This research guide is an introduction to resources on world religions. The research guide includes reference sources, journals, audio/visual materials, and web resources. We also have guides on Christianity and Islam.

• Search Western Libraries
  

• Find Books and more in our Library
  Use the Library Catalog to locate materials within our collection. The Library Catalog provides location, call number and bibliographic information for the books, journals, newspapers, selected government documents, microforms and other media, as well as online or electronic resources owned or accessed by the Western Libraries.

  For more information, see the How to Use the Library Catalog Guide.

  • Find books
  • Find journals and magazines
  • Find Dissertations & Thesis
  • Find Newspapers
  • Find Videos

• Search regional libraries

• Summit
  Summit is the combined library catalog of Pacific Northwest academic libraries. Use Summit to locate and request materials like books and videos which are not available from Western Libraries. To access Summit, search our library catalog first, then choose the option to “Repeat search in Summit”.

• Search national and international libraries

• Interlibrary loan
  Use Interlibrary Loan to request items not held in our collection or available through Summit. For more information, go to Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery.

• Search for religion topics using subject headings
  All the Summit library catalogs, including Western's, use the Library of Congress Classification system to assign call numbers to books, periodicals, videos and other materials. This system uses letters and numbers to sort materials into subject areas. Materials that fall under the broad category Religion, Theology are located in the call number range BL - BX. Religion topics from varying perspectives - for example, politics, education or science - may be shelved in call number ranges for those disciplines.
  • BL - Religions, Mythology, Rationalism, Hinduism
  • BM - Judaism
  • BP - Islam, Bahai Faith
  • BQ - Buddhism
  • BR - Christianity
  • BS - Bible and exegesis
  • BT - Doctrinal Theology
  • BV - Practical Theology
  • BX - Christian Denominations

• Atlases

• Atlas of the world's religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference G1046.E4 A7 1999
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• Religions on file
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL82 .R45 1990
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• Bibliographies

• Children's books about religion / Dole, Patricia Pearl, 1927-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL92 .D65 1999
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• Children's religious books : an annotated bibliography / Dole, Patricia Pearl, 1927-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BS539 .P4 1988
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• The music and dance of the world's religions : a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of materials in the English language / Rust, Ezra Gardner.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference ML128.S17 R87 1996
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• Walford's guide to reference material
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1035 .W252 2000
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• Note:
  See Vol. 2, Social and historical sciences, philosophy and religion.

• Biographical Information

• Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
  Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) is a comprehensive index to millions of biographical sketches in more than 2,700 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. Consortium (8 Libraries) Shares 8 Simultaneous Users.
  [Resource no longer available]

• Dictionary of American religious biography / Bowden, Henry Warner.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL72 .B68 1993
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• The encyclopedia of American religious history / Queen, Edward L.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL2525 .Q44 1996
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• Encyclopedia of religion in the South
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BR535 .E52 1984
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• Great thinkers of the Eastern world : the major thinkers and the philosophical and religious classics of China, India, Japan, Korea, and the world of Islam
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference B5005 .G74 1995
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• The history of science and religion in the western tradition : an encyclopedia
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL245 .H57 2000
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• Religious leaders of America : a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America / Melton, J. Gordon.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL2525 .M48 1991
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• Religious leaders of the world
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL72 .R47 2000
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• Who's who of world religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL72 .W54 1992
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• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

• Concise encyclopedia of language and religion
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference P41 .C65 2001
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• A Dictionary of Buddhism
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BQ130 .D5
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• A dictionary of non-Christian religions / Parrinder, Edward Geoffrey.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .P36 1973
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• The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL1005 .L4813 1989
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• Encyclopedia of Religion / Lindsay Jones
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .E46 2005
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• The Encyclopedia of religion
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .E46 1987
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• Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .E4
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• Encyclopedia of religion and society
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL60 .E53 1998
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• Encyclopedia of religion and war

• Encyclopedia of religion in American politics
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL2525 .E52 1999
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• The Encyclopedia of world faiths : an illustrated survey of the world's living religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .E495 1988
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• The HarperCollins dictionary of religion
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .H37 1995
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• Historical dictionary of Jainism

• Iconography of religions : an introduction / Moore, Albert C.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference N7790 .M65 1977
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• The illustrated encyclopedia of active new religions, sects, and cults / Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .B385 1998
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• The illustrated encyclopedia of world religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .I43 1997
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• The illustrated guide to world religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .I434 1998
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• Late antiquity : a guide to the postclassical world
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference DE5 .L29 1999
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• Mythology : an illustrated encyclopedia
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL311 .M95
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• New religions : a guide : new religious movements, sects, and alternative spiritualities

• The Oxford dictionary of world religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL31 .O84 1997
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• Prime-time religion : an encyclopedia of religious broadcasting / Melton, J. Gordon.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BV656 .M45 1997
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• Religion : a cross-cultural encyclopedia / Levinson, David, 1947-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .L463 1996
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• Religions of the world : a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.3 .R45 2002
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• RoutledgeCurzon encyclopedia of Confucianism

• Handbooks & Research Guides

• The Cambridge companion to postmodern theology
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BT83.597 .C36 2003
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• Center on religion and democracy
  This is the web site of a nonpartisan research center at the University of Virginia whose goal is to make its research available to students and scholars seeking information on history, religion and political science. Updated regularly, this informative site provides searchable electronic documents arranged by themes covering social history, legal documents, and religious and historical texts, as well as links to related materials and current research.

