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   Religious Studies Subject Guide
 

 


Introduction

The Columbia University Libraries have an extensive collection of materials in religious studies, although they are not all located in a single physical space.  Butler Library holds materials on the history of religions; Burke Library has theological and missiological materials; Lehman and Starr East Asian both contain materials on religions unique to the Area Studies locales each library serves.

As a result, no one librarian supports "religion" as such.  Library assistance for religious studies is roughly divided thus:

In addition, religions in specific geographic locations are often supported by the appropriate Area Studies Librarians.

Finding Titles in CLIO

Use CLIO to locate books, journals (but not the articles themselves), visual materials, etc.

In CLIO, a "Subject Heading" search is often a good starting point.  Searching on the subject of "Religion," or a specific religion's name, such as "Islam," will get you started.  Your results will display the number of titles we have under that general heading, and then under a series of sub-headings, which often focus on specific countries or time periods.

Three useful subheadings to look for when starting out are

  • Dictionaries
  • Encyclopedias
  • Bibliography

These will often point you toward resources that can give you preliminary information.

You may also perform more general keyword searches.  These will look for your search terms anywhere in a CLIO record: title, author, subjects, summary, table of contents (if available), etc, and allow you to perform a more targeted search.  For example,

  • christianity AND food
  • judaism AND folklore
  • islam AND mysticism

If you need help finding what you need, contact a Reference Librarian or the subject librarian for your area (above).

Finding Articles by Subject Area

General and Comparative Religion
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
South Asian Religions
East Asian Religions
Cults and New Religious Movements
Atheism

General and Comparative Religion

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources
      • ATLA Religion Database -- Coverage: 1949 to the present.  This database indexes over 1500 periodicals and multi-author works in religion and theology; book reviews are also included.
      • Routledge Religion Resource -- a collection of reference works, mostly handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, in the area of religion. Titles may be browsed individually or searched fully as a group.
      • Religious and Theological Abstracts -- Coverage: unspecified.  Provides summaries of articles, many of them interdisciplinary, in scholarly journals for religion and theology.
      • Religious Studies Web Guide, University of Calgary -- a list of resources arranged by format and subject.
    • Print resources
      • Encyclopedia of religion -- treats the theoretical, practical, and sociological aspects of religion, in articles by over 1400 contributors. 
        R032 E1945 (Butler Ref),   BL31 .E46 2005 (Burke Ref, Barnard Ref)
  • For additional material:

Judaism

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources
      • RAMBI -- Coverage: 1966 to the present.  A bibliography of periodical articles and essay collections in the various fields of Jewish studies and in the study of Israel, primarily from the holdings of the Jewish National and University Library.  Entries are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and western languages.
    • Print resources
      • Encyclopedia Judaica -- a comprehensive encyclopedia with over 20,00 articles, most with accompanying bibliography. 
        FIRST EDITION: R032.96 En13 (Butler Ref),   DS102.8 .E496 (AncMed, Barnard Ref, Burke Ref). 
        SECOND EDITION: R032.96 En32 (Butler Ref)
  • For additional material:
    • Electronic resources

    • Print resources

      • Back to the sources : reading the classic Jewish texts    
        BM496.5.B33 1984 (Butler, Milstein, Burke Ref, Barnard) 

Christianity

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources

      • ATLA Religion Database -- Coverage: 1949 to the present.  This database indexes over 1500 periodicals and multi-author works in religion and theology; book reviews are also included.

