The University of St. Thomas

World Religion

Research Resources for Beginners

For further help, contact Jan Malcheski, Theology Reference Librarian at Ireland Library

The field of the academic study of the world's major religions is a vast one, to be sure. This guide is intended to help students orient themselves in finding and assessing some basic information about religions. Included are broad-based reference works, some book series and other books about world religion topics, and models for subject searching in both book catalogs and journal index/databases. A few general directory-type web sites are also listed.  Students may also want to consult other library research guides about religion and theology as well.

DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

General

Encyclopedia of Religion
Ref BL31 .E46 1986. 16 vol. major encyclopedia. Start with index.

HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion
Ref BL31 .H37 1995. 1 vol. Covers large number of topics and traditions.

Religions of the World
Ref BL80.3 .R45 2002. 4 vol. Lightweight articles, but comprehensive scope.

New Dictionary of Religions
Ref BL31 .P48 1995. Focus on traditions with good bibliographies.

Who's Who of World Religions
Ref BL72 .W54 1992. Biographical guide, brief entries.

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Ref BL31 .O84 1997. One vol. compendium.

New Handbook of Living Religions
Ref BL80.2 .H275 1997. Extensive bibliographies.

Islam

New Encyclopedia of Islam
Ref BP40 .G42 200.1 Good source for brief information, by Muslim.

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an
Ref BP133 .E53 2001. Two vols. (A-I) published so far.

Encyclopedia of Islam
Ref DS37 .E52. 12 vols., monumental, scholarly, for detailed research.

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World
Ref DS35.53.O95 1995. 4 vols., surveys: includes religious topics.

Oxford History of Islam
BP50 .O95 1999. Excellent new survey. J. Esposito, ed.

Judeo-Christian (See also Basic Resources for Theology and Religion)

Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Ref BR95 .O8 1997. The authority for quick facts and sources.

Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
Ref BM 50 .O94 1997.  Helpful summaries of major topics.

Encyclopaedia Judaica
Ref DS102.8 .E6. 16 vols. + supplements. Dated now but still useful major resource.

New Catholic Encyclopedia
Ref BX841 .N44 2003. 15 vols. New edition 2002/3 mostly a reprint. Older ed. still useful.

Other Topics

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ref B51 .R68 1998. 10 vols. Also online. Now standard, some good coverage of religious topics from philosophical perspectives.

Handbook of Religious Experience
BL53.H286 1995.  With section: "Faith Traditions and Religious Experience."

Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion
BL458 .E53 1999. 2 vols., a survey with some bibliographies.

Dictionary of Asian Christianity
Ref BR1065.D52 2001 

BOOKS

Interesting books to help your topic research, from the general, circulating collections in CLICnet:

  • Faith Meets Faith [search both series titles] 51 vols.
  • Religious Life of Man [search series title] 13 vols.
  • World Religions [series title] 12 vols.
  • World Religions [series title] 12 vols.
  • World Religions Today.
  • Carmody, D.L.. What Are They Saying About Non-Christian Faith? OSF BR127 .C26 1982
  • Smart, Ninian. The World's Religions. 2nd ed. BL80.2 .S615 1998
  • Renard, John. Responses to 101 Questions on Islam BP163 .R46 1998
  • ----. Responses to 101 Questions on Hinduism BL1210 .R44 1999
  • Eck, Diana. A New Religious America BL2525 .E35 2001
  • The Eliade Guide to World Religions BL80.2 .E415 1991
  • A World Religions Reader BL80 .W74 1996
  • Carmody, D.L. Native American Religions: An Introduction OSF E59.R38 C37 1993
  • Versluis, Arthur. Sacred Earth: The Spiritual Landscape of Native America OSF E98.R3 V47 1992
  • Native American Religions. Lawrence E. Sullivan, ed. OSF E98 .R3 N38 1989

JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES

UST Libraries subscribe to online versions of a number of religion/theology titles.  The Journals A-Z finder lists online access information and links.  For journals in hard copy/print only, search CLICnet Journals by title. Many journals on specific traditions are given the subject heading [Religion/Denomination name]--Periodicals.  See for example: Islam-Periodicals.  Note that not all journals are assigned such headings.


DATABASES AND INDEXES

CLICnet Library Catalog
Search the library catalog. St Thomas students can request items online.  Full-Text Finder: Look up journal titles to check  for full-text access and basic information about available 
 

ATLA Religion Database for articles, essays, book reviews on religion and theology. Journal Finder. Some full-text.  

CPLI Catholic Periodical Index
Largely with a Catholic focus, articles, book reviews, documents.   

Academic Search Premier Mostly full-text articles in all subjects, a broad-based college level index for non specialists. 


POSSIBLE SUBJECTS

Below are sample subject headings: a mix of broad topics for comparative studies with more specific topics to show some common "patterns." ATLA Religion Database and the CLICnet have similar but not identical headings.

In CLICnet: Christianity and other Religions--[name of religion].
ATLA: Christianity and [name of religion].

  • Buddhism
  • Buddhism--Relations--Christianity
  • China--Religious life and customs
  • Christianity and other religions--Hinduism
  • Dakota Indians--Religion
  • Dharma
  • Hinduism--Relations--Christianity
  • Indians of North America--Great Plains
  • Islam--Customs and practices
  • Judaism--Essence, genius, nature 
  • Jesus Christ--Hindu interpretations
  • Ramakrishna
  • Reincarnation
  • Religions [see descriptions]
  • Salvation--Comparative studies
  • Shiites
  • Zen Buddhism--Doctrines

WEB SITES

Web Gateways are created to select and evaluate "free" web sites and online sources for information. Instead of plowing through hundreds if not thousands of web pages, it can be more efficient to use these "directories" of sites. Of course, if you have a quite narrow or specific search or want to explore a full range of sites ranked essentially by popularity/usefulness protocols, a Google search is the way to go -- just be careful -- there is a lot of unreliable religious information on the Web.

Here are a few of the broad-based "all religion" type of directory: