America:

http://www.americamagazine.org/index.cfm

The magazine of the Jesuits. Provides a reasoned and powerful look at American culture as it is revealed in many facets that affect the religious dimension of life. Recently revamped its Web site and created a new URL.  Be certain you've got the correct site because the old one remains posted in free-floating cyberspace.

http://www.anglicanjournal.com

A monthly (except July and August) Canadian-produced journal that Anglicans Online calls "one of the premier online religious publications in the world."

http://www.anglicanvoice.org

Labelled the "online magazine of Episcopalians United," this thoughtful collection of essays, reviews and commentaries is a quick and clean compilation of intelligent writing from generally conservative Episcopalians. These are the people who appear to be constantly on the brink of breaking with the Episcopal Church in the United States.

http://wire.ap.org/

The AP's URL directs one to member papers, and at those papers one should search for Richard Ostling, the AP's religion writer. Ostling for a long time wrote for Time magazine and before that for Christianity Today.

http://www.thebanner.org/template/index.cfm

Magazine of the Christian Reformed Church. While somewhat provincial, this magazine offers some sane thinking and analysis from a Biblical perspective. Unfortunately, the Web presence is a tease for the print version.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/

A model of what major journalism organizations can do with religion coverage once they acknowledge its importance. In many ways, this site is more of a religion encyclopedia than a news site, but it's nice to know religion and the world news are just a click away from each other.

http://www.biblereview.org

Until 2006, this was one of three magazines published under the auspices of the Biblical Archaeological Society (whose official journal is accessible at the same site), BR offered a popular, intellectual analysis of Bible scholarship from largely Jewish and more liberal Christian perspectives.  Its letters section was particularly lively and profane, and it often presented dualing perspectives on biblical issues provided by established scholars and authors.  Now, after 20 years, it has been refolded into the magazine from which it emerged; as a result, it is effectively extinct, with only a few verstiges remaining in the Biblical Archeological Review.

Books & Culture: A Christian review:

http://www.booksandculture.net

This magazine aspires to be to the religious world what The New York Review of Books is to the literary world, and it appears to be on the way to succeeding. One of the most intellectually astute publications on the newsstand written from a Christian perspective. Next to the parent publication, I judge this the finest magazine in the Christianity Today Inc. stable. One drawback is that it appears only six times each year.

http://www.catholicdigest.org/#top

Not much of anything for online readers other than an attempt at "cuteness" with a guided tour of "heaven." I'm not making this up, as Dave Barry might say, but the Digest's "most beloved writer," Sean Patrick offers what's basically a promo for the print edition.

http://www.cbn.org/news/

Pat Robertson's Regent University in Virginia is home to this classy broadcast news operation. Lots of political commentary here from a conservative Christian viewpoint. Journalistically, this site is impressive, but its fairness and objectivity is questioned by many. Read this interesting article from the archives of The American Journalism Review about Regent University's Jouralism School.

http://www.christiancentury.org/

Speaking from the perspective of a generally liberal Protestant worldview, this journal challenges the popular culture of the nation to give consideration to theological reflection.

http://www.christianity.net/christianhistory/current/

One can't get to the entire contents, but a fine selection of cover stories in this magazine that offers Church History for the laity. Another of the Christianity Today magazines, and a fine educational tool.

http://www.csionline.org/chs
http://www.csionline.org/cst

These are the magazines of Christian Schools International, the largely Christian Reformed private school organization in Grand Rapids, MI. If one thinks this is a provincial denominational magazine, however, one is in for a pleasant surprise. Especially progressive and intelligent are the reviews of a wide variety of media, including TV, film, DVDs, books, Internet sites, and computer games. Though aimed at teachers and parents primarily, these are fine Christian publications.  By the way, CSI is not a strictly denominational organization and is run independent of any denomination. Nevertheless, Christian Reformed educatiors exercise a tremendous influence on both magazines.  It  also should not be confused with another private organization of Christian schools, The Association of Christian Schools International, or ACSI, which has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.  ACSI, the much larger organization, also publishes quarterly magazines, but none that is as erudite and challenging as CSI's two publications.

http://www.christianinfonet.com/p0000746.htm

A listing of Christian magazines at this site that attempts to be a search engine for all things Christian on the WWW. It helps a link seeking inclusion in this listing if it is consistently opposed to abortion. The site is maintained by a Fort Worth, Texas, woman who heard a call from God to "become my journalist." This site also contains a fairly extensive dictionary of the Bible.

