Religion Research Guide

  Encyclopedias and Reference Works |  Find Books |  Find Articles | Videos, DVDs, etc.
Web Sites |  Citing Sources |  Help

 

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Encyclopedias and Reference Works

Subject Encyclopedias

These can be helpful for obtaining an overview of a subject and related topics.  An entry in an encyclopedia will often contain a bibliography which can lead you to more sources on that topic.

Here are several we have:

    Encyclopaedia Judaica (electronic version; accessible only through the Truman network)
       In print:   Reference DS 102.8 .E496  1972  ( 16 vols. )
    Encyclopedia of Buddhism     Reference  BQ 128 .E62  2004  (2 vols.)
    Encyclopedia of Christianity    Reference BR 95 .E8913 1999  (2 vols.)
    Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion:  Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen
        Reference  BL 1005 .L4813  1989
    Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World    Reference  BP 40 .E525  2004 (2 vols.)
    Encyclopedia of Native American Shamanism  Reference  E98 .M4 L98  1998
    Encyclopedia of Religion   Reference BL 31 .E46  1987  (16 vols. )
    Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion   Reference BL 31 .E4  1979  ( 3 vols.)
    Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World   Reference  DS 35.53 O95  1995  (4 vols. )
   

Subject Dictionaries

    Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions  Reference  BL 31 .D53  1994
    Oxford Dictionary of World Religions  Reference  BL 31 .O84 1997
    HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion  Reference  BL 31 .H37  1995
    The Continuum Dictionary of Religion  Reference  BL 31 .C67  1994

The following are several encyclopedias, dictionaries, concordances and other reference sources on the Bible.  You will find many more that are shelved near these:

    Anchor Bible Dictionary  6 vols.  Reference BS 440 .A54  1992
    Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible  2 vols.  Reference  BS 440 .B26  1988
    Eerdmans Analytical Concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible  2 vols.
        Reference  BS 425 .W48  1988
    Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible   Reference  BS 440 .E44  2000
    HarperCollins Bible Dictionary   Reference  BS 440 .H235  1996
    The NRSV Concordance Unabridged, Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
        Reference BS 425 .K645  1991
    The New Interpreter's Bible: General Articles & Introduction, Commentary and Reflections for
        Each Book of the Bible  12 vols.  Reference  BS 491.2 N484  1994-2002
   
     
Handbooks, Manuals and Guides
   
    Eerdmans Handbook to the History of Christianity  Reference  BR 146 .E35  1977
    Eerdmans Handbook to the World's Religions   Reference  BL 80.2 .E35  1994
    Handbook of Denominations in the United States   Reference  BL 2525 .M425  1995
    Longman Guide to Living Religions   Reference  BL 80.2 .L66  1994
   
The following are several sources on mythology:

    Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology   Reference  BL 303 .T75  1970
    A Dictionary of Symbols   Reference  GR 931 .C4413  1996
    Mythologies  2 vols.   General Collection  BL 311 .D513  1991  
    Mythology:  An Illustrated Encyclopedia   Reference  BL 311 .M95  1980
  

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Find Books

There are several types of searches you can do in the library catalog, WebCat, to locate books. Library catalogs contain subject headings used by the Library of Congress and most library users are not familiar with these official headings.  Therefore it is always best to begin with a keyword search rather that a subject search when first going to the online catalog.   Combine several terms that describe your topic.  Use and to narrow your results, or to broaden your results:

          Catholic church AND sacraments                       Augustine AND trinity
          doctrine OR belief                                                 Islam* AND (spirituality OR mysticism)
           Confucianism OR Buddhism                               Hinduism AND (moksha OR nirvana)         
          
A few tips on the keyword searches above:

The asterisk * truncates a term and will retrieve all forms of the word that follow the truncation symbol.  For example, catholic* will retrieve catholic, catholics, catholicism.  Islam* will retrieve Islam, Islamic.   The parentheses allows you to search for concepts similar in meaning and then combine these with a different term(s).  Remember to always place your similar terms within parentheses when using AND & OR in one search statement.  

Results from your keyword searches will help you identify appropriate subject headings that you can search under.  These can help you get even more relevant books on your specific topic. 

If you cannot find a particular title in WebCat, or enough books on your topic, be sure to check the MOBIUS online catalog.  When you find a book in MOBIUS, just click on the "request" button and complete the online form.  You will receive an e-mail notice once the book is here, which usually takes 2-3 business days.


