Beliefnet: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Car0lina01 (talk | contribs) Evangelical Christianity and Kabbalah citation |
Waterlogfire (talk | contribs) Undid revision 1239252649 by 222.153.16.64 (talk). Previous editor appended "pseudo-" to Christian in the phrase "Beliefnet is a Christian lifestyle" for the reason that they are not strictly Christian. Pseudo means false, not "not strictly", and to call Beliefnet either pseudo- or quasi-Christian does not reflect an appropriate neutral point of view. |
||
| (142 intermediate revisions by 64 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|Lifestyle website}} |
|||
{{Cleanup|date=June 2009}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{Refimprove|date=June 2009}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
| type = [[Lifestyle (sociology)|Lifestyle]], [[spirituality]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
| |
| language = [[English language|English]] |
||
| |
| owner = BN Media Associates |
||
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1999|12|28}} |
|||
| screenshot = |
|||
| |
| current_status = Active |
||
| url = http://www.beliefnet.com/ |
|||
| alexa = http://alexa.com/siteinfo/beliefnet.com |
|||
| commercial = |
|||
| type = [[religion]], [[Social network service|social]] |
|||
| language = [[English language|English]] |
|||
| registration = |
|||
| owner = [[BN Media Associates]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
| launch date = December 28, 1999 |
|||
| current status = Active |
|||
| revenue = |
|||
| slogan = Inspiration. Spirituality. Faith |
|||
| content license = |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
'''Beliefnet''' is a Christian lifestyle [[website]] featuring editorial content related to the topics of [[Biblical inspiration|inspiration]], [[spirituality]], health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment. |
|||
'''Beliefnet''' is a large multi-faith [[e-community]] that aims to provide a free forum for religious information and [[Biblical inspiration|inspiration]], spiritual tools, and discussions and dialogue groups. Beliefnet provides information about various religious and spiritual beliefs, ranging from [[Christian denomination]]s to [[atheism]] to smaller faiths like [[Zoroastrianism]]. It interviews religious figures, offers articles and blogs on various creeds, has collaborated with Newsweek<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2006/07/Word.aspx]</ref> and Time<ref>[http://blog.beliefnet.com/godometer/2008/07/why-obamas-faithbased-initativ.html]</ref> and has partnerships with The Wall Street Journal<ref>{{cite news| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125365145301031757.html | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Deism: Alive and Well in America | first=Steven | last=Waldman | date=September 23, 2009}}</ref>, Chicken Soup for the Soul<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/index.aspx]</ref>, and Fox Faith.<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/Fox-Faith/Fox-Faith.aspx]</ref> Beliefnet is not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement. |
|||
==History== |
==History== |
||
Launched in 1999 by [[Steven Waldman]] and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet filled a gap in the religious and inspirational content available online. In 2007, Beliefnet was acquired by the [[Fox Entertainment Group]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beliefnet.com/|title=home|website=Beliefnet.com}}</ref> with a strategy of being integrated into other Fox-owned faith-based entities. This strategy was short-lived and ultimately evolved, again with the sale of Beliefnet in 2010, to BN Media, LLC, an entity that includes the investors behind [[Affinity4]] and Cross Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/company-town-blog/story/2010-05-27/news-corp-puts-beliefnet-on-the-block |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=May 27, 2010 |author=Dawn C. Chmielewski |access-date=April 14, 2023 |title=BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of Beliefnet}}</ref> |
|||
The site, launched on December 28, 1999, initially included side businesses such as an online store and building Web sites for houses of worship. Between the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2000, the company raised $26 million in funding.<ref name="Keeping Faith"/> |
|||
In September 2016, Patheos.com was added to the family of brands.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beliefnet-announces-acquisition-of-patheos-300323027.html |date=September 6, 2016 |title=Beliefnet Announces Acquisition of Patheos|website=Prnewswire.com}}</ref> In 2021, BN Media LLC announced that the company would be doing business as Radiant.<ref>{{Cite web|title=bnisradiant|url=https://www.radiantdigital.com|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.radiantdigital.com}}</ref> Under Radiant, Beliefnet was rebranded from interfaith/independent to an explicitly Christian website.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beliefnet - RadiantDigital.com |url=https://www.radiantdigital.com/brands/beliefnet |access-date=2023-01-22 |website=www.radiantdigital.com |language=en}}</ref> |
