"Our site has thousands of newspaper pages, from different cities, over multiple years... and the collection is growing! Our collection is fully text searchable so do a search on anything that interests you and see it in the context of the newspapers' editorials, pictures, and advertisements. The Archive is a project of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA), a non-profit alliance of archives and libraries collaborating in support of the mission to provide enduring global access to Catholic research resources."
"Catholics and Cultures, an initiative of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, aims to foster comparative study of contemporary Catholic life around the globe and to provide teaching resources about Catholic life in all its richness and particularity. The initiative focuses on \93lived Catholicism,\94 the ways that ordinary Catholics practice their faith in their everyday lives." Sections include: Catholics by Country, Practices and Values (Charismatic Practice; Childhood and Coming of Age; Christmas and Epiphany; Dance; Death, Mourning and Gender Roles; Feasts, Processions and Festivals; Food and Fasting; Holy Week and Easter; Home Practice; Lay Organizations; Mary and the Saints; Migration and Immigration; Music; Shrines and Pilgrimage; Visual Culture: Worship; Calendar of Feasts and Holy Days), Eastern Catholic Churches, and Educator Resources. From the College of the Holy Cross."
From Creighton University, a Jesuit Catholic University. Includes reflections on the daily readings (with links to the readings themselves from the USCCB), an online retreat, audio retreats, stations of the cross, and special seasonal resources.
For Thrall cardholders only. Fifteen volumes, second edition. "Among the 12,000 entries in the encyclopedia are articles on theology, philosophy, history, literary figures, saints, musicians and much more."
"This channel offers news coverage of the main activities of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and of relevant Vatican events. It is updated daily." Adobe Flash required to watch videos.
"The member bodies of the National Council of Churches encompass a wide spectrum of American Christianity - representing traditions as varied as Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical, Anglican, and African-American, historic peace churches and ethnic-language immigrant churches. They include more than 100,000 local congregations and 45 million persons in the United States." This website contains news, educational resources, as well as a directory of links to the member bodies' websites.
"Free access to Bible study tools in many languages." Includes multilingual Bible editions and guides for Biblical studies (Bible Study Tools), a Concordance, Lessons, Mobile Bible editions for mobile device users (also available separately at this link) Reference Materials and Study Resources, an Online Christian Library (also available separately at this link), and much more.
Fourteen standard versions of the Bible can be fully searched by keyword, verse or phrase from BLB. Includes a drop down menu if you are unsure of how to enter a verse or spell a book title. Includes concordances, commentaries, devotionals, and a bible dictionary.
The complete text digitized and made available on the web. "Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript - the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity - is of supreme importance for the history of the book." Provided by The British Library, the National Library of Russia, St. Catherines Monastery, and Leipzig University Library.
PBS website on Christianity. Includes history, testimony from theologians, maps, archaeological discoveries, a chronology, and an anthology of primary sources.
Includes The Gnostic Society Library, online texts from the Nag Hammadi Library ("a collection of thirteen ancient codices containing over fifty texts", meditations, an introduction to Ecclesia Gnostica, and more.
The online global journal of Hindu Dharma. "Hinduism Today was created to strengthen all the many diverse expressions of Hindu spirituality, to give them a single, combined voice because everywhere else their voices were individualized." Published quarterly and archived on site, the journal contains many informative articles.
"Al-Islam.org is created and maintained by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project (DILP), a registered Non Profit Organisation that operates through the collaborative effort of volunteers based in many countries around the world. Our objectives are to digitize and present on the Internet quality Islamic resources, related to the history, law, practice, and society of the Islamic religion and the Muslim peoples, with particular emphasis on Twelver Shia Islamic school of thought. The purpose is to facilitate dissemination of knowledge through this global medium to locations where such resources are not commonly or easily accessible. In addition, we aim to encourage research and enquiry which the use of technology facilitates. With Al-Islam.org, we attempt to present a balanced and accurate picture of Islam as it has been taught and practiced by the Most Noble Messenger Muhammad (s) and his family, the Ahlul Bayt (a). All reasonable attempts have been made to prevent inauthentic information from being carried on this site. However, we in no way can guarantee the absolute authenticity of all of the data and should not be held responsible for any errors herein. Furthermore, we do not necessarily endorse all external links from this site."
For Thrall cardholders only. "Updated edition of this lauded work on Judaism features more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life, culture, history, and religion, written by Israeli, American and European subject specialists." Part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.
"The vision of the International Collection of Digitized Hebrew Manuscripts is to allow readers across the globe to access the complete corpus of existing Hebrew manuscripts. Using state-of-the-art technology, the International Collection will preserve the digital images of the manuscripts for the future, and will enable readers and scholars to use the most innovative research and discovery tools." From the National Library of Israel. This is the English edition. See also their Hebrew language entry page.
The Personal Gateway to Jewish Understanding. "MyJewishLearning.com is a trans-denominational website of Jewish information and education geared toward learners of all ages and educational backgrounds."
A portal for information on Sikhism including links to holy scriptures, an encyclopedia, news, and information on the Sikh way of life, prayers, disciplines, ethics and history.
Official Website of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, Punjab, India. Although the content of the home page is not in English, the navigation and many of the resources are in English.
PDF document. "Each year, the Secretariat of Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publishes the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America. This calendar is used by authors of ordines and other liturgical aids published to foster the celebration of the liturgy in our country.The calendar is based upon the General Roman Calendar, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on February 14, 1969, subsequently amended by Pope John Paul II, and the Proper Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America, approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments."
"People everywhere gather to celebrate different types of holidays and festivals, which reflect the history and identity of people of all cultures. This edition of Holiday Symbols and Customs provides an introduction to the many ways in which people celebrate and find meaning in these traditions." Freely accessible to members of Thrall (login with your library bardcode).
"A growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations: 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 (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world." Provided by Pennsylvania State University.
Basics of each religion. Topics include: Atheism, Baha'i, Buddhism, Candomble, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism, Mormonism, Paganism, Rastafari, Santeria, Shinto, Sikhism, Spiritualism, Taoism, Unitarianism, Zoroastrianism. From BBC. This page has been archived and is no longer updated.
For Thrall cardholders only. "The second edition of this highly regarded encyclopedia, intended to reflect both changes in academia and in the world since 1987, includes almost all of the 2,750 original entries -- many heavily updated -- as well as approximately 600 entirely new articles. Preserving the best of the first edition's cross-cultural approach, while emphasizing religion's role within everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture, this new edition is the definitive work in the field for the 21st century. An international team of scholars and contributors have reviewed, revised and added to every word of the classic work, making it relevant to the questions and interests of all researchers." Part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.
This study, published on April 27, 2009, by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, focuses on major religious denominations and changes affiliations in America. An overview, interactive section, and complete PDF document are available (view PDF with Adobe Reader).
From Bartleby.com, which describes this work as "a study in comparative folklore, magic and religion" demonstrating parallels between rites, superstitions, beliefs, and taboos of early civilizations.
"Patheos connects seekers, students, and believers to faith communities, scholars, and resources for deeper exploration and greater understanding of faith practices, wisdom traditions, and spirituality." This portal also allows users to create side by side comparisons on background and beliefs of one hundred faith traditions and denominations.
"The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, launched in 2001, seeks to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs. The Forum pursues its mission by delivering timely, impartial information to national opinion leaders, including government officials and journalists. As a nonpartisan, non-advocacy organization, the Forum does not take positions on policy debates." Sections include: Religion and Politics, Religion and Public Schools, Religion and Social Welfare, Religion and the Law, Religion and World Affairs.
"Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world's major religions, as well as by people switching faiths." "This report was produced by the Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world."
"People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other countries." Please see this link for the complete report (PDF).