For another Bible Dictionary, try TheAnet http://www.theanet.com/christian/terms.html

http://www.nlnnet.com

A search site that lists religious magazines, almost exclusively evangelical, but very extensive.

http://www.christianity.net/

This is the corporate site of Christianity Today magazine, known in the Online evangelical world as CT. The print magazine is a good source for news of the evangelical Christian world, and most of the current news is posted at the Web site.
To find the latest news on this highly promotional Web site, search for CT's "Weblog."

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/

A very influential Jewish magazine of opinion and commentary on politics and culture. A good selection from back issues is posted at the WWW but little if anything from the current issue.

http://www.commonwealmagazine.org

A journal written and edited by independent Roman Catholic laypeople, this fine publication addresses American culture with the challenge of thinking Christianly. A small but influential publication that takes religion and journalism seriously without compartmentalizing. Only selected articles at its Web site.

http://www.navpress.com/ctt.asp

Touting itself as "your tool for tackling information overload," this quartlerly publication of the Navigators mission organization is a digest of magazine and newspaper articles relevant to religion.  Editors at CTT attempt to summarize from hundreds of magazines, newspapers, books reviews, and Web sites each month from a wide variety of viewpoints—Christian and secular.   Available monthly in print for a hefty $39.

http://www.thedoormagazine.com

Just a tease of the print version at this site, but as its blurb says, this is "pretty much the only Christian satire magazine."  The magazine has evolved from an underground publication to a popular Christian counterculture magazine and back to a Christian humor magazine.  The name shift apparently came from the founders having mispelled Wittenberg, but they brought it back with an out-of-alignment "u."  (If you don't know the connection of the German city with the Protestant Reformation, the mispelling won't mean a doornail to you.)  One thing The Door and its parent Trinity Foundation have become very good at is exposing the fraud that is rife in the religious media.

http://www.episcopal-life.org/

A well-written and well-edited denominational news magazine that covers the entire United States, though there's much emphasis coming out of the national headquarters in New York City. In addition to lots of news about Episcopalians, this magazine offers some regular food for thought in its columns. Many of the Episcopal dioceses in the nation partner with EL for distribution.  The Web site is not a true reflection of the newspaper, but a bimonthly feature update..

http://www.firstthings.com/

This so-called neo-conservative journal attempts to bring the Christian gospel to bear on all things social and political. One may not agree with all of its editors' and writers' musings and opinions, but they are on the right track in bringing religion into the sphere of hard news, or as the magazine's editor in chief the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, characterizes it, "The Public Square."

http://westarinstitute.org/Periodicals/4thR_index/4thr_index.html

This is the periodical of the Jesus Seminar.  One can't truly be up-to-date regarding religion in the news without knowing something about the flamboyant Jesus Seminar.  This may be the best place to get an introduction.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/index.aspx

Up-to-date religion news as it relates to the First Amendment used to be the focus of the Freedom Forum's free!   In the past few years, however, this has evolved into a freedom of spirit emphasis.  The Forum says it defends freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of spirit. The Forum's First Amendment Center, connected with Vanderbilt University, focuses on the defense of the First Amendment Freedoms, but religion in general as news seems to have become an emphasis on diversity issues and on social action, especially in the public schools.  Early publications of the Forum, such as John Dart's Deadlines and Deities, and the anthology Bridging the Gap:  Religion and the News Media, while still available, seem to have been overwhelmed by teaching guides and manuals with special emphasis on the teaching of religion in American public schools.  It's a subtle shift, but one that smacks, I think, of the civil religion that politicians and journalists often succumb to.

http://www.guideposts.org

The devotional and inspirational magazine founded by the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, the father of "positive thinking." Not much here in the category of news (except, perhaps, of the "good news").

http://www.uua.org/interconnections/

The five-times-a-year publication of opinions and ideas from the Unitarian-Universalist Church.

http://www.omsc.org/ibmr.html

This Quarterly's title may appear put-offish to journalists, but some of the most distinguished and scholarly reporting of Christianity around the globe appears in the pages of this erudite journal. Though basically Christian, IBMR stands in a strong ecumenical tradition.  The journal is published by the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, CN

http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/

Two professors of philosophy and religion at the University of Omaha are responsible for this fascinating site that not only reviews and analyzes overtly religious cinema but keeps religious thinkers informed about meaningful films of almost every genre.

http://www.christianity.net/leadership/current/

Another of the magazines in the Christianity Today lineup, this one aims primarily at clergy, especially preachers and church administrators. Some of the finest cartoons in Christian publishing also appear here with great regularity. Unfortunately for online readers -- as with all CT publications -- only a taste of the print version is posted online.

http://www.thelutheran.org

Online version of the fine magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Not a great source for breaking news, but some thoughtful analyses and feature stories show up here.

http://www.moody.edu/MBN

Online site of network of radio stations operated by Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, ostensibly the largest Christian radio operation in the nation, if not the world.

http://www.theotherside.org

A long-running periodical that champions an alternative Christian vision, especially those dominated by the thinking of liberation and feminist theologians.  The Philadelphia organization behind the magazine also runs an "alternative seminary" to express and build its viewpoints.  A challenging group stressing justice and the creative arts.