|||
The side businesses were abandoned in 2001.<ref name="We All Believe In Something">{{cite news |author=Mark A. Kellner |title=We All Believe In Something |work=ChristianityToday |date=February 19, 2001 |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/february19/2.36.html?start=1}}</ref> In April 2002 the company declared [[Chapter 11]] [[bankruptcy]], a month after co-founder [[Steven Waldman]] became its chief executive. It emerged from bankruptcy in October 2002.<ref name="Keeping Faith">{{cite news |author=Joe Nocera |title=Keeping Faith In a Venture Built on Faith |work=New York Times |date=May 5, 2007 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=technology&res=9A00E7D8113EF936A35756C0A9619C8B63}}</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
In July 2005, the company reported that it had raised $7 million in new funding, and that "The site's traffic patterns more or less mirror the [U.S.] population as a whole," with roughly 70% of the site's traffic related to Christian interests, and about 70% of the site's visitors being women, mainly in the age range of 35 to 45 years old.<ref name="DJNS">{{cite web |publisher=Dow Jones news service |url=http://www.bcvc.com/news/index_detail.lasso?id=204 |title=Beliefnet Secures $7M In Series C Funding For Growth, More Multimedia |author=Rachel Nielsen |date=July 1, 2005}}</ref> |
|||
Beliefnet at one time co-sponsored a series called "Beliefnet Guides to...," including books on Evangelical Christianity and Kabbalah.<ref name="God on the Internet ">{{cite web |publisher=First Things news service |url=http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/01/god-on-the-internet-1|title=God on the Internet |author=Jonathan V. Last |date=December 2005}}</ref> |
|||
Beliefnet provides users with Christian inspirational material and lifestyle coaching. They feature stories, quizzes, recipes, and other resources related to spirituality, inspiration, health and wellness, love and family, and news and entertainment. Beliefnet has also introduced concentrated mini-sections to answer the demand for more genre-specific content, like its Apron Strings section with resources for moms, as well as its Women's Health section. It provides basic information on some additional, non-Christian faiths including [[Judaism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Islam]], among others. |
|||
On December 4, 2007, Beliefnet announced it had been acquired by the [[Fox Entertainment Group]] for an undisclosed amount of money.<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/story/227/story_22725_1.html Press Release: Fox Entertainment Group Acquires Beliefnet]</ref> Waldman, who became editor-in-chief of the company after its acquisition by Fox, left in November 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2009/11/good-bye.html |date=November 20, 2009 |title=Good Bye |publisher=beliefnet.com |author=Steven Walman}}</ref> |
|||
By May 2010 traffic to the site had dropped from 2.8 million unique visitors to 2.4 million and NewsCorp was seeking a buyer for the site.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/05/news-corp-puts-beliefnet-on-the-block.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 27, 2010 |author=Dawn C. Chmielewski |title=News Corp. puts Beliefnet on the block}}</ref> |
|||
On June 25, 2010, Beliefnet was acquired by BN Media, an entity that includes the investors behind Cross Bridge<ref>[http://www.crossbridge.com]</ref> and Affinity4<ref>[http://www.affinity4.com]</ref>.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bn-media-llc-announces-acquisition-of-beliefnet-97202334.html |work=PR Newswire |date=June 25, 2010 |title=BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of Beliefnet}}</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Beliefnet offers eCards, discussions, quizzes, meditations, prayers, and "Soulmatch." Discussions are oriented toward specific groups of people, such as couples and teens, topics ranging from abortion to sexism, and dozens of religious faiths. Specific discussion "boards" exist to ask questions about religions and engage in interfaith dialogue as well as debate and criticism. Boards are hosted by volunteers and supervised by Beliefnet producers. |
|||
==Awards== |
|||
Beliefnet received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online.<ref>[http://www.magazine.org/ASME/ABOUT_ASME/ASME_PRESS_RELEASES/22246.aspx 2007]</ref> |
|||
==Notable contributors== |
|||
* [[Elliott Abrams]] |
|||
* [[Sam Harris (author)|Sam Harris]] |
|||
* [[Andrew Sullivan]] |
|||
* [[Marcus Borg]] |
|||
* [[Rod Dreher]] |
|||