"Based on interviews with more than 35,000 American adults, this extensive survey by the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project details the religious makeup, religious beliefs and practices as well as social and political attitudes of the American public."
"The Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom describes the status of religious freedom in each foreign country, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations, and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. It is submitted in compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."
Virtual Religion Index - from Rutgers University, said to "analyze & highlight important content of religion-related websites to speed research"
These complete online reference works are freely available to members of Thrall. They include: DK Eyewitness Companion: Religions, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Religion, Global Viewpoints: Religion, New Catholic Encyclopedia.
"The Israel Museum welcomes you to the Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project, allowing users to examine and explore these most ancient manuscripts from Second Temple times at a level of detail never before possible. Developed in partnership with Google, the new website gives users access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum have been digitized for the project at this stage and are now accessible online."
"DigiVatLib is a digital library service. It provides free access to the Vatican Library's digitized collections of manuscripts and incunabula. The project aims to digitize the entire Library's collection of manuscripts: 80,000 codices (excluding the archival units) mostly from Middle Age and Humanistic period." From the Vatican.
"The Edgar J. Goodspeed Manuscript Collection comprises 68 early Greek, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts ranging in date from the 5th to the 19th centuries. The acquisition of these hitherto unknown manuscripts was spearheaded by Edgar J. Goodspeed in the first half of the twentieth century in order to support new scholarship in the humanities. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grants for Libraries - Building Digital Resources program, the University of Chicago Library is providing a unique digital resource based on this collection. All 68 New Testament manuscripts have been digitized in their entirety and are presented with high-quality zoomable images through an interface that supports browsing within individual manuscripts and across the collection. The Goodspeed Manuscript Collection digitization continues the scholarly tradition of the Goodspeed Collection itself and will support new types of research and teaching made possible by digital technologies." From the University of Chicago Library.
"This site is a freely available archive of electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics. Texts are presented in English translation and, where possible, in the original language. This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship."
"The Theological Commons is a digital library of over 110,000 resources on theology and religion. It consists mainly of public domain books and also includes periodicals, audio recordings, photographs, manuscript collections, and other formats." From Princeton Theological Seminary Library. See also the Princeton Theological Seminary Library on Archive.org.
This church has an impressive online presence, boasting live church services every Sunday at 8:30, 10, and 11:30am, as well as a weekly podcast for members to enjoy.
"Grace Church is a diverse, inclusive, multi-generational family, aspiring to support one another's journey through prayer, love and encouragement. Currently mass can be enjoyed virtually on Sundays at 10:30am." Live streaming audio of mass can be found at this link. Facebook live mass can be found at this link.
"Come join us for weekly and daily Mass. A deeper connection with Christ will bring fulfillment. Experience this through our Eucharistic community and feel God's love for you." Daily mass is available every day and there is live mass via Facebook weekly.
African Methodist Episcopal Church. Their mission: Come join us and and worship the Lord, hear the word of God and fellowship with the saints Currently updating their Facebook page with short video sermons and hosting remote services. Please visit their Facebook page for how to attend.
"A loving, caring, multicultural and inclusive Christian community. Currently doing worship services via Zoom." For more information on how to get access, please see their Facebook page.
"During this time of separation please join together for a Message made possible by North Lake Presbyterian Church in Fl. Weekly services will be available on the site dated a week prior to allow time for posting to the website. Special Thanks to North Lake Presbyterian Church outreach ministries for their support."
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Middletown: We do not share a creed; Rather, we are unified by our shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a result of that search and not obedience to an authoritative requirement. UU of Middletown will be hosting speakers, gatherings, and services via Zoom. Times and dates are listed on their Facebook page. The UU church is hosting services online each week that can be accessed through their website.
