Religion

One hallmark of the American experience captured in the Museum's collections is the nation's broad diversity of religious faiths. Artifacts range from Thomas Jefferson's Bible to a huge "Sunstone" sculpture carved for a Mormon temple in Illinois in 1844 to a household shrine from the home of a Pueblo Indian in the 1990s. Furniture, musical instruments, clothing, cooking ware, and thousands of prints and figures in the collections have all played roles in the religious lives of Americans. The most comprehensive collections include artifacts from Jewish and Christian European Americans, Catholic Latinos, Protestant Arab Americans, Buddhist and Christian Asian Pacific Americans, and Protestant African Americans. One notable group is the Vidal Collection of carved figures known as santos and other folk religious material from the practice of Santeria in Puerto Rico.

Telegraph message, printed in Morse code, transcribed and signed by Samuel F. B. Morse.
Description
Telegraph message, printed in Morse code, transcribed and signed by Samuel F. B. Morse. This message was transmitted from Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., over the nation's first long-distance telegraph line.
In 1843, Congress allocated $30,000 for Morse (1791-1872) to build an electric telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail (1807-1859), completed the forty-mile line in May 1844. For the first transmissions, they used a quotation from the Bible, Numbers 23:23: "What hath God wrought," suggested by Annie G. Ellsworth (1826-1900), daughter of Patent Commissioner Henry L. Ellsworth (1791-1858) who was present at the event on 24 May. Morse, in the Capitol, sent the message to Vail at the B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in Baltimore. Vail then sent a return message confirming the message he had received.
The original message transmitted by Morse from Washington to Baltimore, dated 24 May 1844, is in the collections of the Library of Congress. The original confirmation message from Vail to Morse is in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society.
This tape, dated 25 May, is a personal souvenir transmitted by Vail in Baltimore to Morse in Washington the day following the inaugural transmissions. The handwriting on the tape is that of Morse himself. Found in Morse’s papers after his death the tape was donated to the Smithsonian in 1900 by his son Edward, where it has been displayed in many exhibitions.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1844-05-25
1844-05-24
associated date
1844-05-24
donated
1900-04-18
associated person
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
maker
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
ID Number
EM.001028
catalog number
001028
accession number
65555
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut.
Description
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095321.02
catalog number
95321.02
accession number
26410
This hornpipe was made by an unknown maker in Italy, around 1875-1890. It is a cane reed with a bell of chestnut bark wound in a spiral.
Description
This hornpipe was made by an unknown maker in Italy, around 1875-1890. It is a cane reed with a bell of chestnut bark wound in a spiral. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095322
accession number
26410
catalog number
95322
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut.
Description
This whistle was made by an unknown maker in Italy, about 1875-1890. It is one of a pair of whistles made from chestnut. This accession includes 2 bark whistles and this reed pipe which used by people on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgin of San Fruttuoso in Genoa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1890
ID Number
MI.095321.01
catalog number
95321.01
accession number
26410
Physical DescriptionSong and Service Book for Ship and Field, Army and Navy, edited by Ivan Loveridge Bennett.
Description
Physical Description
Song and Service Book for Ship and Field, Army and Navy, edited by Ivan Loveridge Bennett. Gilt title on maroon boards, 192 pp.
General History
The Song and Service Book for Ship and Field, Army and Navy, edited by Ivan Loveridge Bennett, features prayers, hymns, and patriotic songs used in various military ceremonies and religious services.
date made
1942
printer
U.S. Government Printing Office
ID Number
1982.0372.01
accession number
1982.0372
catalog number
1982.0372.01
Women's Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) uniform from World War I, consisting of hat, coat, shirtwaist, tie, skirt, and insignia. Coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, shirt is white dimity, hat is blue cotton, and tie is blue silk.
Description
Women's Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) uniform from World War I, consisting of hat, coat, shirtwaist, tie, skirt, and insignia. Coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, shirt is white dimity, hat is blue cotton, and tie is blue silk. Metal "U.S." insignia on coat lapel and cloth "J.W.B." patch with Star of David background on shouler and hat. Donated by the Jewish Welfare Board through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was organized shortly after America’s entry into World War I, consolidating religious groups in the Jewish community to become an official agency to work with the War Department through its Commission on Training Camp Activities. It was modeled after the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the Knights of Columbus, and other organizations that in World War I adapted military-like uniforms for women and men volunteers. The JWB built buildings and stocked libraries on army installations and distributed books, articles, Bibles, and prayer books supplied through its affiliation with the Jewish Publication Society. It established community branches in the “second line of defense,” by supporting Jewish workers in the shipyards, arsenals, and other military plants and factories, as well as hospitals and universities where the government had taken over under military regulations. Following the Armistice, under direction of the Navy Department, the JWB transferred its peacetime work to veteran’s hospitals and enlarged Jewish community centers.
associated date
1914-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.25.01
catalog number
1998.0165.25.01.01
1998.0165.25.01.02
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.25.01
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
Too great a measure of praise cannot be bestowed upon a more noble and industrious body of men than the Fiftieth New York Volunteer Engineers. In the midst of the great demands made upon their services in tune of battle and of siege, the officers and men found pleasure in designing, planning, and building the beautiful rustic structure presented in this view, and devoting the same to the worship of the great God of Battles. The timber upon the spot, and the tools, with which they were provided for engineering purposes, furnished the material and means wherewith to exercise the taste, genius, and energy displayed. The first services, though they cannot well be styled a dedication, were conducted on Sunday, March 5, 1865, by the Rev. Mr. Duryea, of New York, and on each succeeding Sabbath day, and during many evenings of the week, the army chaplains and visiting clergymen were invited to officiate. It is built not far from the site of the old Poplar Spring Meeting House, a plain country board church, which was used successively by both armies as a hospital during the operations on the 29th and 30th of September, and 1st and 2d of October, 1864, near the Pegram House, now the site of Fort Fisher.
