From its founding in 1865, Cornell University has been firmly nonsectarian, welcoming students and faculty of any religion, or no religion. However, this did not exclude religion from campus life; on the contrary, the new university sought out religious works of all types and eras for its collections.

On view in the exhibition are some of the most significant religious texts owned by Cornell University, including manuscripts from the Witchcraft Collection, an Egyptian funerary papyrus, Native American prayer books, illuminated Qurans, the Book of Mormon, and Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts. Among the highlights are a first edition of the King James Bible and a leaf from the 1454 Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed on a press in the Western world, and an eight-foot long papyrus scroll, purchased in 1889 by White and believed to be a spell from the Egyptian “Book of the Dead.”

Gods and Scholars will be on display in the Hirshland Exhibition Gallery until March 7, 2016.

The Samuel L. Hirshland Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click on "see more dates" at the top, for more information, or check the library hours website for updates and Saturday hours.

This exhibition has been funded through the generous support of the Stephen ’58 MBA ’59 and Evalyn Edwards ’60 Milman Exhibition Fund.