co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Office for Community Engagement and the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, Philadelphia.

Image: The vvhole Booke of Psalmes: faithfully translated into English metre … . [Bay Psalm Book]. Cambridge [Massachusetts]: [Stephen Day], 1640. Rosenbach Museum & Library, A 640w.