Awards
& Reviews
[NB: The following is a
selection of kudos and comments the VRI has received from other academic
sources.
Given the ephemeral nature of publishing in cyberspace, unfortunately most of
the original web pages
on which these words were recorded have vanished in the ether over the past
decades.
Links are provided to the few that are still maintained.]
-
"If I were only going to list one religion site, this would be it. It
has everything, for all religions:
religious texts, libraries, psychology and sociology of religion, ethics and
moral values, biblical studies, comparative religion." -- Marylaine
Block, Associate Director for Public Services, O'Keefe Library of St.
Ambrose University, Davenport Iowa [Best Information on the
Internet].
- "Start
with Virtual Religion Index...In
terms of depth and presentation this is the
best site for the academic study
of religion on the Internet."
-- Mike Madin, Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington [Academic
Info: Religious Studies].
- "Best Religion Index:
Great god pages abound. But how politically correct would we be if we had to
choose just one? Instead we offer the Virtual Religion Index, the
very best listing we could find to
link you to the faith of your choice." --Dina Gan, "The
98 Best Sites of '98" Yahoo
Internet Life (Dec 1998).
- "...an extensive
catalogue of online religion resources. It provides an
ideal starting point for both researchers and students of religious
studies." --
Open Educational Resources [Oxford U, UK].
- "Probably the best
meta-index for the study of religion." -- Department of
Religious Studies, McMaster U, Ontario, Canada.
- Among "The Web's
Best Sites" for Comparative
Religion, Anthropology
& Psychology
of Religion, Greco-Roman
Religion, Moral
Values, etc. -- Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
-
"This specialist academic site...
is a major catalogue of online religion, which
is easy to navigate and comprehensive in content... If you are looking for a
specialist topic relating to faith, then this is a
great place to look." [The
Good Web Guide: Best Sites on the Internet, London, UK].
- "...an
extensive and well-organised site giving
access to an enormous amount of material on
world religions plus related fields.... -- Internet
for Religious Studies Tutorial: Gateways [Intute
Virtual Training Suite (U of Bristol, UK)].
- "A Key Resource":
"Out of 50 pages selected as Key Resources for the Religion topic, your
page ranked 16th... When Links2Go says your page is a Key Resource, we mean
that your page is one of the most
relevant pages related to a
particular topic on the web today, using an objective statistical measure
applied to an extremely large data set... Fewer than one page in one
thousand will ever be selected as a Key Resource." -- Links2Go
Religion Award (e-mail
announcement 6 May 1999).
- "The Virtual
Religion Index is an excellent portal
for locating religious studies
resources on the Internet. ... an extensive compilation of annotated links for the
academic study of religion. Comprised of eighteen topic sections, the index
covers the historical, philosophical, theological, psychological,
sociological, and artistic aspects of a wide range of international
religious traditions. The well-organized
index divides major
topic sections into several subtopics. Within each subtopic, indexed links
are arranged alphabetically and include brief annotations highlighting
important content available at each listed site. Comprehensive
as well as current, the
index frequently posts updates to its What's New? section." -- The
Scout Report
2/4 (3 Nov 1998) [Copyright Internet
Scout Project, 1994-2000].
- "Thank you for your
excellent
work on the "Virtual Religion
Index" page. I have highly
recommended it in our web page,
the American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Project...Meta-indices
on the internet like "Virtual Religion Index" are indispensable
for academic research on religious
studies." --
René Desjardins, Wilfred Laurier University & AAR
Committee on Teaching & Learning
(personal e-mail, quoted with permission).
- "[If you] want to find some site that gives
you the academic scoop on religion, then you will have to travel to
New Jersey or at least to the site that is maintained there at Rutgers
University... It gives you an up-to-date Virtual
Religion Index with frequent annotation, at once
accurate and helpful...as varied an effort as you will find to mark
all aspects of the current religious scene...." "You have really helped many of us expand our cyber
horizons..." -- Bruce B. Lawrence, Chair
of Department of Religion, Duke University [The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Religions On-Line (Indianapolis: Macmillan Alpha Books, 2000) pp. 27-28]
& personal e-mail (quoted with permission).