• Cults : a reference handbook

• The destructive power of religion : violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL65.V55 D47 2003
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• Encyclopedic handbook of cults in America / Melton, J. Gordon.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL2525 .M45 1992
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• A new handbook of living religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL80.2 .H275 1997
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• The Oxford handbook of philosophy of religion

• Religions on file
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL82 .R45 1990
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• Religious cultures of the world : a statistical reference / Parker, Philip M., 1960-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL85 .P325 1997
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• Religious movements homepage @ the University of Virginia
  This excellent overview of existing and past religious movements was developed in part to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the benefits of pluralism and religious diversity. It links to sites about various cults and movements, contains profiles with bibliographies of about 200 groups, and includes syllabi and instructional materials.

• A sourcebook for Earth's community of religions
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL82 .S58 1996
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• Literature & Religious Texts

• The Internet sacred text archive
  A nonprofit archive of electronic texts on religion, mythology, folklore, the occult, and esoteric topics, whose purpose is to promote religious tolerance and scholarship. Provides a bibliography of searchable scanned texts, both primary and secondary. Includes over 50 topical links in the main categories of World Religions, Traditions and Mysteries.

• Find It!
  Click on the Find It! button to see the options for locating an article:
  • Link to full text if available.
  • Find a print copy in the library.
  • Request the article through Interlibrary Loan.
  For more information, see the Find It! Guide.

• Specialized Periodical Indexes and Databases
  The following indexes and databases may be searched for articles on topics relating to all aspects of world religions. Many offer help guides with tips for effective searching.

• RECOMMENDED INDEXES

• ATLA (American Theological Library Association) Religion
  • Dates covered: 1946-current
  An index to religious and theological literature, containing thousands of citations to journal articles, essays in multi-author works, and book reviews from three print indexes: Religion Index One, Religion Index Two, and Index to Book Reviews in Religion. Site License.

• BAS (Bibliography of Asian Studies Online)
  • Dates covered: 1971-current
  BAS references western language monographs, articles and book chapters on all aspects of Asian Studies published since 1971. BAS includes the most important 100+ periodicals in Asian Studies.

• OTHER USEFUL INDEXES

• Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)
  Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 4,600 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals and a total of more than 10,000 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for nearly 1,000 journals.

• America: History and Life / ABC-Clio
  • Dates covered: 1964-current
  A bibliographic database indexing scholarly literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. The scope includes citations and abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, as well as book and media reviews. 6 Simultaneous Users.

• Anthropology Plus
  • Dates covered: 1900-current
  Anthropology Plus combines Anthropological Literature from Harvard University and Anthropological Index from the Royal Anthropological Institute (UK), providing international indexing of journal articles, reports, commentaries, and edited works from the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, material culture, folklore and interdisciplinary studies.

• Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  Arts & Humanities Citation Index is a multidisciplinary database covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities, including archaeology, architecture, art, Asian studies, classics, dance, film, folklore, history, language, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, poetry, religion and theatre. It indexes over 1000 of the leading arts and humanities journals as well as selected science and social science journals. Because the database includes the article's bibliography or cited reference list, you can also search the database for articles that cite a known author or older article. Consortium (12 Libraries) Shares 15 Users.

• Historical Abstracts
  • Dates covered: 1954-current
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  Historical Abstracts Includes abstracts and citations of books, journal articles, books, and dissertations on world history from 1450 to the present, excluding the United States and Canada. Political, diplomatic, economic, religious, social, cultural, and intellectual history, as well as the history of science, technology, and medicine are represented. 6 Simultaneous Users.

• JSTOR
  JSTOR provides searchable full-text access to backfiles of core scholarly journals in many fields including African American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, History, Language & Literature, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, Sociology, and Statistics. There is a gap, usually from 1 to 5 years, between the most recently published journal issue and the content available in JSTOR. Site License.

• MLA (Modern Language Association) Bibliography
  • Dates covered: 1926-current
  Produced by the Modern Language Association, this database covers literature, languages, linguistics, folklore, journalism, communications, film, media, and theater and indexes journal articles, books and book chapters, dissertations, and bibliographies from 1926 to the current year. 3 Simultaneous Users.

• Making of America (University of Michigan)
  A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles published in the 19th century.

• Medieval Sourcesonline
  Medieval Sourcesonline contains hundreds of original medieval history documents.

• Religion Index Two: Multi-author Works
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference BL1 .R446
  • Dates covered: 1970-/75 - 1986
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  Religion Index Two: Multi-author Works indexes more than 550 international publications containing scholarly essays, Festschriften, conference proceedings and congresses. Online version is available through ATLA.

For a comprehensive list of electronic and print journals in this field of study, go to Religion & Theology Journals in Western Libraries. For lists of periodicals covering topics relating to each of the major world religions, go to the individual guides.

• Christianity Research Guide

• Islam Research Guide