Library:

Researching Topics In Religion

Reference Books
Databases
Web sites


Reference Books

Reference books are found both in the physical Library and in our e-book databases, netLibrary and Books 24x7. A reference book is a work, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia, containing useful facts or information. Because these books are consulted for brief information and not read all the way through, they do not leave the library. They are located in the reference section, that is, in the first couple rows of books in the Library.

  • R 299.703 HR Encyclopedia of Native American Religions
  • R 808.8 ADL Religion and Theology
  • R 203 FER Encyclopedia of Religion
  • netLibrary Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion
  • netLibrary A Companion to the Philosophy of Religion

You can search the e-book databases directly via the "databases" page to find more virtual titles, or use the Library's catalog to find physical books in our Library.


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Databases

(I need help accessing the databases)
The Library subscribes to--that is, pays for--a number of databases that contain articles, books and other information for you to use for your research.

  • netLibrary: netLibrary has hundred's of books on the topic of religion. Do keyword searches using boolean operators for the best results.
  • Academic Search Elite (EbscoHost): Offers thousands of articles, both scholarly and popular, on the topic of religion. Remember that you must use Boolean operators when searching any EbscoHost database. If you need a quick tutorial in Boolean, see the Library tutorial or click "help" in EbscoHost.
  • Encyclopedia Britannica: A great source for quick and thorough background information on the religions of the world.

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Web sites

(I need help choosing quality websites)
Because anyone can publish anything they want on the Web, you need to be cautious about which sites you choose to use. Here are sites we recommend for researching this topic:


General

  • Adherents.com
    (http://www.adherents.com)
    Provides statistical information about adherents, church membership, and affiliations, covering 4,200 churches, denominations, and other religious groups. Provides information about religions affiliation for all nations of the world, and looks at adherents on a state/regional level.
  • CESNUR: Center for Studies on New Religions
    (http://www.cesnur.org)
    Sponsored by an association of religious scholars publishing on emerging and esoteric religions and movements.
  • Internet Public Library: Religion
     (http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/
    hum80.00.00    ) A collection of (mostly) high-quality websites, covering faiths and denominations, leading figures, and sacred texts.
  • Librarian's Index to the Internet: Religion and Philosophy
    (http://lii.org/search/file/religion)
    Web sites about a wide array of topics in religion, selected and cataloged by Librarians with subject expertise.
  • Rutgers University Religion Department
    (http://virtualreligion.net/vri/)
    An immense amount of information and data about world religions.

Creation


Sacred Texts

  • Internet Sacred Text Archive
    (http://sacred-texts.com/index.htm)
    Texts of sacred text from around the world, translated into English.
  • Religious and Sacred Texts
    (http://davidwiley.com/religion.html)
    Another source for English translations of sacred texts from many of the world's religions.
  • World Scripture A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts
    (http://www.euro-tongil.org/ws)
    Organized by theme, this site allows the user to find and compare an array of sacred writings on a similar theme.

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