This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how notability may be interpreted within their area of interest. This information is not a formal Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community.

Shortcut WP:RELIG/N

The Religion WikiProject's notability guide is intended to provide recommendations regarding the notability of topics within the scope of the project.

In general, a topic is presumed to be notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.

In general, a religion and religious group is presumed to be notable if they have received significant coverage in multiple verifiably independent and reliable sources.

Facts that do not make a religion and religious group notable:

1. Number of adherents
2. Significant % of population in a given town or region
3. Claims of authenticity or true belief
4. Claims of proven prophecy
5. Passing mention by religious historian or religious historical document

In general, an individual is presumed to be notable if they have received significant coverage in multiple verifiable independent, reliable sources.

In particular, an individual will often meet notability guidelines if they:

1. Are the head of a major religion.
2. Played an important role in a significant religious event which itself received considerable coverage in sources.
3. Made a material contribution to the philosophy of religion that is indisputably attributed to them.
4. Were recognized by their peers as an authoritative source on religious matters/writing.

Conversely, brief descriptions in genealogical records or church histories of specific individuals are not considered specific indicators of notability.

Specific cases

• The Chief Rabbis of nation states with large Jewish communities are notable by virtue of their status.
• Heads of large, Protestant denominations are generally found to be notable for having of reached this office, as seen in this deletion debate Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/David W. Graves about a General Superintendent (Church of the Nazarene).
• Grand Muftis of nation states, appointed or officially recognised by their government, are likely to be notable. (The notability of Grand Muftis appointed by private Muslim community associations, without any official government recognition, should be examined on an article by article basis.)
• Grand Ayatollahs and Ayatollahs in Twelver Shi'a Islam are likely to be notable

Bishops

The bishops of major Christian denominations are notable by virtue of their status. This includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican Communion bishops. These denominations in particular are listed because in their respective religious traditions, bishops are high level religious officials with a substantial deal of power and autonomy, and they tend to play a substantial role in their local community, including interactions with public officials, the media, etc, which naturally tends to generate coverage about their activities in reliable sources.

Some other religious groups feature bishops with significantly less power and authority than those of the aforementioned denominations. Clerics who hold the title bishop but only serve an individual parish or congregation are typically considered the same as local pastors or parish priests, and their notability is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

As for any subject on Wikipedia, presumption of notability for a religious structure or building depends wholly on the existence of significant coverage in multiple reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject.

Many international religions have their own or strongly affiliated publishing houses. This makes determining independence difficult at times. The following religion affiliated sources are considered independent of their given church:

Catholic

• L'Osservatore Romano
• Our Sunday Visitor

Protestant Christian

• Sojourners
• Evangelical Press Association

Pages on religious doctrine, like Bishop (Catholic Church), are inherently informative articles about the given religion's teachings. Therefore, WP:Notability requirements that a source remain "Independent of the subject" need not apply. Criticisms of religious doctrine are typically better suited for more broad articles about religion, while specific articles about a given religion's doctrine should be reserved for information about the religion's teachings.