* [[David Kuo (author)|David Kuo]] |
|||
* [[Jim Wallis]] |
|||
* [[Nell Minow]] |
|||
==See also== |
|||
* [[Religion and the internet]] |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
||
== Further reading == |
|||
{{refbegin|40em}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Alvstad |first=Erik |year=2010 |title=Encounters between believers and non-believers in a symbolic universe: Religious dialogue and controversy on the internet |journal=Nordic Journal of Religion and Society |volume=23 |number=1 |pages=71–86 |doi=10.18261/ISSN1890-7008-2010-01-05 |url=https://www.idunn.no/file/ci/66929990/Encounters_Between_Believers_And_Non-Believers_In_A_Symboli.pdf |doi-access=free |access-date=2018-04-11 |archive-date=2018-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412001445/https://www.idunn.no/file/ci/66929990/Encounters_Between_Believers_And_Non-Believers_In_A_Symboli.pdf |url-status=dead }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Heidi |title=Making Space for Religion in Internet Studies |journal=The Information Society |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=21 |issue=4 |year=2005 |issn=0197-2243 |doi=10.1080/01972240591007625 |pages=309–315 |s2cid=40962108 |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/41977924/TIS-final.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Heidi |s2cid=34361336 |title=Religion and the Internet |journal=Communication Research Trends |publisher=Centre for the study of communication and culture |volume=25 |number=1 |year=2018 |doi=10.4135/9781473960367.n214 |isbn=9781473926615 }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Carrigan |first=Henry L. |title=Seeking God in Cyberspace |journal=Journal of Religious & Theological Information |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=4 |issue=4 |year=2001 |issn=1047-7845 |doi=10.1300/j112v04n04_05 |pages=55–82|s2cid=141201869 }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Casey |first=C. A. |year=2001 |title=Online Religion and Finding Faith on the Web: An Examination of Beliefnet.org |journal=Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association |volume=2 |page=32 |url=https://media-ecology.org/publications/MEA_proceedings/v2/Casey02.pdf |access-date=2018-04-11 |archive-date=2019-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214202357/http://www.media-ecology.org/publications/MEA_proceedings/v2/Casey02.pdf |url-status=dead }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Hackett |first=Rosalind I. J. |title=Religion and the Internet |journal=Diogenes |publisher=SAGE Publications |volume=53 |issue=3 |year=2006 |issn=0392-1921 |doi=10.1177/0392192106069015 |pages=67–76|s2cid=143865560 }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Helland |first=Christopher |title=Surfing for Salvation |journal=Religion |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=32 |issue=4 |year=2002 |issn=0048-721X |doi=10.1006/reli.2002.0406 |pages=293–302|s2cid=144964877 }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=MacWilliams |first=Mark W. |title=Virtual Pilgrimages on the Internet |journal=Religion |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=32 |issue=4 |year=2002 |issn=0048-721X |doi=10.1006/reli.2002.0408 |pages=315–335|s2cid=144959419 }} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last1=McKenna |first1=Katelyn Y.A. |last2=West |first2=Kelly J. |title=Give me that online-time religion: The role of the internet in spiritual life |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=23 |issue=2 |year=2007 |issn=0747-5632 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2005.08.007 |pages=942–954}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last=Ostrowski |first=Ally |year=2006 |title=Texting Tolerance: Computer-Mediated Interfaith Dialogue |journal=Webology |volume=3 |number=4 |page=34ff |url=https://webology.org/2006/v3n4/a34.html }} |
|||
* {{cite book |last=Wei |first=Low Yuen |title=Mediating Piety |chapter=Religious Ecology On The Internet: A Case Study Of Tibetan Buddhism |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-17839-7 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004178397.i-240.91}} |
|||
{{refend}} |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
* {{Official website}} |
|||
* [http://beliefnet.com/ Beliefnet] |
|||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Companies based in Virginia Beach, Virginia]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1999]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:American religious websites]] |
||
[[Category:1999 establishments in the United States]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 06:41, 17 November 2024
Type of site | Lifestyle, spirituality |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | BN Media Associates |
| Launched | December 28, 1999 |
| Current status | Active |
Beliefnet is a Christian lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment.