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Find Articles

Databases in this section are restricted to use on the Truman network unless otherwise indicated.

*  denotes peer-reviewed journal

	BL1 J6	Journal for the scientific study of religion*
	BL1 N8	Numen*
	BL1 P25	Parabola
	BL1 R44	Religious studies review*
	BL1 S353	Culture and religion*
	BL65.C8 R42	Religion and American culture*
	BL240.2 Z9	Zygon*
	BL410 S8	Studies in interreligious dialogue*
	BL1100 H55	Hinduism today
	BL1802 S65	Journal of Chinese religions*
	BM195	Modern Judaism*
	BQ2 T75	Tricycle
	BQ7300 E38	The Eastern Buddhist*
	BR1 A42	American Catholic philosophical quarterly
	BR1 A44	American journal of theology & philosophy
	BR1 C45	The Christian century
	BR1 C6418	Christianity today
	BR1 F5	Fides et historia*
	BR1 H4	The Harvard theological review*
	BR1 I57	Interpretation*
	BR1 J65	The Journal of religion*
	BR1 J8	Journal of theological studies*
	BR1 T62	Theology today*
	BR66 J68	Journal of early Christian studies*
	BR140 A45	Church history*
	BR140 J6	The Journal of ecclesiastical history*
	BR300 A5	Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte
	BS410 J7	Journal of Biblical literature*
	BS410 N4	New Testament studies
	BS410 O43	Old Testament essays*
	BS620.A1 B52	Near Eastern archaeology*
	BV630.A1 J6	Journal of Church and State*
	BV1460 C6	Soundings*
	BV1460 J862	Journal of the American Academy of Religion*
	BX1 J6	Journal of ecumenical studies*
	BX801 A5	America
	BX801 U44	U.S. Catholic
	BX1404 C3	The Catholic historical review
	BX8001 C553	Concordia journal*
	BX8101 M4	The Mennonite quarterly review*

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Media Library

Our Media Library located on the second floor houses a large collection of videos, DVDs, sound recordings and CD-ROMS.  The list below is just a sample of what the library has.  Titles in each section are listed in order by call number.

Videos and DVDs

Religion, A World History  Media Video (10 videos)  BL 48 .R44 1998
The Long Search   Media Video and Media  DVD   BL 80.2 L6401 (v. 1-13)
Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity  Media Video  BL 80.2 .O78  1998
The Wisdom of Faith: A Bill Moyers Special With Huston Smith  ( 5 videos) Media Video BL 80.2 .W57 1996
Transformations of Myth Through Time: The Wisdom of the East  Media Video (3 videos)
BL 304 .T7252 1989
Divining the Divine  Media Video BL 624 .D58  1996
Spiritual India:  A Guide to Jainism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism   Media Video BL 2001.2 .C46  2000 v. 1
Jainism:  Ascetics and Warriors  BL 2001.2 .C46  2000 v. 2
Islam: The Five Pillars of Faith  Media Video  BL 2001.2 .C46  2000 v. 3
Buddhism: The Great Wheel of Being   Media Video BL 2001.2.C46 2000 v. 4
Hinduism:  Faith, Festivals and Rituals  Media Video  BL 2001.2 .C46  2000 v. 5
Religion:  Spiritual Heritage  Media Video  BL 2201 .R44 1998
Muslims  Media DVD  BP 161.3 .M88  2003
Islam and Christianity   Media Video BP 163 .I76 pt. 2
Buddhism:  The Middle Way of Compassion  Media Video & Guide  BQ 270 .B83 1993
The Tibetan Book of the Dead  Media Video ( 2 videos) BQ 4490 .T523  1994
From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians  Media Video ( 4 videos) BR 129 .F76  1998
Two Thousand Years  Media Video ( 10 videos) BR 145 .T86  1999
A Peculiar People   Media Video (2 videos & guide)  BR 165 .P43 1990
The Polygamists  Media Video  BT 707.5.P64 1997
Ladakh: In Harmony With the Spirit  Media Video  DS 485 .L2 L32 1990

Sound Recordings (Spoken)

Religions of the World  Media Cassette (10 tapes)  BL 80.2 .S6  1995
Buddhism and Christianity  Media Cassette BR 128 .B8 B8 1971

CD-ROMs

North American Indians  Media Multimedia  E 77 .N6756 1994
Our Common Ground: World Religions in America   Media Multimedia BL 2525 .E252 1997

This list is not exhaustive.  To locate videos and DVDs on a specific topic, go to our Searching for Videos page.

