St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art

The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art sits adjacent to Glasgow Cathedral and holds a collection examining religion as a global human phenomenon rather than promoting any particular faith. The galleries cover Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism through art and material culture, with the explicit aim of promoting understanding between traditions.

The building is a modern reconstruction of the medieval Bishop's Palace that once stood on this site, and it does the job with dignity. The collection includes a Dalí original (temporarily), a Japanese garden, and rotating exhibitions on religious subjects. The context of the medieval Cathedral next door gives the museum a resonance it would otherwise lack. Free admission.

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A story
When the St Mungo Museum opened in 1993 it contained Dalí's Christ of St John of the Cross (since moved to Kelvingrove). The remaining collection includes a 17th-century Japanese garden — Glasgow's only Zen garden — in the rear courtyard, where religious meaning is maintained through raked gravel and carefully positioned stones. It is unexpectedly peaceful three minutes from the Cathedral.