- Beliefnet
Beliefnet or Beliefnet.com is a large spiritual site on the internet that is owned by
Fox Entertainment Group , a division ofNews Corporation . It provides information about various religious and spiritual beliefs, ranging fromChristian denomination s toatheism to smaller faiths likeZoroastrianism . It interviews religious figures, offers articles and blogs on various creeds. It collaborates withNewsweek on a column. It has a study guide for the Bible. [ [http://www.magazine.org/Editorial/National_Magazine_Awards/Winners_and_Finalists/ Winners and Finalists ] ] Beliefnet is a large multi-faith e-community. It aims to provide a free forum for religious information and inspiration, spiritual tools, and discussions and dialogue groups.History
The site, launched on
28 December ,1999 , initially included side businesses such as an online store and building Web sites for houses of worship. These endeavors were abandoned in 2001. In April 2002 the company declaredChapter 11 bankruptcy , emerging in October 2002Fact|date=October 2008. The company has since stabilized financially. According to anAugust 25 ,2005 , Blue Chip news release [ [http://www.bcvc.com/news/index_detail.lasso?id=204 Blue Chip Venture Company ] ] quoting Beliefnet co-founder and chief executive Steven Waldman, "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. About 70% of the site's visitors are women, and they tend to be in the age range of 35 to 45 years old. The advertising-supported company has recently begun sponsoring a series called "Beliefnet Guides to...," including books on Evangelical Christianity and Kabbalah.On
December 4 ,2007 , Beliefnet announced it had been acquired by theFox Entertainment Group for an undisclosed amount of money. [ [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/227/story_22725_1.html Press Release: Fox Entertainment Group Acquires Beliefnet] ]ite contents
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.
Notable contributors
*
Elliott Abrams Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on theNational Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs
* Sam Harris
*Andrew Sullivan
*Marcus Borg
*Rod Dreher
*David Kuo
*Jim Wallis
*Dan Gilgoff
*Nell Minow (theMovie Mom )ee also
*
Religion and the internet References
External links
* [http://beliefnet.com/ Beliefnet]
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