Religion in American History is a group blog that is currently managed by Cara Burnidge, Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Northern Iowa; Michael Hammond, Academic Dean of Humanities, Arts, & Biblical Studies at Taylor University; and authored by an interdisciplinary team of scholars. Visitors will find updates about new books, exhibits, and perspectives relating to the role of...

The homepage of this very recent online collection of sacred texts from the British Library doesn't mince any words, declaring this clutch of materials to be "The world's greatest collection of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim holy books." The subtitle to this remarkable collection is "Discover what we share", and that is certainly an apt phrase to describe this moving online collection, which is...

Helping understand the shared traditions among the world's major religious traditions is a tall order for a website, but this lovely online gallery from the British Library does the job quite admirably. The site was designed to complement a recent exhibition at the Library, and visitors can start by viewing an interactive slideshow of those materials. Moving on, visitors will want to make their...

Many things shape values in a society, and it is interesting to look at how different items, such as Sunday school books, help achieve this goal. This digital collection created by Michigan State University and Central Michigan University offers up a selection of the most well known representatives of this genre. First-time visitors should start out by reading the introductory essay by Stephen...

Browsing through three hundred years of history via one website is quite a treat, and this lovely website from the Society of Antiquaries of London delivers the goods. The site was created to celebrate the Society's 300th anniversary, and to complement a physical exhibit that's been making the rounds of galleries throughout the United Kingdom. Visitors can click on The Discovery of Britain area to...

The members of the Society of Jesus are commonly known as Jesuits, and their work in establishing scholarly institutions like Loyola University of Chicago and Seattle University is well-known throughout the United States. This rather contemplative online exhibition looks at books which document the first two centuries of the Society of Jesus, courtesy of St. Louis University in Missouri. The...

The University of Wisconsin Digital Collections initiative continues to surprise and delight visitors to their collections. Their latest offering is certainly no different; it includes historical images that present a visual archive of 20th century East Asian cultural heritage. The collection is actually comprised of two subcollections, namely the Holmes Welch Collection and the China in the 30s...

For those who might be unfamiliar with the religious tradition of Gnosticism, it is generally a historical term used to refer to a number of mystical sects or groups that were primarily active around the Mediterranean in the first few centuries of the Common Era. This site serves as one of the better online repositories of information related to this religious tradition, both in terms of its...

A few years ago, an enterprising librarian at the Boston College Libraries noticed a number of dusty folios in the Theology and Ministry Library. As it turned out, these folios contained the Sacred Heart Review, which was published from 1888 to 1916. This newspaper was edited by the Revered John O'Brien, pastor of the Sacred Heart Church in East Cambridge. Most certainly not a church bulletin,...

The idea for establishing an institute for the advanced study of religion at the University of Chicago originated in the early 1970s, and it seemed to be a natural fit for the school. After all, the oldest part of the University was the Divinity School. Just such an institute was established in 1979, and in 1998, it was renamed after Professor Martin Marty, who had served as a professor in the...