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Web Links A-Z

ARDA: American Religion Data Archive--A collection of quantitative data sets for the study of American religion.
American Religious Experience -- Teaching resource produced by scholars from several universities with links to biographies, book reviews and information on women's religious experience.  The "American Religion Links" leads to several electronic journals, including The North Star: a Journal of African American Religious History.
Bible Gateway --"intended to be a tool for reading and researching the scripture online," this site contains multiple bible translations. audio Bibles and various search options. Currently has 81 Bibles (including 12 audio and 13 e-books).  "Highly recommended" by CHOICE  January, 2004.
Center for Christian-Jewish Learning--"The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College promotes dialogue and understanding among those of the Christian and Jewish faiths. . .includes resources for scholars and students. . .highly recommended."  CHOICE, July/August, 2005
Comparative Religion--A directory of resources for the study of religion.
Counterbalance Interactive Library--"A fascinating multi-media project dedicated to exploring the relationship between religion and science.  The Counterbalance Foundation, which sponsors this site, workds closely with the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. . .The library offers an immense range of topics, including the creation of the world, evolution, the relationship of humans to the environment, genetic research, the conflict between fundamentalism and science, and ethical issues. . .highly recommended." (CHOICE, March '05)
Christian Classics Ethereal Library -- Heavily used site worldwide, on the Web since 1994, overseen by Harry Plantinga of Calvin College.  A very useful site to find online texts of the Christian tradition.
Digital Quaker Collection--"The Earlham School of Religion, a graduate theological school for the Society of Friends (Quakers), has provided access to a wealth of journals, letters, and monographs. . .The selected documents detail Quaker theology, spirituality, history, and practice since the inception of the religion in the mid-17th century. . .The collection consists of over 500 volumes considered to be in the public domain. . .Prominent Quaker figures such as George Fox and William Penn are well represented, but the collection also included numerous authors of lesser prominence. . . Highly recommended."  (CHOICE, March '05)
ECanon: Online Search Engine for Canonical Texts--An XML database, part of TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism,  ECanon "provides access to the following scholarly versions of the Bible: King James Version (Project Gutenberg version), the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version (National Council of Churches), and the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament (unaccented). . .Users may search by text or passage query."  "Highly recommended" for academic libraries, according to CHOICE, Jan. 2003.
Finding God in Cyberspace--Assembled by John Gresham, Librarian, Fontbonne College, St. Louis.  Gateway links to print sources (search university libraries with significant collections in religion), digital resources (e-journals, e-texts such as Project Gutenberg) and people resources (online discussion groups).  
Internet Sacred Text Archive-- "a nonprofit archive of electronic texts devoted to religion, mythology, folklore, the occult and esoteric topics.  The purpose of the site is to promote religious tolerance and scholarship. .primary and secondary texts are included"  (CHOICE, May, 2003).  
Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus--"This Web site, which bills itself as a sourcebook for the historical study of the New Testament, consists mainly of clearly organized and searchable primary texts. . .The primary documents contained here are organized according to 'Political Climate', 'Social Climate', 'Intellectual Climate', and 'Cultural Climate'. . .Under 'Political Climate' one finds "Revolt against Rome."  Those who are not familiar with this time period or versed in biblical scholarship may need to supplement use of this site with background reading and research. . .This award-winning resource offers an interesting, well-documented look at the world in which Jesus lived."  (CHOICE, November '06)
Introduction to Islam -- Site hosted by the Middle East Institute.  Electronic version of M.Cherif Bassiouni's book of the same title.
Islamic Studies--Islam, Arabic and Religion--website of Dr. Alan Godlas, professor, Department of Religion at the University of Georgia.
Jesus: Real to Reel--Queen's Theological College, Ontario."The home page features six major categories of bibliography: 'Jesus in Film' (books and journal articles), 'Online Links' (with direct links to online articles on the topic of Juesus in filme), 'The Bible & Film,' 'Religion/Theology & Film,' 'Other works of Interest,' and 'Film Analysis.' . . .No particular religious or political slant pertains to the resources. . .which range from studies grounded in film and cultural theory to those written from a firmly Christian viewpoint.. .Recommended."  M.P. Toska, University of Akron.  CHOICE Reviews, November, 2004.
