Many church records parallel government vital records, but they are not the same. Churches keep baptismal records, not birth records. They keep funeral records, not death records. It is wise to get government records also, when available, but sometimes churches were keeping records prior to their local government. In that case, the church records are a good substitute.
Churches keep more than just birth, marriage, and death records.
Some churches have a census of their congregation, records of ceremonies and sacraments, records of who served on a particular committee or taught Sunday school. But these records belong to the church, and you need permission of the pastor, minister, or sexton in charge to view their records. Jewish synogogues, Mormon temples, and temples of Asian religions also may have records you can use. One needs to find out who is in charge, and what their policy is for record access. Mormon or LDS Records are excellent The Mormons, in particular, keep extensive genealogical records of their members and all the members relatives.