Introductory Guide to Research in Religion

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Z7751.M45 Religious Information Sources (1992)

This unannotated bibliography cites a wide variety of resources (including archival centres, addresses of professional organizations, electronic works, dictionaries, and statistical sources) on very specific religious subjects. A brief topical overview begins each section, providing historical information, names of key figures in the movement, and other ideas for search terms you might try. Especially useful for research in more obscure topics, such as: Flying Saucers, Mariology, Freemasonry, etc.

Z7831.R44 Religion and Society in North America: An Annotated Bibliography (1983)

This work cites books and journal articles on many social topics related to religion, including health, education, science, technology, and economic reform. Its usefulness is limited for research in religions other than Christianity and Judaism.

GUIDES

Z7751.K36 The Religious Life of Man (1978)

This well-annotated guide is a good starting point for many areas of research in religion. Citing both books and periodicals, it is divided into six main sections, covering most world religions ancient and current, including the occult and parapsychology.

Z7833.A35  A Reader’s Guide to the Great Religions (1977)

This reference work is written in essay format, citing largely English books and periodicals. The essays provide basic information on the subject and explain how or why a cited work is useful. Appendices exist at the end of some chapters which list main reference materials. Although quite comprehensive, not recommended for research in Jewish history, Chinese Buddhism, or Sikhism.

The library’s Reference section contains many other research guides to individual religions as well as to specific subjects as they relate to religion, including Sexuality, Religion & Magic: a Complete Guide to Sources (Z7751.K67) and Guide to Chinese Religion (Z7757.C6Y3). Browse the Z7700-7800s to find more.

DICTIONARIES

BL31.E5 V.1-3  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion Rel. 2

BL31.H37 The Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion

BL31.P46 1995 A New Dictionary of Religions (contains a useful bibliography)

BL31.O94  The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

BL31.E46 v.1-12 The Encyclopedia of Religion (1986)

These volumes provide a thorough overview of the history, unique qualities, dynamics, and membership of each religious group cited. The encyclopedias also contain information about many social/cultural subjects related to religion and give a brief bibliography at the end of each section.

BP605.N48M44 New Age Encyclopedia (1990)

This work includes information about a wide variety of subjects related to the New Age movement. The book's introductory essay gives a comprehensive overview of New Age theories, history, etc.

BR302.8.O93 v.1-4 The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation (1996)

These books offer detailed information about religion in the sixteenth century, including philosophical ideas, individuals, historical details and events. Thorough articles are followed by a bibliography and cross-references, as well as pertinent maps.

You will find many more religion- or movement-specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, and concordances in the BF1100s - BXs in the Reference section (eg. Zen Dictionary -- BQ9259.W66 1972,    A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses -- BL2450.G6H37,   The Encyclopedia of Unbelief --BL2705.E53). Reference works on individual disciplines and their relationship to religion are also available (eg. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion – BL1005.L4813).

INDEXES

Z7831.R44 Religion Index One: Periodicals

AI3.H85 Humanities Index

The library keeps this index (through 1996) on the tables by the information desk; however, its updated form is also available online through the Databases section of our homepage (in the Multidisciplinary Journal Index).Rel. 3

DATABASES - accessible through our library

CPI.Q (Canadian Periodical Index)

This database indexes the full-text articles from six specific religious publications (largely Christian-centered) and is searchable by subject.

EBSCOhost including ATLAS full text

This database also includes full-text articles from many religious journals, including Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and Cross Currents.

PERIODICALS

The library subscribes to about a dozen religion journals in printed form, including Journal of Dharma,  Christian Century,  History of Religion, International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, etc. You may wish to refer to the Journal Titles by Department list, which can be found at the Information Desk. A multitude of journal articles are  also available online in Full-Text Databases (such as EBSCOhost or CPI-Q) or E-journals (check our journal list for our holdings.

REFERENCE

This section of the library's web site provides access to several great online reference works, and guides to online resources, such as the Librarian's Index to the Internet.