Loras College Library: Religious and Theological Studies: Websites

Statistical Sources

World Religions: Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics
References to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc.
The Association of Religion Data Archives
References to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc.

Beliefnet offers features on religion, spirituality, faith, health, prayer, the Bible, holistic lifestyle, and more
A wide variety of resources on spiritual exploration.
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS
An online companion to the weekly television news program.
Religion News Service
Secular news and photo service devoted to unbiased coverage of religion and ethics exclusively.
Islam and Islamic Studies Resources
Resources for studying Islam and the diverse perspectives of Muslims.
First Things
First Things is published by The Institute on Religion and Public Life, an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society.

Not every website is a reliable source of information. Evaluate it before you use it as a source! Here's what to think about:

Who publishes this Web site? Is this individual or organization qualified to provide this type of information? How do you know?
Do those writing for this Web site have the appropriate credentials to do so? For example, do the authors have advanced degrees in the subject and/or experience in the field?
Have you noticed any questionable statements or claims on this Web site that make you doubt the quality of the information on it?
How well-written is this Web site? Are there typos, misspellings, grammatical or mechanical errors that suggest amateur authorship?
How old is the information on this Web site? How can you tell? Does the age of the information affect your use of it?

Serious research can include Web sites, but you need to be selective. Remember--anybody can post almost anything on the Internet!