The present Church was used for the same purpose during the movements on the last of March, and 1st and 2d of April, 1865. The Regiment, upon moving away from its camp to take part in the pursuit of Lee's army, left a wooden tablet over the entrance to the Church, with these words inscribed upon it: "Presented to the Trustees of the Poplar Springs Church, by the Fiftieth Regiment New York Volunteer Engineers." Colonel Ira Spaulding commanded the Regiment, Captain McGrath, the architect and builder of the Church. In front is a group of several of the officers of the Regiment. On the foreground stands the architect himself. One view of the Church also shows, on the left, the quarters, neatly and tastefully arranged, of the Regimental officers.
It has been proposed to move the edifice to the great Central Park of New York City, as one of the mementoes of the war, and certainly no more interesting or striking feature could be added to the already many beautiful adornments that embellish those grounds. This monument to the skill and ingenuity of the builders, receives universal admiration.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-02
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.24
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.24
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
"Old Blanford Church," of which a view is here presented, is a great object of interest to all visitors; the cemetery surrounding it having monuments erected one hundred and fifty years ago. The walls of the main body of the building are of English brick, imported from the mother country. The services of the Episcopal Church were first performed in 1735, and continued to be read until 1825, nearly a century. Since that time, owing to the movement of the inhabitants of Blandford to the present site of Petersburg, the church has not been used, although the cemetery, now much enlarged, still continues to be the general depository of the dead. The ivy-covered walls now stand as a historic monument of what was formerly the aristocratic portion of the city. In the cemetery the stranger is not only shown the almost obliterated slab beneath which rests the remains of General Phillips, who died in May, 1781, during the war of independence, but also the monument. erected to the memory of the brave volunteers from the "Cockade City," who left houses and friends in the war of 1812. The greater space, however, has been allotted during the last four years to the graves of "Our Soldiers," these words being cut on a simple wooden cross, to mark the resting place of the Confederate dead.
A somewhat eccentric sexton, whose father before him performed the same duties, is generally on the spot to enlighten visitors in regard to the history of the church, and is apparently much pleased to do so from the manner in which he enters upon his oft-repeated narrative. During the siege the edifice and its surroundings suffered but little damage from shot or shell, although the position was in front of the point of attack at the time of the explosion of the mine on the 30th July, 1864.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-04
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.35
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.35
Around 1820 Thomas Jefferson cut and pasted verses from the New Testament to create this work, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French, & English.
Description
Around 1820 Thomas Jefferson cut and pasted verses from the New Testament to create this work, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French, & English. His purpose was to distill Jesus' ethical teachings from accounts of miracles and other elements that he considered distortions of Jesus' history and thought. Jefferson was a Deist--he believed in a Creator but did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. He thought he could distinguish between Jesus' true message and the apostles' later additions or misunderstandings by using reason as a guide.
Jefferson created this book for his own reading and reflection. He used texts in four different languages and placed them side-by-side so that he could compare which version seemed to him to express Jesus's moral views most clearly. He believed that those views provided "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."
Jefferson made no plans to publish this work. He knew that his beliefs were unorthodox and that they offended both religious authorities and political opponents. He considered his own and others' religious beliefs to be a matter of private conscience and thought they should not be subjected to public scrutiny or governmental regulation. "I not only write nothing on religion, but rarely permit myself to speak on it," he told a friend.
The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth descended in Jefferson's family until late in the 19th century, when it came to the National Museum. The U.S. Congress first provided for the publication of the book in 1904. Since then, many editions have appeared in print. Some of them carry a title that Jefferson himself never used: "The Jefferson Bible"
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1820
owner
Jefferson, Thomas
maker
Jefferson, Thomas
ID Number
PL.158231
catalog number
158231
accession number
147182
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1937
maker
Kloss, Gene
ID Number
GA.19276
catalog number
19276
accession number
170056
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1920
Associated Date
20th century
graphic artist
Hart, George O.
ID Number
GA.14179
catalog number
14179
accession number
92987
The Southernaires. side 1: Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray; side 2: Steal Away to Jesus (Decca 2856), from the album, The Southernaires in a Recital of Spirituals (Decca 83).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
The Southernaires. side 1: Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray; side 2: Steal Away to Jesus (Decca 2856), from the album, The Southernaires in a Recital of Spirituals (Decca 83).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1939
recording artist
Southernaires
manufacturer
Decca
ID Number
1996.0320.05286
maker number
2856
83
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05286
ID Number
2013.0152.01
accession number
2013.0152
catalog number
2013.0152.01
F. Carlton Booth. side 1: Singing; side 2: Gethsemane (Singspiration 1040), from the album, Singing (Singspiration 4). 78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
F. Carlton Booth. side 1: Singing; side 2: Gethsemane (Singspiration 1040), from the album, Singing (Singspiration 4).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
ca 1947
recording artist
Booth, F. Carlton
manufacturer
Singspiration
ID Number
1996.0320.05025
maker number
1040
4
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05025
Religion has an essential role in military history, which is reflected in military material. Steel-covered New Testaments were popular keepsake gifts for soldiers going off to fight in World War II.
Description
Religion has an essential role in military history, which is reflected in military material. Steel-covered New Testaments were popular keepsake gifts for soldiers going off to fight in World War II. Advertised in newspapers and magazines as protection from bullets, the small books were designed to be carried in the pocket over one's heart as both symbol and shield.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1996.0217.01
accession number
1996.0217
catalog number
1996.0217.01
This cornet was made by C.G. Conn in Elkhart, Indiana in 1889. It is a B-flat cornet, serial #18014, made of silver plated brass with ornate etching on the bell, and has 3 piston valves.
Description

