Asian Religions  General Directories Philosophy of Religion Pluralism  Primary Sources Religion in America Statistics Western Religions World Religions

 

Asian Religions 

• The Center for Buddhist Studies Weblog (Columbia University) 
• Hinduism (http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel231/lectures/hindu/intro.htm) An overview of the Hindu tradition by Laura Ellen Shulman
• Lessons of the Indian Epics: Following the Dharma (http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=589) Information on the Hindu epic, the Ramayana
• Madhyamaka & Methodology: A Symposium on Buddhist Theory and Method (Smith College, April 23-25, 2010)
• The Mahabharata (http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/mahabharata.htm) Useful resources for understanding one of the great epics of Hinduism 
• Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/meeting_god/index.html) The American Museum of Natural History's web site on Hindu religion practice
• Mulamadhyamakakarika ("The Fundamentals of the Middle Way") Translation of the one of the most important texts in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy
• Mulamadhyamakakarika (Stephen Batchelor's translation)
• The Ramayana (http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/Programs/sac/Outreach/ramayana/index.asp) Translations of the Ramayana and secondary materials about the text sponsored by the South Asia Center, Syracuse University
• Religions of the World I: Eastern Traditions (http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel231/index.htm) Materials for a course on Eastern Religions compiled by Laura Ellen Shulman
• Urban Dharma, Buddhism in America (http://www.urbandharma.org/) For a variety of indexed articles, video files, and many other resources on Buddhism in America, Buddhist meditation, history, monastic events, conferences, newsletters, and much much more.  Site operated by the International Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles, CA.

 

General Directories

• Librarians' Internet Index: Religion (http://lii.org/pub/topic/religion) A "best of the Web" directory of Web sites selected by librarians
• Religion Explorer (http://www.religionexplorer.com/) Directory of web sites related to religions as well as news headlines on religious topics (see the "News" tab)
• Religious Resources: A Directory of Internet Resources for All Major Religions (http://www.religiousresources.org/) Broad coverage of religions with an emphasis on Christian resources
• Religious Worlds (http://www.religiousworlds.com/index.html) A directory of web pages organized by religion and by religious themes (religion and film, religion and science, etc.)
• Virtual Religion Index (http://virtualreligion.net/vri/) A comprehensive index of Web sites pertaining to specific religions, Religious Studies, and related themes (such as ethics, psychology of religion, philosophy and theology, etc.)
• Wabash Center Internet Guide to Religion (http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/guide_headings.aspx) "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: syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, Web sites, bibliographies, liturgies, reference resources, software, etc."

 

Philosophy of Religion

• Philosophy of Religion (http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/) Concise explanations of classic arguments in the philosophy of religion, including arguments for the existence of God, arguments for agnosticism, and arguments for atheism
• PHILTAR: Philosophy, Theology, and Religion (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/) Select the "Philosophy" link for articles on Chinese Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, and Islamic Philosophy

 

Pluralism 

• The Pluralism Project at Harvard University (http://www.pluralism.org/index.php) Very well-funded and well-conceived diversity project organized by Diana Eck, Harvard Professor of Religious Pluralism in America.  Excellent resources and guidelines for visiting religious centers and conducting research.
• religious diversity news / The Pluralism Project (http://www.pluralism.org/news/index.php?filter=intl) Current international news from many different news sources, updated every two weeks, use pull down menu on upper right to shift to domestic religious news, or themes on the left sidebar.   

 

Primary Sources

• Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement: Religious Texts (http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/) A compilation of searchable Jewish and Islamic religious texts
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/) Writings by the Church Fathers and other classic Christian writings
• Fred R. Crawford Witness to the Holocaust Project files (http://sage.library.emory.edu/collection-0608.html) An online, digitized collection of "eye witness accounts from the soldiers who liberated the German concentration camps during World War II, from Holocaust survivors, and from other witnesses in order to refute claims that the Holocaust never occurred"
• From Primitives to Zen (http://mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/) Mircea Eliade's anthology of primary source writings organized by theme ("Gods, Goddesses and Supernatural Beings," "Myths of Creation and Origin," "Death, Afterlife and Eschatatology," etc.)
• Internet Sacred Text Archive (http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm) An extensive collection of scriptures from the world's religious traditions
• Mulamadhyamakakarika ("The Fundamentals of the Middle Way") Translation of the one of the most important texts in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy
• Stephen Batchelor's translation of the Mulamadhyamakakarika 

 

Religion in America

• Divining America: Religion in American History  This site is organized in three broad time periods: the 17th and 18th Centuries, the 19th Century, and the 20th Century, with dozens of scholarly articles along with corresponding web resources, primary documents, bibliographies, and class discussion guidelines organized by topics within each time period.  This site is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lilly Endowment.  It is intended for teachers, but very appropriate for students as well.
• American Religious Experience at WVU  Another site with a variety of scholarly resources, articles, web pages organized topically, book reviews, and many other resources.  My old graduate school comrade, Kelly Baker, has a very insightful web blog describing her experiences conducting archival research at various libraries and institutes around the country (her description of Bob Jones University is particularly entertaining).  Though the site administrators are no longer soliciting materials, West Virginia University still hosts and serves up their documents. 
• Urban Dharma, Buddhism in America (http://www.urbandharma.org/) For a variety of indexed articles, video files, and many other resources on Buddhism in America, Buddhist meditation, history, monastic events, conferences, newsletters, and much much more.  Site operated by the International Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles, CA. 

 

Statistics

• adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com/) "[A] growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations"
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (http://religions.pewforum.org/reports) "[S]tatistics on religion in America . . . explor[ing] the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape"

 

Western Religions

• Islam and Islamic Studies Resources (http://www.uga.edu/islam/) Information for the study of Islam, Qur'an, hadith, the Sunnah, Shi'ism and Heterodox Movements, Islam in the modern world, militant Islam, jihad, Islamist or extremist Muslims, terrorism, etc.
• iTanakh: Resources for Academic Study [of the Hebrew Bible](http://www.itanakh.org/) A directory of internet resources relevant to the academic study and teaching of the Hebrew Bible
• The Jewish History Resource Center (http://www.dinur.org/1.html?rsID=219) Over 5000 links to websites in 25 categories dealing with Jewish History
• K. C. Hanson's HomePage (http://www.kchanson.com/) Resources, articles, links, etc. relevant to the Ancient Near East and the study of the Bible
• NT Gateway (http://www.ntgateway.com/) Award winning web directory of internet resources on the New Testament

 

World Religions

• ReligionFacts (http://www.religionfacts.com/index.html) "[A]rticles on a wide variety of world religions, both ancient and modern, as well as 'ways of life,' philosophies and mind-body teachings, and even some anti-religion systems like ancient Epicureanism and modern atheism"
• Overview of World Religions (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/) Articles on world religions organized by tradition and geographic region