- "Recommended for
students and faculty":
"brief, informative annotations make this a useful guide, especially
for undergraduates. The design of the page is attractive... The major
subject categories cover topics that one would find in many religion course
offerings...." "Thanks for putting together such a helpful
site" -- William Fontaine, Social Sciences & Humanities Reference
Bibliographer, Baker Library, Dartmouth College [in special supplement to
the Web issue of Choice
vol. 34, p. 60 & personal e-mail (quoted with permission)].
- NB:
"A
major guide to religious resources on the Internet."
"This 'NB' mark serves in this context to bring the user's attention to those sites
which the maintainer of these pages considers to be the best of the best, in terms of
resources which are useful for teaching and learning in theology and religion."
-- The Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion,
Charles K. Bellinger (Regent College, Vancouver BC).
- "If
you take only one thing away from this tip, take
this link. Rutgers University's Virtual
Religion Index is a wonderfully annotated directory of the best religion
sites on the Web, with links on everything from Shinto to Sufism. Make
this your holy portal."
-- Jonathan Dube, technology editor MSNBC.com [Web
Tips from the Pros: Holy Websites (6/17/02)].
-
"An award-winning site offering a vast
number of links to almost any matter dealing with religion, from every
perspective. A good place to start to see what
is out there in your general field of interest." -- Tom Robinson (U of Lethbridge, Alberta)
co-author of World
Religions: A Guide to the Essentials.
- "Congratulations on your web site. It
grows and gets better all the time." -- personal email from
William F. Fore, creator of Religion-Online (quoted with permission).
- Recommended:
"Extensively annotated index of links to resources of value to the
student of religion." -- The
Web's Best Sites: Religious Studies. Encyclopedia Britannica's Internet Guide
[a service of Britannica On-Line].
- "Recommended for students at all levels and for faculty."
-- Celia Hayes Mabry, reference librarian, U of Minnesota [Religious
Studies Websites].
- "An amazing set of
links, this site is highlighted as a key online reference in Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia."
WebSites for
Journalists: Journalists' on-line Religion Resources, Allan R. Andrews
(Annapolis MD).
- "Considered one of the best guides to internet resources in religion and
theology, including biblical studies. Meticulously
maintained..." -- Ann Golubowski,
librarian, Concordia University, Montreal CA [Theological
Studies Research Guide - Web Sites].
- "Excellent:
An extensive, well-organized, and annotated resource."
-- Gene R. Thursby, Associate Professor,
University of Florida [Religious
Worlds: Internet Portals]; echoed
by Albert Benshop, Sociological Institute, University of Amsterdam [SocioSite:
Religion & Spirituality].
- "A
masterful site with coverage
throughout the world. The selections for Christianity are excellent. A
first choice in all areas of
interest." -- Gordon Miller, Carrier Library, James Madison University
[Research
Guides: Philosophy and Religion].
- "Excellent
resource, not only for
Bible-related material but also for all sorts of religion links. " -- Mark
Goodacre, Lecturer in New
Testament, University of Birmingham, UK [New
Testament Gateway].
- "An excellent
annotated index of resources"
-- Ehud
Ben Zvi, Professor of
Religious Studies, University of Alberta, CA [Assisting
you to Learn: World Religions].
- "One of
the best gateway sites for Religious Studies" -- Anne C.
Barnhart, specialist for Religious Studies, University of California at Santa
Barbara [Internet
Resources for Religious Studies].
- "This site is so
useful that it heads our list for
those who seek information on religion quickly, but in an organized
presentation." -- John R. Waters, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore
KY [B.
L.
Fischer Library: Reference].