This cornet was made by C.G. Conn in Elkhart, Indiana in 1889. It is a B-flat cornet, serial #18014, made of silver plated brass with ornate etching on the bell, and has 3 piston valves. This cornet is engraved:

C.G.CONN
ELKHART, IND.
AND WORCESTER
MASS

and engraved on the bell:

“D.M.IRVIN.FOR THE USE OF C.P.CHURCH. JACKSON. TENN. 1889.”

This cornet was made for the Orchestra of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Tennessee, and played by the donor’s father.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1889
user
Anderson, Frank Ervin
maker
C. G. Conn
ID Number
2000.0020.01
serial number
18014
accession number
2000.0020
catalog number
2000.0020.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971
ID Number
1996.0111.41
accession number
1996.0111
catalog number
1996.0111.41
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1930
c.1930
Associated Date
c. 1930
maker
Nash, Willard
ID Number
GA.22251
catalog number
22251
accession number
272554
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1927
maker
Bairstow, Herbert
ID Number
PG.003946.02
accession number
115163
catalog number
3946.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1906
Associated Date
1946-08-28
ID Number
2018.0166.0039
accession number
2018.0166
catalog number
2018.0166.0039
George Beverly Shea. side 1: The Ninety and Nine; side 2: The SUNSHINE (Singspiration 3001), from the album, Under His Wings (Singspiration 15).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
George Beverly Shea. side 1: The Ninety and Nine; side 2: The SUNSHINE (Singspiration 3001), from the album, Under His Wings (Singspiration 15).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1947
recording artist
Shea, George Beverly
manufacturer
Singspiration
ID Number
1996.0320.05263
maker number
3001
15
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05263
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943
maker
Associated Press
ID Number
2013.0327.0811
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.0811
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1951
Associated Date
1951
graphic artist
Barrios, B
printer
Kistler, Lynton R.
ID Number
1978.0650.0984
accession number
1978.0650
catalog number
1978.0650.0984
78.0650.0984
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
original artist
Allori, Cristofano
graphic artist
Lasinio, Giovanni Paolo
ID Number
GA.14233.29
accession number
94830
catalog number
14233.29

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