In order to further preserve and transmit the vital story of religious history in America, people of faith from all backgrounds should support the emerging effort to create a National Museum of American Religious History.
Last week, the chief boosters behind the idea traveled through Utah raising funds for a feasibility study that would look at locating the museum amidst the great constellation of American treasures housed in the nation’s capital.
For the better part of a decade, two former college roommates, Chris Stevenson and Darin Lowder, as well as Rob Wilson-Black, have been noodling the audacious idea of creating a Smithsonian-type museum that would chronicle the story of faith in America.
Since then, their dream has received seed money and is now attracting an impressive list of advisers and board members that reads like a veritable who’s who of American religious thought.
In addition to providing one more tourist attraction for those visiting Washington, D.C., the museum is essential for at least two reasons:
- Teach the importance of religion. The preservation and transmission of the remarkable role of religion in American history has become a challenge in recent years. Religion’s influence in shaping modern American life, politics and culture cannot be overstated, yet for decades this story has been undersold in America’s textbooks, too often undertold in its classrooms and overlooked or inadequately presented in the museums of the nation's capital.
- Help promote religious freedom. In order for the nation to understand why it should protect precious religious freedoms, it must first appreciate what faith means to America. Engendering a desire to protect religious liberty grows naturally when citizens understand religion’s role in America and its history. This is where the museum can do more than merely add another stop on a tour of the nation’s capital.
The team of the National Museum of American Religious History is raising funds to conduct a feasibility study to see what it would take to turn its vision into reality. They are spreading the word across denominations and religious traditions. They believe that if the initiative succeeds it will send a message that religion remains essential today. They believe the signal if it fails, however, may be an unwelcome commentary about how America may be forgetting what makes it truly great.