- "...High-quality
comprehensive site of links that
have been organized and chosen on the basis of their usefulness to students
of Religion." -- Alan Godlas, Associate Professor of Religion,
University of Georgia [Religious
Studies Links].
- "Authoritative
site for academic coverage of major religions and cults" -- Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton
County, OH [Internet Sites by Subject].
- "Start here
for religious research on the Internet. Broad coverage of world religions."
-- Brooklyn
College Library - CUNY
- "It gives me much pleasure to inform you that your
Very Rich Index has been selected for inclusion in several directories at
Academic Resources
Channel. As an additional sign of recognition for your remarkable
network achievements, your presentation page has been published in selected
issues of the RSCI Journals
Collection." -- Dr. Plamen Gradinarov, Editor, Eurasian Academic
Publishers, Bulgaria [personal e-mail, cited with permission].
- "The detailed site annotations provided
by the Virtual Religion Index make it an excellent place to start a search
for religion information on the internet." -- Robert Wuthnow,
The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, p.866 (Routledge,
2013).
- "Probably the best
place to start on any religious research." -- Maureen Shields [Schoolwork.UGH!].
- "An excellent
comprehensive site for all aspects of religious studies, covering all
time periods and religions, theology and philosophy, ethics, and religious
texts..." -- Thomas Nixon, reference librarian [U
of NC Libraries: E-Reference Links].
- "A great
annotated gateway site to
locate Internet sources on religion." -- Prof. Wayne A. Selcher,
Department of Political Science, Elizabethtown College PA [The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources:
World Religions].
- "I greatly appreciate all your work on the
Virtual Religion Index. It is a great resource."
-- Dr. Scott Thumma, Web Administrator, Hartford
Institute for Religion Research [personal e-mail, cited with permission].
-
" particularly
strong in the history of religions--check out...the Christian
Apocrypha, for example, or the Taoist tradition in China. There are dozens
of links for students of Islam, Hinduism, Judaism or Buddhism, but don't
miss the special sections on Psychology of Religion or Philosophy and
Theology... Fast and easy links to information on groups like Anabaptists
and Scientologists." [Forbes
Directory: Best of the Web].
- "Comprehensive directory covering
general resources and subject specific areas" -- BUBL Information
Service for UK Higher Education Community [BUBL
5:15 Internet resources: ancient history].
- "A comprehensive, current and
well-organized collection of resources on religion" -- North of Boston
Library Exchange [NOBLE:
Religion & Mythology].
-
"Content rich. A comprehensive directory of Web resources for religious
studies." -- Robert Y. Eng [East
& Southeast Asia: An Annotated Directory of Internet Resources].
- "A well-organized and comprehensive
collection of urls." -- Blake Landor, George A. Smathers Libraries,
University of Florida [Religion
Collection Page].
- "Frequently updated,
well-maintained
and organized web site for all aspects of religion" -- Debra Bucher,
University of Pennsylvania Library [Religious
Studies Search Engines and Portals].
- "A useful guide to the panoply of
religion topics..." -- Susan Sponberg, Marquette University [Theology:
Internet Resources].
- "Comprehensive site..." --
Margaret Vail Anderson, Cortland NY [Digital
Librarian: A Librarian's Choice of the Best of the Web].
- "What a marvelous resource you
provide. The Index is incredibly
helpful." -- Julianne
Miranda, Assistant Professor, DePauw University (personal e-mail, quoted
with permission).
-
-- "Web Sites Worth the
Trip," Access Internet
Magazine, p. 10 [Feb. 6,
2000].
- "WOW!"
-- Margy MacMillan, Library, Mount Royal College, Alberta, Canada [Webliography
For Religious Studies].
-
-- Particularly recommended -- Michael Fraser, CTI Centre for Textual
Studies, U of Oxford UK [Computer
Assisted Theology].
-
"Editor's top picks: Incredibly comprehensive index of world religions..." -- San
Francisco Church of Christ [The
Sword, Theology for the 21st Century: Science, History & Religion].
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