Religion & Theology

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers, usually regarded as creator and governor of the universe; systems of such belief and worship; the study of religious beliefs.

Sub-headings:

Faiths & Denominations

Leading Figures

Sacred & Other Religious Texts

Sacred writings, holy books and spiritual literature. Includes primary and secondary sources, translations as well as works in their original language.

Religion Blogs

Discussions of all topics related to religion written by lay people, clergy, theologians, etc.

Resources in this category:

American Family Foundation Home Page: Information About Cults and Psychological Manipulations
http://www.csj.org/

"AFF is a secular, not-for-profit, tax-exempt research center and educational organization founded in 1979. AFF's mission is to study psychological manipulation and cultic groups, to educate the public and professionals, and to assist those who have been adversely affected by a cult experience." The site contains periodicals of Cultic Studies, the latest news in Cultic Studies, and resources to help friends and family of cult members, former cult members, clergy, educators, therapists and counselors, and researchers. A list of links is also included.

Ancient Egypt: the Mythology
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/

"Ancient Egypt: the Mythology is a web site dedicated to supplying information about the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt." The site also provides information on the land and culture of ancient Egypt, a chronology of its history, FAQs section, links, as well as detailed information on Egypt's deities.

Angels on the Web
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/angels/

Annotated web directory to information on angels in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Includes a categorized collection of thumbnails and links to over 550 images of Angels from Medieval manuscripts to contemporary computer art.

The Association of Religion Data
http://www.thearda.com/

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) provides quality data on American and international religion. Most of the data from the over 450 surveys, membership reports, and other data collections can be downloaded for free. All of the data can be previewed.

BeliefNet
http://www.beliefnet.com/

BeliefNet is "a multi-faith e-community designed to help you meet your own religious and spiritual needs -- in an interesting, captivating and engaging way. We try to achieve our mission by providing information and inspiration. Our site has an extraordinary collection of experts and scholars. We give you spiritual tools such as prayer circles kits to help you celebrate births, weddings, and other life milestones, as well as commemorate deaths. You can help your church, house of worship or spiritual group online. Even our products and services are selected to aid you with your spiritual search. Most important, we help you to learn from each other through a breathtaking array of discussions and dialogue groups."

Commemorative Motifs, Mourning Images, and Memento Mori
http://members.aol.com/TombView/symbol.html

"Commemorative Motifs, Mourning Images, and Memento Mori," from the "Tomb With a View" newsletter, explains funerary symbolism. It includes a list of symbols seen on tombstones and graves, and their significance.

The Cult Controversy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/...

"This special report brings together 50 years of [Washington] Post photographs and news clips about some of the religious and other movements whose techniques have drawn criticism. It includes an annotated chronology tracing trends among these groups, along with analysis and opinion about methods used by many of these groups."

Graveyards of Chicago
http://www.graveyards.com/

Information and photographs of over six hundred Chicago tombs, organized by cemetery.

Interfaith Calendar
http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/

English calendar dates for holidays and holy days for several different world religions. Includes current and future years.

Interfaith Working Group Online
http://www.iwgonline.org/

Focuses on religious diversity and social issues, particularly the separation of church & state, reproductive freedom, and equal rights for sexual minorities. Features a newsletter, links to similar sites, sermons and letters from clergy members who support their mission, and summaries of current debates.

Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/meeting_god/

This interactive exhibit from the American Museum of Natural History explores many aspects of Hindu devotional life, from daily prayers to processionals to asceticism. The exhibit also includes a photo gallery of personal shrines in New York City and suggested readings for both children and adults.

Origins
http://www.origins.org/

"Features scholarly and popular resources concerning intelligent design and philosophical theism." Topics include intelligent design; creationism; theism; atheism; and Darwinism & evolution.

Philosophy of Religion
http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/

Discussions on all topics in the philosophy of religion divided into four sections: Arguments for the Existence of God, Arguments for Atheism, Christian Ethics, and a Directory

The Religious Movements Page
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/

"This Religious Movements site provides a foundation for understanding how religious groups emerge, grow, stagnate, reinvigorate themselves, and sometimes die... While the focus of this site is on 'new' religions, our concern with the processes of change and development leads us to an examination of groups that are older than the major Western monotheistic traditions, and some that are so new that they have few members and appear to exist primarily as web sites. We also explore groups that are not really religions, but have characteristics that are very much like religions."
This information-packed site includes profiles of more than 200 religious groups, each with a bibliography and links to related Web resources; lectures notes from Mr. Hadden's Religious Movements course at The University of Virginia; and a bibliography dealing with cult controversies. Also links to separate but related sites dealing with Religious Freedom and Religious Broadcasting.

Renaissance Liturgical Imprints: A Census
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/relics/

"This is a database of information about worship books printed before 1601... RELICS now includes information on over 8,890 titles. This information is based upon personal inspections of books in most of the major research libraries of the United States and also libraries in a few selected European cities. Some additional information derives from published bibliographies and library catalogs."

Russian Icons
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48525

This IPL pathfinder provides resources for people who are interested in the art history of icon painting in Russia. Print and Internet sources include the history of Russian icons, online collections of publications and images, and a selective bibliography.

The Talk.Origins Archive
http://www.talkorigins.org/

"Talk.origins is a Usenet newsgroup devoted to the discussion and debate of biological and physical origins. Most discussions in the newsgroup center on the creation/evolution controversy, but other topics of discussion include the origin of life, geology, biology, catastrophism, cosmology and theology.
"This archive is a collection of articles and essays, most of which have appeared in talk.origins at one time or another. The primary reason for this archive's existence is to provide mainstream scientific responses to the many frequently asked questions (FAQs) and frequently rebutted assertions that appear in talk.origins."

Virtual Religion Index
http://virtualreligion.net/vri/

"Annotated catalog of hyperlinks for research in fields related to religion. This index is designed as a tool for students with little time. It analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related websites to speed research. Hyperlinks are provided not only to homepages but to major subsites, directories & documents within. Our purpose is not to circumvent tours of worthy sites, but to cut down the time spent on surfing, click-throughs, and sorting of gopher searches. "

Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources
http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/guide_headings....

"A selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion..."