Religion
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
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Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- Association of Religious Data Archives
Free Online
Using data extracted from polls, surveys, and other research, the ARDA presents information on religion in America and internationally in the form of national profiles, maps, charts and graphs, "quicklists," longer reports, and more. There are also special features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers.
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Simmons E-resource
Abridged from the acclaimed Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, this Concise version is written by an expert team of 80 international and multi-faith contributors. It contains entries on all major religions and some that less is known about. Over 500 entries cover movements, sects, and cults, from Cargo Cults and the New Age movement to Rastafarians and Soka Gakkai.There are details of sacred sites, customs, religious practices, dogmas, beliefs, teachings, traditions, festivals and fasts, and artefacts such as altars, rosaries, icons, and Torah ornaments, as well as entries on political issues that are affected by religion such as abortion. This is an incredibly valuable source.
- Continuum Dictionary of Religion
Level 1 Reference BL31 .C67 1994
Defines terms from all major world religions. The terms range from very broad (a full page definition of "Comparative Religion") to defining very specific rituals, objects, and customs from ancient and contemporary religions. This is a great resource to find almost any term from any religion.
- Dictionary of Comparative Religion
Level 1 Reference BL31 .D54 1970
This dictionary is devoted entirely to the subject of comparative religion. The definitions cross-reference each other, so that a user can easily find related terminology, and many entries contain bibliographic information for further reading and research. There is also a synoptic index, which lists all the terminology in the dictionary organized by religion, rather than alphabetically. This is an excellent resource for studying comparative religion.
- Encyclopedia of Religion
Level 1 Reference BL31 .E46 1986
From Ancestor Worship to Zoroastrianism, this encyclopedia provides cultural, historical, and sociological information about most major religions. It is illustrated with detailed maps, photographs, and charts to make research easier and more user friendly. All entries are alphabetical by subject, and contain a bibliography for further reading.
- Encyclopedia of Religion and Society
Free Online
The online version of the 1998 Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, this source provides quick answers to questions about religious issues from a social sciences perspective, principally anthropology, psychology, and sociology.
- Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development
Level 1 Reference BV4571.3 .E53 2006
Rather than focusing merely on the facts about religions, this encyclopedia discusses and analyzes the most spiritual aspects of the different religions. Not only are there definitions of various customs and practices, but each entry also seeks to connect the reader with those worshiping and practicing these religions, so that a better understanding of the religious faith can be achieved. Each entry is alphabetical by subject, and contains many sub-sections to help make the entires organized and easy to use.
- Encyclopedia of Religious Freedom
Level 1 Reference BV741 .E47 2003
This encyclopedia focuses on how religion in America has effected human behavior, politics past and present, and society as a whole. The subject of entries vary from the ancient (a discussion of St.Augustine) to the contemporary, such as the religious beliefs of Al Quaida members. Some entries include excerpts from historical documents, as well as extensive bibliographies, and lists of related court cases and history where relevant.
- Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion
Level 1 Reference BL458 .E53 1999
With over 600 signed articles from scholars around the world, this resource not only covers female figures in religion, but also provides a female and feminist perspective to individual religions and their variations, movements, issues, and the relationship of religion to the study of art, literature, and science. The major worldwide religions are given broader coverage than most entries, but each entry has a substantial bibliography and reading list, some annotated.
- Encyclopedia of World Faiths
Level 1 Reference BL80.2 .E495 1988
Not only is this book beautiful to look at (as it contains many black and white and full-color photographs), but incredibly informative. In each alphabetical entry, there are excerpts from religious texts, calendars, and timelines, as well as information about history, ritual, religious writings, and much more. This resource is both easy to use, and incredibly informative.
- Longman Guide to Living Religions
Level 1 Reference BL80.2 .E495 1988
Rather than focusing on religious rituals and objects, this book provides information about the different religious sects, divisions, and other kinds of religious groups. It discusses each movements founder, history, and beliefs, as well as comparing it to similar religions, and the religion it is broken off from.
- Religion: a Cross-cultural Encyclopedia
Level 1 Reference BL80.2 .L463 1996
An encyclopedia of religion and cultures from all over the world that includes historical background, examples of religious texts, outlines of practices, and other relevant information. There are also timelines, book titles for further reading, and in-depth descriptions of customs and rituals.
Religion in America
- African American Religious Experience in America
Level 1 Reference BL625.2 .P56 2005
This resource focuses solely on American religious movements that affected African Americans. Each of the twelve chapters focuses entirely on one religion or organization such as The Roman Catholic Church or Buddhism. Each movement's customs and history are described, and then connected to African Americans.
- Contemporary American Religion
BL2525 .C65 2000
A diverse treatment of religion and religious issues in the United States, this resource features articles on not only major religious groups and some of the more extreme or minor faiths and cults, but also topics on cultural, social, and legal issues, holidays and celebrations, the arts, and more. The entries generally begins with a review of the topic's history or a definition, and also give cross-references to related entries.
- Encyclopedia of American Religions
Level 1 Reference BL2525 .M44 1999
This resource consists of three parts: two introductory essays, providing an overview of the history of religion in North America; Historical Essays, which gathers brief essays on different religious bodies into separate "families," such as the Baptist, Interfaith and Magick families; and a geographic directory of religious organizations.
- Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience: Studies of Traditions and Movements
Level 1 Reference BL2525 .E53 1988
With lengthy, in-depth articles, this resource treats with the religious aspects of North and South American history in over 100 essay-length articles arranged under sections like "North America: Concepts and Backgrounds" and "Religions Outside the Jewish and Christian Traditions." Subjects covered include the influence of religion on literature, art, and socio-political issues, as well as the dissemination of religion. Although not in alphabetical order, the index and cross-references helps locate articles.
- Encyclopedia of American Religious History
Level 1 Reference BL2525 .Q44 1996
This resource provides quick historical and factual information on a broad range of topics relevant to religion in American history: important persons, denominations, key events and themes, movements and sects, controversial issues, and more.
- New Historical Atlas of Religion in America
Level 1 Reference G1201.E4 N4 2001
Using statistical information up to the 1990s, this collection of full-color annotated maps, graphs, tables and charts illustrate the historical development of American religion from a geographical and regional perspective. Subjects like Native American and African-American religious traditions, the decline of Protestant denominations, the rise of the Evangelical Christians, and the modest influence of Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism, are covered here.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- Religious Studies Online Journals
Free Online
A list of links to electronic, full-text scholarly journals on religious studies. The links are categorized and briefly annotated.
This is not a searchable database.
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you to find information about Religion on the free web. Use this Religion Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, theReligion Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
Writing Style and Citation
For more information on style and citation for this discipline, please contact the Simmons College Writing Center
You may also consider consulting these resources:
- Writing Resources
Free Online
The Writing Center provides online resources for citing your research. If you are unsure of which citation style to use, consult your professor and consider the following:- Use APA (American Psychological Association) when your topic is in the Social Sciences
- Use ASA (American Sociological Association) when your topic is in Sociology
- Use MLA (Modern Language Association) when your topic is in the Humanities
- Use Chicago/Turabian when your topic is in Literature, History or the Arts
- Use CSE (Council of Science Editors) when your topic is in the Sciences
- RefWorks
Simmons Eresource
RefWorks is a great program for organizing articles, books, and other materials you need for research. You can also use RefWorks to create bibliographies, create in text citations in your paper (Write-N-Cite), and share your research with others. Access RefWorks from the A-Z list of resources on the library's web page, and then follow the instructions to create your own username and password. We hold RefWorks Clinics throughout the semester. For more information, ask a reference librarian
