This article is part of a Wikipedia Religious UnReliable Sources series.
The list of top Wikipedia editors who focus on religion can be dynamic and change frequently as editors come and go. Generally speaking, here are some well-known and prolific Wikipedia editors who have made significant contributions to articles related to religion:
- Jimbo Wales — Co-founder of Wikipedia, Wales has made numerous edits across various topics, including religion.
- The Anome — Known for extensive edits on various topics, including religion.
- Buster7 — An active editor who has worked on a wide range of subjects, including religious topics.
- Epeefleche — Known for significant contributions across many topics, including religion.
- Sannse — An editor with a substantial number of edits, including those related to religion.
- Carcharoth — Has contributed extensively to various subjects, including religious articles.
These editors have been involved in various aspects of Wikipedia, including the creation, expansion, and maintenance of articles related to religion. Their contributions span a wide range of religious topics, reflecting their expertise and interest in the subject.
In 2014, Religion News Service came up with a list of religion-related Wikipedia pages that have been edited frequently. In this 2014 article, they listed the following as the eight most-edited religious pages.
1. Jesus
2. Catholic Church
3. Jehovah’s Witnesses
4. Muhammad
5. Islam
6. Christianity
7. Pope John Paul II
8. Scientology
There is a need for more updated information on the important subject of religion in Wikipedia. The religious and socioeconomic landscape has certainly changed as we navigate through post-pandemic realities. Religion continues to be a subject that is top of mind for many Wikipedia readers and editors, but the subject focus is a bit different from how it was 10 years ago. What follows is an updated and thorough analysis of the top pages and editors on religion in 2020–2024, since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon doing a pageview search that includes the top 10 world religions with a timeframe of September 2020 to September 2024, here is what we found. One can see that interest in Pope Francis, the controversial leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is the greatest, with 12,804,957 views. Pope Francis has been at the forefront of many religious issues that are relevant in a post-pandemic world, and he has often been criticized by conservatives within the Church for his non-traditional statements relating to issues such as abortion, climate, contraception, euthanasia, evolution, divorce, gay marriage, Vatican bureaucracy, and women. Islam, a major world religion, is the second most viewed page at 11,103,704. Scientology is at third place, with 10,406,505 views.
Source: pageviews.wmcloud.org
The most edited pages are shown below, and is very similar to the pages with the most views. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is first at 2,550 edits since September 2020. Islam is second at 2,134 edits. Hinduism is third at 1,674 edits. Scientology is fourth at 1,370 edits, while Christianity is fifth at 1,285 edits.
Who are the top editors for the most edited and viewed pages? We did a thorough search utilizing Wikidata tools and we found the top 2 editors for the top 5 pages:
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — “Pastelitodepapa”
“Pastelitodepapa” is responsible for 32.8% of all the edits on the page since 2014. He has created 50 English pages, many of them related to the LDS church.
“Trevdna”
“Trevdna” is the second-most active editor of the LDS page. She has 5,675 total edits. Some of her most frequently edited pages are Joseph Smith, Ben McAdams, and a proposed book of Mormon geographical setting. She indicated on her talk page that she was taking a break as of May 2024.
“Sodicadl” has added over 50,000 characters to the Islam page. Her edits cover 21.4% of all the edits done since 2014. Her most-edited pages are Islam, Islamic Golden Age, God, Islam by country, Tajwid, and Quran.
“Wiki.arfazhxss” is the second-most active editor of the Islam page. He has edited 7% of the page, adding 16,062 characters. Some of his top-edited pages are Bangladesh genocide, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Belgium-Palestine relations. In 2023, he was blocked for sockpuppetry despite his numerous contributions to Wikipedia.
“Ms Sarah Welch” has edited 20.8% of the Hinduism page. She has a total of 35,185 edits and has also edited pages such as Advaita Vedanta, Sikhism, and Buddhism. She has also been active on Wikiproject Religion. As of May 26, 2024, she has no longer been active on Wikipedia, according to a message on her talk page.
“Joshua Jonathan” is the second-most active editor of the Hinduism page. Some of his most-edited pages are Christ myth theory, Resurrection of Jesus and Nondualism. Here is a peek into his talk page:
This chart represents the top authors of the Scientology page:
“Cambial Yellowing” has edited 20.4% of the Scientology page, adding 38,639 characters to the pages to date. He has 491 edits on the Scientology page and also has an interest in the L. Ron Hubbard page, as well as the categories of books about Scientology and Scientologists. Fifty-eight accounts are attached to this user. He is active on the Administrators’ noticeboard and appears to be an administrator. The following chart shows the frequency of his editing:
“Midnightblueowl” is the second-most active editor of the Scientology page. He has added 83,877 characters to the Scientology page. He has made 343 edits on the Scientology page and has edited 20.3% of the page.
Other top editors of Scientology include “Feoffer,” “Grorp,” and “Jayen466.”
“Eliko007” has edited 9% of the Christianity page. He has a total of 6,020 edits and has also edited pages such as growth of religion, Druze, Christian culture, and Decline of Christianity in the Western World. His account was blocked in January 2021 despite his many contributions to religious pages.
“Anupam”
“Anupam” is the second-most active editor of the Christianity page. She has edited pages such as head covering for Christian women, Urdu, and United Methodist Church.
This graph shows the frequency of her edits:
Interest in religious pages will continue to ebb and flow as our present religious, political, and social realities change. Religious issues remain some of the most controversial and contentious subjects in Wikipedia, and we will delve more into the individual treatment of each religion in future articles in this series.
We want to hear from you! If you are a religious leader, a parishioner, or a Wikipedia editor who has come across something in this area, we encourage you to contact us at wrn-info@proton.me. Your insights and expertise are very valuable in ensuring that accurate and comprehensive information is available to the public.
