MILWAUKEE, WI.- Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University a $2.4 million grant to develop an exhibition and educational program that will provide fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the U.S. and around the world.

Marquette’s grant was one of 33 given through the latest round of Lilly Endowment’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The national initiative, launched in 2019, is supporting efforts to improve the public understanding of religion and, as a result, foster greater knowledge of and respect for people of diverse religious traditions.

“We appreciate the tremendous support from Lilly Endowment for this initiative which connects well to our mission, helping to grow a greater understanding of religion,” President Kimo Ah Yun said.

“We see this grant as a wonderful opportunity to engage our community on the intersection between art and religion,” said John McKinnon, director of Marquette’s Haggerty Museum of Art. “We look forward to exploring diverse ways people connect with faith on a very personal and cultural level through spiritually significant artifacts, non-religious objects, and public dialogue.”

Lilly Endowment has supported numerous religious initiatives at Marquette. In August 2023, the university received a $1.25 million grant to establish the program, “FaithForm.” The program helps Marquette further engage its extensive network of community relationships with area congregations to help parents, caregivers and congregational leaders explore effective ways to pass on the Christian faith.

In October 2020, Marquette received a $1 million grant through Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Thriving Congregations Initiative to help establish “The Examen(ed) Church,” to assist churches in drawing on Ignatian spiritual practices to identify ministry opportunities and deepen congregational vitality.

“The United States is widely considered to be one of the most religiously diverse nations today,” said Christopher L. Coble, the Endowment’s vice president for religion. “Many individuals and families trust museums and other cultural institutions and visit them to learn about their communities and the world. We are excited to support these organizations as they embark on projects to help visitors understand and appreciate the diverse religious beliefs, practices and perspectives of their neighbors and others in communities around the globe.”