Religious Studies: Reference

A reference source is a compendium of authoritative information, compiled for ease of use.

Reference materials include

• subject or general encyclopedias, dictionaries, guides, and thesauri 
• statistics
• biographical compilations
• maps, gazetteers, ... and more

The following Reference Databases are collections of dozens to hundreds of encyclopedias each, and are a good starting point for finding background and ideas on religious topics. 

Below are a selective list of encyclopedias and dictionaries related to the study of RELIGION found in our Reference stacks:

ENCYCLOPEDIAS & DICTIONARIES

• Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. by David Noel Freedman. Doubleday, 1992. 4 vols. (Ref BS 440 .A54 1992)
• Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. Ed. by David W. Bercot. Hendrickson, 1998. (Ref BR 66.5 .D53 1998)
• The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English. By Thomas A. Robinson. ATLA, 1993. (Ref BR 162.2 .B1 R63 1993)
• Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. Ed. by Everett Ferguson. Garland, 1997.
  2 vols. (Ref BR 162.2 .E53 1997)
• Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. by Mircea Eliade. Macmillan, 1987. 16 vols. (Ref BL 31 .E46 1986)
• Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed. by F. L. Cross. 3rd ed. by E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press, 1997. (Ref BR 95 .O8 1997)

BIBLIOGRAPHIES:

• Anon. 1951. A Bibliographical Guide to the History of Christianity. New York: Peter Smith.
  
  
• Anon. 1983. Religion and Society in North America: An Annotated Bibliography. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-Clio Information Services.
  
  
• Anon. 2000. The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia. Garland reference library of the humanities vol. 1833. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Anon. 2007. Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C: CQ Press.
  
  
• Bass, Dorothy C. 1986. Women in American Religious History: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to Sources. G.K. Hall women's studies publications. Boston, Mass: G.K. Hall.
  
  
• Berkowitz, Morris I. 1967. Social Scientific Studies of Religion: A Bibliography. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
  
  
• Besserman, Lawrence L. 1988. Chaucer and the Bible: A Critical Review of Research, Indexes, and Bibliography. Garland reference library of the humanities vol. 839. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Blasi, Anthony J. 1986. Issues in the Sociology of Religion: A Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Diehl, Katharine Smith. 1962. Religions, Mythologies, Folklores: An Annotated Bibliography. 2nd ed. New York: Scarecrow Press.

• The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English. By Thomas A. Robinson. ATLA, 1993. (Ref BR 162.2 .B1 R63 1993)

• Field, Thomas W. 1967. An Essay Towards an Indian Bibliography; Being a Catalogue of Books Relating to the History, Antiquities, Languages, Customs, Religion, Wars, Literature, and Originof the American Indians, in the Library of Thomas W. Field. Detroit: Gale Research Co.
  
  
• Fischer, Clare Benedicks. 1995. Of Spirituality: A Feminist Perspective. ATLA bibliography series no. 35. Evanston, Ill.: American Theological Library Association.
  
  
• Homan, Roger. 1986. The Sociology of Religion: A Bibliographical Survey. Bibliographies and indexes in religious studies no. 9. New York: Greenwood Press.
  
  
• Kaylor, Noel Harold. 1992. The Medieval Consolation of Philosophy: An Annotated Bibliography. Garland medieval bibliographies vol. 7. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Koenig, Harold G. 1995. Research on Religion and Aging: An Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies and indexes in gerontology no. 27. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.
  
  
• Lippy, Charles H. 1985. Bibliography of Religion in the South. Macon, GA: Mercer.
  
  
• Melton, J. Gordon, and Institute for the Study of American Religion. 1982. Magic, Witchcraft, and Paganism in America: A Bibliography ; Compiled from the Files of the Institute for the Study of American Religion. Garland bibliographies on sects and cults v. 1. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Osterreich, Shelley Anne. 1998. Native North American Shamanism: An Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies and indexes in American history no. 38. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.
  
  
• Potter, Karl H. 1988. Guide to Indian Philosophy. Asian philosophies and religions resource guides. Boston, Mass: G.K. Hall.
  
  
• Saliba, John A. 1990. Social Science and the Cults: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub.
  
  
• Thompson, Laurence G. 1993. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Languages, 1981 Through 1990. Ann Arbor, Mich: Association for Asian Studies.
  
  
• Turner, Harold W. 1977. Bibliography of New Religious Movements in Primal Societies. Boston: G. K. Hall.
  
  
• Wood, James Edward. 2005a. Church and State in Historical Perspective: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies and indexes in religious studies no. 55. Westport, Conn: Praeger.
  
  
• ---. 2005b. Church and State in the Modern World: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies and indexes in religious studies no. 56. Westport, Conn: Praeger.