Religious Studies
This is a guide for research in Religious Studies.
Research & Instruction Librarian
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Religious Studies is a field, not a discipline...
The academic study of religion is an interdisciplinary field, drawing from language studies, art, history, philosophy, anthropology, politics, economics, sociology, psychology, comparative literature & literary studies, cultural studies, gender & ethnic studies, legal studies, and other approaches in order to better understand, compare, interpret, and analyze those beliefs, practices, traditions, communities, artifacts, and other phenomena we call "religious."
This means there can be multiple perspectives or lenses that can be used to investigate "religious" topics, some of which may conflict with each other. This also means that there is seldom one "right way," or single place where one can conduct their research. We have to consider which disciplinary perspectives we want to bring into the conversation versus exclude from it.
Best Bets
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AfricaBib A collection of Africana social science titles consisting of 2 bibliographic databases covering Africana periodical literature and African Women's literature.
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Arts and Humanities Citation Index Part of the Web of Science interface, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index provides article references for journals across the arts and humanities disciplines, including art and art history, archeology, architecture, dance, music, film and theater, history, humanities, literature, and religion. Offers cited reference searching and is a critical resource for conducting literature reviews.
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ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials PLUS Access to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all scholarly fields of religion.
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Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) Indexes Western language literature including books, chapters from books, periodical articles and pamphlets on Asian studies.
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Index Islamicus Indexes worldwide literature in European languages on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covers Muslim life including history, beliefs, societies, cultures, languages and literatures. Includes journals, conference proceedings, monographs and book reviews. Journals and books indexed o the article and chapter level.
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HeinOnline The Religion and the Law subcollection contains more than 3,500 books, periodicals, and bibliographies. This database provides a research platform for the development, history, organization, and fundamental principles of various world religions. The database includes Christian Legal Society publications, an assortment of Canon Law, and rare historical bibles. Also included are more than 40 periodicals, as well as hearings, scholarly articles, bibliographies, and other related books.
Scholarly Overviews and Reference Sources
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Credo ReferenceIncludes The Religious Right: A Reference Handbook, Encyclopedia of Religion and Law in America, Reformist Voices of Islam: Mediating Islam and Modernity, the King James version of the Holy Bible, the Qur'an, among other religious studies reference books. Over 700 online reference works including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations and proverbs from a variety of publishers. Covers both general reference and subject-specific reference titles for a variety of disciplines. Provides a graphics-based Concept Mapping option for topic exploration.
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eBooks (Gale)Search across nearly 200 subject-specific reference encyclopedias including Encyclopaedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, New Catholic Encyclopedia, and other titles that address religion from various disciplinary perspectives.
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Oxford Reference OnlineIncludes A Dictionary of Hinduism, A Dictionary of Buddhism, The Oxford Companion to the Bible, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions among other religious studies and related disciplinary titles. Also includes general language reference and other subject reference resources.
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Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyA great resource for scholarly, in-depth writing about many figures and theoretical frameworks important in Religious Studies. Scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines create and maintain this thorough and up-to-date reference work.
New Books in Religious Studies
Featured Journals
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Biblica
Dedicated to biblical studies on the Old and New Testaments and intertestamentary literature and covers fields of research such as exegesis, philology and history. -
Journal of Qur'an Studies
Aims to encourage & promote the study of the Qur'an from a wide range of scholarly perspectives, reflecting the diversity of approaches characteristic of this field of scholarship. -
Religious Studies
Religious Studies is an international journal devoted to the problems of the philosophy of religion as they arise out of classical and contemporary discussions and from varied religious traditions. More than 25 articles are published each year, and the journal also contains an extensive book review section. --from journal homepage
