Beliefnet Explained
Beliefnet is a pseudo-Christian lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment.
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,[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
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.
Further reading
- Alvstad . Erik . 2010 . Encounters between believers and non-believers in a symbolic universe: Religious dialogue and controversy on the internet . Nordic Journal of Religion and Society . 23 . 1 . 71–86 . 10.18261/ISSN1890-7008-2010-01-05 . free . 2018-04-11 . 2018-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180412001445/https://www.idunn.no/file/ci/66929990/Encounters_Between_Believers_And_Non-Believers_In_A_Symboli.pdf . dead .
- Campbell . Heidi . Making Space for Religion in Internet Studies . The Information Society . Informa UK Limited . 21 . 4 . 2005 . 0197-2243 . 10.1080/01972240591007625 . 309–315 . 40962108 .
- Campbell . Heidi . 34361336 . Religion and the Internet . Communication Research Trends . Centre for the study of communication and culture . 25 . 1 . 2018 . 10.4135/9781473960367.n214 . 9781473926615 .
- Carrigan . Henry L. . Seeking God in Cyberspace . Journal of Religious & Theological Information . Informa UK Limited . 4 . 4 . 2001 . 1047-7845 . 10.1300/j112v04n04_05 . 55–82. 141201869 .
- Casey . C. A. . 2001 . Online Religion and Finding Faith on the Web: An Examination of Beliefnet.org . Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association . 2 . 32 . 2018-04-11 . 2019-02-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214202357/http://www.media-ecology.org/publications/MEA_proceedings/v2/Casey02.pdf . dead .
- Hackett . Rosalind I. J. . Religion and the Internet . Diogenes . SAGE Publications . 53 . 3 . 2006 . 0392-1921 . 10.1177/0392192106069015 . 67–76. 143865560 .
- Helland . Christopher . Surfing for Salvation . Religion . Informa UK Limited . 32 . 4 . 2002 . 0048-721X . 10.1006/reli.2002.0406 . 293–302. 144964877 .
- MacWilliams . Mark W. . Virtual Pilgrimages on the Internet . Religion . Informa UK Limited . 32 . 4 . 2002 . 0048-721X . 10.1006/reli.2002.0408 . 315–335. 144959419 .
- McKenna . Katelyn Y.A. . West . Kelly J. . Give me that online-time religion: The role of the internet in spiritual life . Computers in Human Behavior . Elsevier BV . 23 . 2 . 2007 . 0747-5632 . 10.1016/j.chb.2005.08.007 . 942–954.
- Ostrowski . Ally . 2006 . Texting Tolerance: Computer-Mediated Interfaith Dialogue . Webology . 3 . 4 . 34ff .
- Book: Wei, Low Yuen . Mediating Piety . Religious Ecology On The Internet: A Case Study Of Tibetan Buddhism . Brill . 978-90-04-17839-7 . 10.1163/ej.9789004178397.i-240.91.
Notes and References
- Web site: home. Beliefnet.com.
- News: BN Media, LLC Announces Acquisition of Beliefnet. . May 27, 2010 . Dawn C. Chmielewski . April 14, 2023 .
- News: Beliefnet Announces Acquisition of Patheos. September 6, 2016 . Prnewswire.com.
- Web site: bnisradiant. 2021-04-26. www.radiantdigital.com.
- Web site: Beliefnet - RadiantDigital.com . 2023-01-22 . www.radiantdigital.com . en.