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (PBS):

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/home.html

This highly popular and successful production of public television (though seemingly always broadcast during the so called "cultural ghetto" hours* of Sunday morning) provides a fine Web site with a weekly calendar and some timely news features.  This fine program, however, may ultimately collapse under the weight of its own straining to be objective (i.e., to please the producers not the consumers).
* (My hasty survey of top 50 market listings at the Web site indicates that only in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; in New Orleans, La.; and in Indianapolis/Lafayette, Ind., is this program broadcast during what could be considered "prime time." In the markets closest to me, Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C., the program is on Sundays between noon and 1 p.m.)

http://www.sim.org/categorylist.asp?fun=14&fun2=1&magid=116

A Christian magazine--called Mission--aimed at informing Christians about other world religions. Interesting reading here. SIM is an acronym turned logo that formerly signified the Sudan Interior Mission.

 

http://www.sojourners.com

A magazine of Christian social consciousness provides a fine Web site with a good sampling of stuff from the magazine and the parent organization in Washington, D.C.  The major spokesperson for Sojourners is its founder and director, Jim Wallis, a prolific writer on American social failings who has gained the ear of many power-brokers in the nation's capitol.

http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/site.html

Produced by Trinity Church, Wall Street, in New York, this site is a kind of intellectual's guide to everything from Christian spirituality studies to New Age psychobabble. For my money, this site leans too close to equating spirituality and religion as well as losing sight of the link between health and the holy, and I'm suspect of any organization claiming that using the Internet is "inherently meditative."  A good reminder to journalists that everything touted currently as "spiritual" is not necessarily religious.

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/sunr-hp.htm

Published bimonthly, this magazine is the official publication of the Theosophical Society. Theosophy, or the wisdom religion, claims to be the substratum of all religion and philosophy. Its tenets are built on altruism and a respect for truth. Some critics say theosophy's three cardinal doctrines -- creative principle; karma; and evolutionary individuation -- form an essentially intellectualized version of Buddhism.

http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu

It sounds like a heavy theological journal, but Theology Today is current and relevant and many of its articles read like essays in more popular-oriented publications.  Produced at Princeton Theological Seminary, the journal can be accessed online -- full text of all editions between 1960 and 1993 -- thanks to a grant from the Pew Foundation.

Tikkun:

http://www.tikkun.org/

The respected Jewish magazine that provides a Jewish critique of American politics and culture. Publishes bimonthly. The magazine seeks to be a voice of those Jewish and non-Jewish who "are still moved by the voice of the prophets."

http://www.tricycle.com/

Not exactly a newspaper, but this quarterly is a treasure trove for those investigating Buddhism. The magazine is explained here, too.

http://www.uscatholic.org/

Monthly magazine published by the Claretians, a Roman Catholic missionary organization -- comprised of clergy and lay members -- out of Chicago. For the past two years (2000, 2001) this publication has been honored by the Catholic Press Association.  As with many monthly magazines, what's posted to the Web does not echo the print version, but there is still much to browse at the site.

http://www.uua.org/world/index.html

Graphically sophisticated periodical of the Unitarian Universalist Association.  Though it contains some news, the magazine is not primarily an information vehicle but rather a denominational booster.

Vision magazine:

http://www.visionguide.org/

An online magazine aimed at helping people discern religious vocations. Not a job site so don't look for classifieds. Aimed at Roman Catholics, this e-mag provides articles such as "Five Reasons to Become a Priest."

http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry/index.html

An online version of the weekly newspaper of the Salvation Army, produced by the United Kingdom arm of the organization. Good site for timely news with a social slant, especially in these days of "faith-based" social services.  The Salvation Army has been working in that garden for a century.

http://www.worldmag.com/world/home.asp

A politically conservative newsweekly magazine that claims to speak for American evangelicalism. Edited by a U. of Texas professor of journalism Marvin Olasky -- a Bush advisor who coined the slogan "compassionate conservatism" -- it distinguished itself in 1999 by attacking the New International Bible Society's plans to release a version (NIV) of the Bible that is gender neutral (The society has since released the TNIV -- Today's New International Version -- to mixed reviews). From my perspective, Olasky's journal represents everything wrong with an American Christianity that aligns itself morally and socially with a major political party instead of developing a Biblically prophetic and critical worldview.

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