History
[edit]Launched in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet filled a gap in the religious and inspirational content available online. In 2007, Beliefnet was acquired by the Fox Entertainment Group,[1] with a strategy of being integrated into other Fox-owned faith-based entities. This strategy was short-lived and ultimately evolved, again with the sale of Beliefnet in 2010, to BN Media, LLC, an entity that includes the investors behind Affinity4 and Cross Bridge.[2]
In September 2016, Patheos.com was added to the family of brands.[3] In 2021, BN Media LLC announced that the company would be doing business as Radiant.[4] Under Radiant, Beliefnet was rebranded from interfaith/independent to an explicitly Christian website.[5]
Site architecture
[edit]Beliefnet provides users with Christian inspirational material and lifestyle coaching. They feature stories, quizzes, recipes, and other resources related to spirituality, inspiration, health and wellness, love and family, and news and entertainment. Beliefnet has also introduced concentrated mini-sections to answer the demand for more genre-specific content, like its Apron Strings section with resources for moms, as well as its Women's Health section. It provides basic information on some additional, non-Christian faiths including Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, among others.
References
[edit]- ^ "home". Beliefnet.com.
- ^ Dawn C. Chmielewski (May 27, 2010). "BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of Beliefnet". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "Beliefnet Announces Acquisition of Patheos". Prnewswire.com. September 6, 2016.
- ^ "bnisradiant". www.radiantdigital.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ^ "Beliefnet - RadiantDigital.com". www.radiantdigital.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
Further reading
[edit]- Alvstad, Erik (2010). "Encounters between believers and non-believers in a symbolic universe: Religious dialogue and controversy on the internet" (PDF). Nordic Journal of Religion and Society. 23 (1): 71–86. doi:10.18261/ISSN1890-7008-2010-01-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
- Campbell, Heidi (2005). "Making Space for Religion in Internet Studies" (PDF). The Information Society. 21 (4). Informa UK Limited: 309–315. doi:10.1080/01972240591007625. ISSN 0197-2243. S2CID 40962108.[dead link]
- Campbell, Heidi (2018). "Religion and the Internet". Communication Research Trends. 25 (1). Centre for the study of communication and culture. doi:10.4135/9781473960367.n214. ISBN 9781473926615. S2CID 34361336.
- Carrigan, Henry L. (2001). "Seeking God in Cyberspace". Journal of Religious & Theological Information. 4 (4). Informa UK Limited: 55–82. doi:10.1300/j112v04n04_05. ISSN 1047-7845. S2CID 141201869.
- Casey, C. A. (2001). "Online Religion and Finding Faith on the Web: An Examination of Beliefnet.org" (PDF). Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association. 2: 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
- Hackett, Rosalind I. J. (2006). "Religion and the Internet". Diogenes. 53 (3). SAGE Publications: 67–76. doi:10.1177/0392192106069015. ISSN 0392-1921. S2CID 143865560.
- Helland, Christopher (2002). "Surfing for Salvation". Religion. 32 (4). Informa UK Limited: 293–302. doi:10.1006/reli.2002.0406. ISSN 0048-721X. S2CID 144964877.
- MacWilliams, Mark W. (2002). "Virtual Pilgrimages on the Internet". Religion. 32 (4). Informa UK Limited: 315–335. doi:10.1006/reli.2002.0408. ISSN 0048-721X. S2CID 144959419.
- McKenna, Katelyn Y.A.; West, Kelly J. (2007). "Give me that online-time religion: The role of the internet in spiritual life". Computers in Human Behavior. 23 (2). Elsevier BV: 942–954. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.08.007. ISSN 0747-5632.
- Ostrowski, Ally (2006). "Texting Tolerance: Computer-Mediated Interfaith Dialogue". Webology. 3 (4): 34ff.
- Wei, Low Yuen. "Religious Ecology On The Internet: A Case Study Of Tibetan Buddhism". Mediating Piety. Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004178397.i-240.91. ISBN 978-90-04-17839-7.