    • Print resources

      • The Catholic Encyclopedia -- The 1907-1912 edition of a comprehensive encyclopedia treating the history, doctrine, rites, councils, and orders of the Catholic Church; still of great use despite the existence of a revised edition.  Articles contain useful bibliography and are heavily illustrated.
        BX841.C25 1913 (AncMed), BX841.C363 (Burke Ref), R032 C28 (Butler Ref)

      • The New Catholic Encyclopedia -- revised and expanded version of the original Catholic Encyclopedia, now in its second edition, though the first edition is still of great use.
        FIRST EDITION: BX841.N44 1967 (AncMed, Burke, Butler)  N30 N42 (Avery Ref)   
        SECOND EDITION: BX841.N44 2003 (Barnard Ref, Burke Ref), R032 N421 (Butler Ref)

      • The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church -- More than 6,000 short articles, with bibliography, on the history, doctrine, and personages of the Christian church in all its denominations.  In two editions, 1957 and 1974. 
        AR54 O98 1957 (Burke), BR95.O8 (AncMed, Burke, Burke Ref, Butler, Milstein Study), N7790 Ox21 (Avery Ref)

      • The literature of theology: a guide for students and pastors -- an annotated bibliography of reference works and Bible versions.  In two editions, 1979 and 2003. 
        Z7751.B67 (Burke Ref) and Z7751.B67 2003 (Burke Ref)

  • For additional material:
  • Electronic resources

  • Old Testament Abstracts -- Coverage: 1978 to the present.  Indexes periodicals, monographs, multi-author works, and electronic resources relating to the Hebrew Bible.

  • New Testament Abstracts -- Coverage: 1985 to the present.  Indexes periodicals, monographs, multi-author works, and electronic resources relating to the Gospels and related literature.

  • Catholic Periodical and Literature Index -- Coverage: 1981 to the present.  Indexes articles published in Roman Catholic periodicals, Papal documents, church promulgations, and books about the Catholic faith that are authored by Catholics and/or produced by Catholic publishers.

  • L'année philologique (for early Christianity) -- Coverage (as of 2006 update): 1949-2004.  The pre-eminent bibliography for classical antiquity and its continuing traditions.

  • International Medieval Bibliography Online (for medieval Christianity) -- Coverage: 1967 to one year earlier than the present.  Indexes articles on interdisciplinary topics concerning the Middle Ages in the European west and Mediterranean region, drawing on over 4,500 periodicals and 5,000 miscellanies.

  • Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts -- Transcriptions and facsimiles of documents by seminal writers of the Protestant authors of the 16th and 17th centuries.

  • Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation -- Transcriptions and facsimiles of documents--including papal and synodal decrees, catechisms and inquisitorial manuals, biblical commentaries, theological treatises and systems, liturgical writings, saints' lives, etc.--by Catholic authors of the 16th and 17th centuries.

  • Print resources

    • Anchor Bible Dictionary -- Over 6,200 articles, some quite long and with bibliography, on Biblical books, personages, and Apocrypha.  
      BS440.A54 1992 (Butler Ref, Burke Ref, Barnard Ref)

    • Dictionary of early Christian literature -- Brief articles on early Christian authors and their works, most with extensive bibliography.
        R281.1 L59 (Butler Ref)   BR67 .L4813 2000 (Burke Ref)

    • Encyclopedia of the early church -- Articles by 167 scholars on all aspects of early Christianity through the mid-eighth century, with special attention on the relationship between Christianity and the pagan world. 
      BR162.2.D5813 1992 (Burke Ref), R032 D6471 (Butler Ref)

    • Oxford dictionary of Byzantium -- Major survey articles and many shorter pieces on the personages, places, history, structure, and culture of the Byzantine empire, from the 4th through 15th centuries, most with bibliography and illustrations. 
      DF521.O93 1991 (AncMed, Barnard, Burke Ref), R949.3 Ox2 (Butler Ref), N6250 Ox2 (Avery)

    • Oxford encyclopedia of the reformation -- Brief but thorough articles on the personages, concepts, and movements of the 16th-century reformation, with extensive bibliography, often divided between primary and secondary sources. 
      BR302.8.O93 1996 (AncMed, Barnard Ref, Burke Ref), R940.7 Ox2 (Butler Ref)

    • Encyclopedia of Protestantism (2004) 
      BX4811.3.E53 2004 (Barnard Ref, Burke Ref), R032.84 En19 (Butler Ref)