Jewish-Christian Relations--From the International Council of Christians and Jews, this site presents "readable information by learned scholars and translators on a variety of topics, e.g.  fundamentalism, feminism, violence, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Jewish backgrounds of Jesus and Paul."  CHOICE, June, 2003
Judaism and Jewish Resources--This page shows you the gates to these resources, so that you may go in and explore.
New Testament Gateway - -Web information on the New Testament.  Subject headings include:  Greek New Testament, Non-Canonical Christian Texts, Bible Translations and Editions, and Textual Criticism.  Maintained by Dr. Mark Goodacre of the University of Birmingham, England.
The Papal Encyclicals Online--"This excellent free resource provides access to papal encyclicals and other church documents. . .It is not related to the Vatican; instead it is the work of a 'Catholic layman who is trying to help keep these Church documents widely available.'  Most of the older documents were previously found on the now defunct St. Michael's Depot and were originally scanned from the reference work The Papal Encyclicals (1990), compiled by C. Carlen and covering the years 1740-1981."  E.B. Scott, Saint Michaels' College CHOICE Reviews, January 2008.
The Pluralism Project -- Description and reports of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, directed by Diana L. Eck.  Research that explored primarily non-Jewish and non-Christian religious communities, with the purpose of documenting religion in the U.S. since the 1965 Immigration Act.  A particularly useful link is the online version of World Religions in Boston.
Psychology of Religion Pages--Michael Nielsen, Georgia Southern University.  Primarily an introduction to the psychology of religion, this site "favors concrete example over general theory, e.g. the role of religion in the September 11th attacks, analysis of specific cases involving new religious movements. . ." The site does include profiles of "notable theories and theorists, e.g. Freud, Jung, Adler. . .essays on clergy sexual abuse, spiritual healing and psychotherapy." 
CHOICE, September, 2003
The RJ&L Religious Liberty Archive--"A service of the Religious Institutions Group at Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP, the Religious Liberty Archive is an extensive repository of information and resources about 'state and federal laws pertaining to religious freedom in the United States.'  The Law firm provides legal representation in a variety of areas and to a variety of clients, including religious institutions.  Its expertise in this area makes the information compiled on religious freedom in the U.S. reliable and valuable. . .Awarded '5 stars' by Robert Ambrogi's The Essential Guide to the Best (and Worst) Legal Sites on the Web (2nd ed., 2004)."  CHOICE, Dec. '05
The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy
Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center--"An invaluable tool for accessing and ordering digitally preserved primary Tibetan Buddhist documents. . .features 2,700 volumes containing over 40,000 bibliographic entries.  The texts, which are available for a nominal fee, are from all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma, Sakya) and include many important texts from the Madhyamika school of Indian philosophy."  G.J. Reece, American University.  CHOICE Reviews, December 2003.
The Unbound Bible--collection of searchable Bibles consisting of 10 English versions including the NASB, Greek and Hebrew Versions (the original Bible languages), 4 ancient versions and 42 versions in other languages.   Maintained by Biola University.
Virtual Religion Index -- Assembled by Mahlon H. Smith (Religion, Rutgers University) to guide researchers to links to home pages, indexes and documents.  Most useful as a guide for undergraduates.

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Citing Sources
 

There are several style manuals available in the library:

Chicago/Turabian Style

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations 
    General Collection LB 2369 .T8 1996
    Reference  LB 2369 .T8 1996

APA Style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
    General Collection   BF 76.7 .P83 2001
    Reserve  BF 76.7 .P83 2001
    Reference  BF 76.7 .P83 2001

MLA Style

         MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
                General Collection  LB 2396 .G53 2003
                Reserve  LB 2369 .G53
                Reference  LB 2369 .G53 2003

For additional style guides and information on citing Web sites and other electronic sources, click here.

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For further assistance, visit or call the Reference Desk (660) 785-4051 or contact the Reference Librarian for Religion:

Lisa M. Glaubitz, Reference Librarian
(660) 785-7412
glaubitz@truman.edu

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Last Modified 16 June 2008