News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment buys Beliefnet

News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Tuesday acquired online religion and spirituality site Beliefnet, in a deal one report said is worth millions.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reported News Corp. paid "tens of millions of dollars," for Beliefnet.

Beliefnet offers non-denominational information about religious beliefs and practices from the world's major religious and spiritual groups, without endorsement or criticism. The company was co-founded at the end of 1999 by Steven Waldman, a former editor with U.S. News and World Report, and Robert Nylen.

In a letter to Beliefnet users, Waldman wrote that the company had received acquisition offers before, but none provided a good fit. "We created Beliefnet primarily to make a difference, not a killing. As I explored the possibilities with News Corp., it became clear that, with their help, Beliefnet would be able to take a quantum leap in what we can do. The best spiritual and religious teachers -- from Rick Warren to the Dalai Lama -- pass through News Corp doors (through Harper Collins, Zondervan, Harper One and others). News Corp's reach is enormous. Its proficiency in the areas of video, social networking and media in general is unsurpassed."

Beliefnet could provide News Corp. with a more direct sales channel for religion-focused products. That channel would give News Corp. a further opportunity to push books such as Christian writer Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life," a New York Times bestseller, from Zondervan, a News Corp.-owned Christian-oriented imprint, among others.

Waldman said he would remain with Beliefnet but did not stipulate for how long.

In September, Beliefnet was the most popular religion Web site in the U.S., according to a survey by comScore, with 2.9 million unique visitors, up 13 percent over August.