"Our congregation is open and welcoming to all who seek to explore the principles and beliefs of Judaism. Our membership is made up of those who were born Jewish, those who chose Judaism, interfaith families and anyone whose spiritual path has led them to our doors. Temple Sinai is dedicated to the principles of the Torah and the values we derive from them." Services, meetings, and daily prayers are being offered online via Zoom. See their website for more information.
Middletown Islamic Center: Their mission is "To promote the Islamic teachings based on Quran and Sunnah. To arrange activities within the sanctions of Quran and Sunnah that benefit the Muslim community as well as the non Muslims. To strengthen fraternal bond among Muslims living in the greater Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state and adjoining areas. To make Islam better understood by non-Muslims. This includes collaboration with non- Muslim religious groups and/or organizations solely to assist in better understanding of Islam." Online programs, lectures, and prayers are available through their website.
This website produced by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts provides some basic history on several of the worlds most popular religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. These discussions are accompanied by digital images of artwork based on each respective religion.
"The Church Music Association of America (CMAA) works to promote sacred music in the Catholic liturgy and was founded in 1964." Includes YouTube videos of sacred music recordings. See also their Vimeo channel.
"Sacred Music is the official journal of the Church Music Association of America, and the oldest continuously published journal of music in North America. It is the essential resource for every Church musician, professional or amateur, who is interested in the restoration of the sacred in Catholic liturgical life. Sacred Music is a continuation of Caecilia, published by the Society of St. Caecilia since 1874, and The Catholic Choirmaster, published by the Society of St. Gregory of America since 1915. It is published quarterly by CMAA." From the Church Music Association of America (CMAA). Archives of the journal are available from 1965 to the prior year, with most available as downloadable PDF documents. See also The Caecilia and Gregorian Review.
Live streaming audio. "Sacred Music Radio is an internet radio station specifically designed to showcase the many varieties of sacred music from around the world." Select from two SMR Listen options and then click the Play (arrow) button to begin listening.
Streaming music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Browse alphabetically by title. Downloadable MP3s are also provided. See also their 24/7 Music Stream.
"The acquisition of medieval liturgical chant manuscripts that trace the history of music notation as it evolved over half a millennium, became a major collection priority in the Music Division beginning in the 1920s. One century later, we are fortunate to feature in this digital presentation over fifty of our chant manuscripts (e.g., antiphonaries, graduals, processionals, etc.) containing music intended for use during the rituals of the Roman Catholic Mass and Divine Office. Chronologically, these rare primary sources span a period of great paleographical change from the tenth through seventeenth centuries: from poorly executed fragments to exquisitely crafted codices, these materials range in format and size from single leaves to entire books – both pocket-sized and immense choirbooks measuring over three feet tall. Their musical contents document the creation and development of the modern-day staff from one to five staff lines, the introduction of clefs, the use of staffless (chironomic) and heightened (diastemic) neumes and eventually black square notation, and so much more." From the Library of Congress.
This website subtitled "Spiritual guidance for anyone seeking God" provides information on Christian spiritual practices like meditation, daily devotions, praying the hours, and guided journaling.
"The official website of the Meditation Society of America. Whether you're a beginner, expert, or somewhere in between, you will find valuable information on meditation techniques and concepts from all traditions throughout the world."
Created by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, this website outlines thirty-seven spiritual practices that are recognized by all major religions. Practices include gratitude, hospitality, listening, enthusiasm, and kindness. All of these practices will help to "connect with the Divine, our true selves, our neighbors, and the whole Creation." Each entry includes basic information on the practice, why this practice may be for you, a bibliography including excerpts of books on the practice, art, music, poetry, and teaching stories about the practice, as well as exercises, prayers and cues to help you in this practice.
"The objective of this website is to gather the great prayers written by the spiritual visionaries of our planet into an online database representing all life affirming traditions. Many of these prayers have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years. Others are from spiritual contemporaries in today's intricate global fabric. Though these sacred verses arise from divergent paths, voices, languages, cultures and heritages, they all carry within them the same burning flame - the same impassioned love for life and the divine mysteries."