    • Dictionary of Christianity in America -- Articles on the religious bodies, movements, institutions, and individuals of the historical church in North America (especially USA), with emphasis on the evangelical tradition.
        BR515.D53 1990 (Burke, Burke Ref), R032 D5645 (Butler Ref)

    • Encyclopedia of evangelicalism 
      FIRST EDITION: BR1640.B35 2001 (Burke), R289 B21 (Butler Ref) 
      SECOND EDITION: BR1640.B35 2004 (Barnard Ref, Burke Ref), R289 B211 (Butler Ref)

Islam

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources

      • Encyclopedia of Islam -- contains the full-text of volumes I to XI and Supplement (Volume XII) of the print edition (see below); offers basic searching of the nearly 12,000 pages (NB: cross-referencing and transliteration can be a challenge, so it is advisable to look for variants).

      • Index islamicus -- Coverage: 1960 to the present.  Index of over 2,000 journals, as well as Festschriften, conference proceedings, monographs, multi-author works, book reviews, websites, and other materials in European languages as well as Turkish, Malay, and Indonesian, on all aspects of Islamic history, culture, law, art, and philosophy.

      • Islamic Studies Reading Room (Columbia University) -- an exhaustive list of online resources relating to geography, law, religion, music, and more.

      • Online Text, Translation and Commentary on the Qur’an -- online collection of Quranic commentary, providing the original Arabic texts of over 100 books of tafsir (Quran tafseer or commentary), recitation (tajwid) tutorials and hadith collections, and other fields, pertaining to the study of Quranic exegesis.

    • Print resources

      • The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill -- The primary resource in English on Islam, containing articles with bibliography on subjects in biography, history, geography, religious beliefs, institutions, manners and customs, tribes, industries, sciences, and various terms.  
        1911 EDITION: DS37.E5 (Burke), R032.97 En1 (Butler Ref)
        1954 EDITION: DS37.E523 (Burke Ref), R032.97 En11 (Butler Ref Desk)

      • Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an / Jane Dammen McAuliffe, general editor -- Entries, both brief and essay-length, using English-language entry words, on the figures, concepts, places, values, and events of the Qu'ran, many with bibliography.
        R297 En19 (Butler Ref Desk), BP133.E53 2001g (Islamic RR, Barnard Ref)

  • For additional material:
    • Electronic resources
      • Encyclopedia iranica -- a multi-disciplinary reference work focusing on the land, life, culture, and history of all Iranian peoples.
      • Hartford Seminary Library -- a collection of links with information on books, periodicals, videos, and websites concerning Islam.
    • Print resources
      • Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world -- Over 500 entries covering   the religious dimensions of Islam as well as the development of the tradition in various parts of the world (e.g., Africa, South Asia, U.S.), as well as cultural issues of importance to the history of Islam (e.g., architecture, calligraphy, language).
        BP40.E525 2004 (Islamic RR, Barnard Ref)

South Asian Religions

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources
      • Bibliography of Asian Studies -- Coverage: 1971 to the present.  A comprehensive bibliographic index to articles and other published materials on all fields of Asian Studies.  Though not specifically focused on Religion only, this is the single most comprehensive database covering a broad range of subjects related to Asia.
      • Subject Resources for Asian Religions -- A list of resources collated by the University of British Columbia Library, arranged by format and subject, and covering the entire Asian continent and sub-continent.
      • Digital South Asia Library (Project) --A global collaborative effort to make important and rare South Asian resources available to the international community includes reference resources, images, maps, statistics, bibliographies and union lists, indexes, books and journals, and other Internet resources.
      • SARAI: South Asian Resource Access on the Internet -- A comprehensive list of links to resources about South Asia.
    • Print resources
      • Encyclopedia of Asian philosophy -- Covers all aspects of Asian philosophy and religion. 
        B121.E53 2001 (East Asian Ref) -- also available in CLIO as an e-book.
      • Eastern definitions: a short encyclopedia of religions of the Orient -- A guide to common, ordinary, and rare philosophical, mystical, religious, and psychological terms from Hinduism, Buddhism, Ṣufism, Islam, Zen, Taoism, the Sikhs, Zoroastrianism, and other major and minor Eastern religions. 
        R032 R37 (Butler Ref)
      • The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen -- An English translation of Lexikon der östlichen Weisheitslehren. 
        R032 L587 (Butler Ref)
  • For additional material:

East Asian Religions

  • First, check here:

    • Electronic resources

      • Bibliography of Asian Studies -- Coverage: 1971 to the present.  A comprehensive bibliographic index to articles and other published materials on all fields of Asian Studies.  Though not specifically focused on Religion only, this is the single most comprehensive database covering a broad range of subjects related to Asia.

      • Subject Resources for Asian Religions -- a list of resources collated by the University of British Columbia Library, arranged by format and subject, and covering the entire Asian continent and sub-continent.

    • Print resources
      • Encyclopedia of Asian philosophy -- Covers all aspects of Asian philosophy and religion.
        B121.E35 2001 (East Asian Ref) -- also available in CLIO as an E-Book.
      • Chinese religions: publications in western religions (4 volumes) -- Comprehensive bibliography covering literature on all aspects of Chinese religious subjects through 2000 (title of volume 1 varies).
        Z7757.C6 T55 1985 (vol. 1), Z7757.C6 T556 1993 (vol. 2), Z7757.C6 T558 1998 (vol. 3), Z7757.C6 T558 2002g (vol. 4) (East Asian Ref)
  • For additional material:

    • Electronic resources

    • Print resources

      • Asian religions in general

        • Chinese religion: an anthology of sources -- A compilation of translated Chinese religious source material.
          BL1802.C5477 1995 (East Asian, Barnard)

        • Bibliography of Japanese new religions: with annotations and an introduction to Japanese new religions at home and abroad -- Bibliography on 20th-century religious trends in Japan. 
          BL2207.5.B53 1999g (East Asian Ref)

      • Buddhism

        • The A to Z of Buddhism -- A dictionary-style history and chronology of all aspects of Buddhism. 
          BQ130.P73 2001 (East Asian Ref, Barnard Ref)

      • Shintoism

        • The A to Z of Shinto -- A dictionary-style history and chronology of all aspects of Buddhism. 
          BL2216.1.P535 2006g (East Asian Ref)

        • Shinto-bibliography in western languages: bibliography on Shinto and religious sects, intellectual schools, and movements influenced by Shintoism -- An authoritative bibliography on a broad range of subjects related to Shinto. 
          Z7835.S5 S38 1986 (East Asian Ref)

        • A popular dictionary of Shinto -- A quick look-up resource.
          BL2216.1.B63 1996g (East Asian Ref)

      • Taoism

        • The A to Z of Taoism -- A dictionary-style history and chronology of Taoism. 
          BL1923.P371 2006g (East Asian Ref)

        • Westliche Taoismus-Bibliographie (WTB) = Western bibliography of Taoism -- The fifth edition of an authoritative bibliography on Taoism. 
          Z7835.T2 W3 2003 (East Asian Ref)

Cults and New Religious Movements

  • First, check here:
    • Electronic resources
      • ATLA Religion Database-- Coverage: 1949 to the present.  This database indexes over 1500 periodicals and multi-author works in religion and theology; book reviews are also included.
    • Print resources
      • Dictionary of cults, sects, religions, and the occult
        BL31.M295 1993 (Burke), R032 M42 (Butler Ref)
      • The annotated dictionary of modern religious movements
        BL31.B36 1993 (Burke)
  • For additional material:
    • Electronic resources
      • Sociological Abstracts -- Coverage: 1963 to the present. Indexes articles in sociology journals that concern the sociology of religion, religion and society, etc.

Atheism

  • First, check resources for General Religion, then:

    • Print resources

      • Encyclopedia of unbelief
        BD215.E53 1985 (Burke Ref), R031 En193 (Butler Ref)
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Last published: 2008-06-30
Page ID: 27066