• "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].

• "VRI leads the field with its enormous bank of resources." -- Theology [Library Information Service, U of Exeter, 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)].

• "Although there is no one recommended starting point for finding quality religion resources, the Virtual Religion Index at Rutgers University is especially good" -- F. Condron, M, Fraser, S. Sutherland [CTI Textual Studies Guide to Digital Resources for the Humanities. (Oxford: Humanities Computing Unit, 2000)].

• 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].

• "Extensively annotated index to resources of value to the student of religion." -- Reference Desk: World Religion Resources].

• "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].

Copyright © 1997- 2022 by Mahlon H Smith
All rights reserved.