Tips & Tricks When Searching for New Religious Responses
Included here is a list of websites, suggestions, and ideas for doing your own research for religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by religious denomination. This is not an exhaustive list of sources or religious denomination by any means, and any additions are welcome!
Multi-Denominational Resources
Christian Responses
Search by Geographic Location:
- Find churches by zipcode, or find churches by state (ChurchAngel.com)
- Search for “church” or “seminary” in your location with Google, Yelp, and other search engines
Search by Denomination:
- Church Angel by Denomination
Searching for Livestreams:
- Many churches now have livestream and archive previous livestream services on their websites. Check the Facebook page of churches, too.
- Find a previous livestream. (Or follow along on a Sunday!)
- Scroll through to where you see someone standing alone and speaking.
- Copy the URL at that spot, if possible. Or note the time in the G-form comment.
Search blogs and news articles:
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Search in general or Christian media articles about churches and the pandemic. For example, use a Google news search or read articles in our Zotero collection.
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Search in Google or other search engines for “blog” “Christian” coronavirus COVID
Updating from Wikipedia Page:
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Visit this wikipedia page (“Impact of the 2019-20 Coronavirus Pandemic on Religion”).
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Choose a religion’s section by clicking on the table of content or scrolling.
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Skim through to find links to sermons, religious groups’ websites, or news articles cited as wikipedia’s source.
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Search or contact national groups for their sermons and theological statements, etc:
- List of Evangelical denominations via Wikipedia
- List of Penticostal denominations via Wikipedia
- List of Christian new religious movements via Wikipedia
Browse larger compiled lists of Christian movements and denominations:
- Use these lists of Christian denominations in North America and Christian movements as starting places for other research.
- Click through these wikipedia pages to find the names of specific churches, well known figures in the community, websites, databases of material, etc.
Jewish Responses
Search via Jewish institutions and synagogues:
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Search websites that represent synagogues and other religious Jewish organizations, such as:
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Modern Orthodox: YU Torah.org
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Reform Judaism: URJ.org and URJ Find a Congregation by location
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Conservative Judaism: USCJ.org, Jewish Theological Seminary, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Search Conservative Judaism synagogues by location.
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Reconstructionist Judaism: RRC.edu
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Choose a geographic location.
- Choose a specific enough area that you can search online for local synagogue websites.
- Dig into the synagogue website to extract sermons, announcements, guidelines, and other Jewish responses to the pandemic.
Jewish and general Media, and blogs
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Find articles in Jewish or general media about Jewish activities during the pandemic. These articles may provide links to particular sermons, congregations, and religious activities.
- Search in news articles about Jews and synagogues the pandemic. For example, use a Google news search or read articles in our Zotero collection.
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Search in Google or other search engines for “blog”; “Jewish”; "coronavirus" or "COVID"
Livestream and Facebook videos tips:
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Many synagogues now have livestream. They often archive previous livestream services. Check synagogue’s Facebook page, too.
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Find a previous livestream. (Or follow along on a Friday night or Saturday)
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Scroll through to where you see someone standing alone and speaking
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Copy the URL at that spot, if possible. Or note the time in G-form comment
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Islamic Responses
Search by Geographic Location
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Search for “mosque” or “masjid” in your location with Google, Yelp, and other search engines
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Search by State within this database by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research (note: has not been updated since 2013)
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Search for Mosques by zipcode at Islamicity.com
Database and Wikipedia Searches
- Wikipedia has lists of subcategories of International Islamic Organizations and Islamic Organizations based in the United States that you can use as a starting place for other research
- Directory of Islamic Charaties and Non-Profit Organizations
- Corona Guidance: Religious Norms for Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic