Guides: Religious Studies Research Guide: Web Sites

All web sites

Search all recommended Religious Studies web sites

General web sites

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Adherents.com
A growing collection of over 41,000 adherent statistics and religious geography citations. The site references published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc.
An Online Retreat
Find God in the midst of a busy life.
ARTFL Project: Multilingual Bibles
Select a bible to search; when you retreive a chapter or a verse, the document will provide links to the corresponding section in other available languages.
Association of Religion Data Archives
Complete polling data on religious beliefs, practices, and opinion around North America, representing different faiths and various sponsoring agencies.
Bernard Lonergan Archives
A digital repository of primary materials related to the work of Jesuit philosopher/theologian Bernard Lonergan, including archival papers and audio recordings of lectures. Free registration is required to view or listen to the materials.
Catholic Research Resource Allliance
The Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA) is a not-for-profit membership alliance of institutions collaborating to deliver projects and services in support of its mission "to provide enduring global access to Catholic research resources in the Americas." Our immediate focus is creating access to those rare, unique and uncommon research materials which are held by libraries and archives in North America. Users of the CRRA portal may want to refer to the following guide.
Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative
The CDRI database provides access to digital images of woodcuts, photographs, slides, papyri, coins, maps, postcards, manuscripts, lithographs, sermons, shape-note tune books, and various forms of Christian art, architecture, and iconography.
Making of America
This digital library of primary source material covering the antebellum period through Reconstruction contains more than 600,000 pages from books and journals. Materials include full-text 19th century periodicals, including Catholic World, 1865-1901. Primary emphasis is American history, education, and religion.
Religious Movements (University of Virginia)
A directory and profile of more than 200 religions, cults, sects, and belief systems. Each entry indicates founders, texts, hierarchy, articles of faith, and practices.
Review of Biblical Literature
Searchable database for reviews of publications in Biblical Studies.
Virtual Religion Index
Analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related websites to speed research. Links are provided not only to homepages but to major directories & documents within.
Voice of the Shuttle: Religious Studies Page
A rich list of links to academic pages dealing with Western and non-Western religions.
Wabash Center Guide To Internet Resources
Besides having enormous breadth, this site covers most aspects of research and teaching in religion, theology and related disciplines. The Guide links to hundreds of websites and indicates the best sites in various categories.
Woodstock Theological Center - Resources
A selection of publications and printed resources that you can read online or download from the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

Church Documents & Sacred Writings

Search Church Documents & Sacred Writings web sites:

Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Complete text of the Church Fathers including Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series II .
English Religious Resources (University of Virginia)
Full text of the King James Bible, the RSV edition, Book of Mormon, and the Koran, under "Scriptures" box.
Internet Sacred Text Archive
The single largest religious text archive on the web. Information is categorized into 46 different areas, with sections on world religions, traditions, and mysteries.
Metalogos: Coptic Gospels of Thomas, Philip and Truth
English & Spanish translations of three later gospels not included in the New Testament. Each book is annotated and includes a glossary that compares terms from Hebrew, Greek, and Coptic.
Religious Texts and Resources
A directory of sacred text sites that complements the Internet Sacred Text Archives (see above). Includes some Old & New Testament period texts not readily found elsewhere.

World Religions

Search World Religions web sites

Art Promote: Religion and Sprituality in Art
Provides links to image collections and art web sites for Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Pagan, and Wiccan faiths and traditions.
BuddhaNet
A comprehensive site committed to the Buddha's teachings and lifestyle serving as an "on-line cyber sangha." Links, Buddhists texts, events, directories, and Buddhist teachings are available.
Chinese and East Asian Religious Traditions
From Fordham University, a collection of major texts and introductions to Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and several schools of Buddhism. Writings of Chuang-tzu, Lao-tse, Mencius, Sun-tzu, and Confucius.
Exploring Religions (University of Wyoming)
An introduction to the religious history, beliefs, texts, cosmology, and worship associated with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. Contains numerous links.
Gateway to Sikhism
Complete Sikhism resource site.
Introduction to Islam
Hosted by the Middle East Institute, this site is essentially the electronic version of the author's book by the same title, making it easy to navigate. Topics include the rise and spread of Islam, basic tenets and teachings, social and legal systems, and arts and culture.
Islamic Studies (University of Georgia)
Prof. Alan Godlas's site covers the Qu'ran, Sunni Islam, Shi'ism, Sufism, Islamic history and philosophy, Islam in the modern world, and issues of faith, practice and the law. Also contains testimony of Islamic clerics and scholars on the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Jewish Encyclopedia
A full, unedited reproduction of the original Jewish Encyclopedia (12 vol., 1901-06) edited by Moravian-born author and editor, Isidore Singer. Hyperlinks within the transcribed entries take visitors to related topics elsewhere in the encyclopedia.
Jewish History Resource Center
A project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, including over 6000 links to websites in more than 30 categories dealing with Jewish history and culture.
Koran
An electronic version of The Holy Qur'an, translated by M.H. Shakir.
Resources for the Study of Buddhism
Links to a variety of sites related to Buddhism, including general Buddhism and online collections of Buddhist texts.
The Hindu Universe
Links to all areas related to Hinduism.
Vietnam Buddhist Center
Links to a wide variety of informational sites on Buddhism.

Evaluating Resources

Use this checklist to determine if a source is appropriate:

Authority: Who wrote it? What credentials does s/he have? [PhD, affiliation with university]

Source: Where was it published? How was it selected for publication? [look at submission guidelines for evidence of peer review or other editorial processes]

Currency: When was it published? Has it appeared in other forms with/out revision?

Research: Are other sources cited in a bibliography/reference list? Are foot/endnotes used?

Bias: Is there an objective viewpoint? Is the author making assertions without documentation, or with questionable documentation? [e.g., her/his own work, crackpots]