Resources for Religious Studies Majors

Why Study Religion?

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

World Peace Religion

The Warren Hunting Smith Library, The L. Thomas Melly Academic Center and The Rosensweig Learning Commons have a range of resources available for work in religious studies. These include both online and cd-rom materials as well as a collection of reference tools, books and periodicals. There are also an array of sites on the internet which address religion.

In all cases, your use of this material depends on critical evaluation of sources. Remember, what is listed here is only a sample, not an endorsement that thesee are the best or only resources.

Sample Internet Resources

For a guide to biblical and religious studies, classics, and archaeological resources on the internet, see Patrick Durusau, High Places in Cyberspace 2nd edition (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1998). There are a multitude of resources out there, ranging from texts in translation and the original, visual archives, and library catalogues. Available resources include web site as well as electronic discussion groups.

Below are some sample Web sites:

• http://www.midsouth.net/cncrdnce.htm
  This is an on-line concordance that works well and offers several different translations. It works by both entering the passage name: number and also provides name and number if you provide the search words.
• http://hakatai.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/ml/religion.htm
  This offers links and resources on buddhism, hinduism, christianity, islam, chinese philosophies, judaism and native american traditions
• http://www.academicinfo.net/religindex.html
  This is a subject index to the academic study of religion.
• http://www.lgbtran.org/
  The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Religious Archives Network
• http://www.aarweb.org/
  American Academy of Religion
• http://www.thearda.com/
  Association of Religion Data Archives
• http://www.adherents.com/
  Adherents.com is a growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations.
• http://www.sacred-texts.com/
  Internet Sacred Text Archive
• http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html
  THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY, The Nag Hammadi Library

Sample Reference Tools at Warren Hunting Smith Library

The Warrent Hunting Smith Library contains a wide array of references and sources, both print and electronic. Among the print resources you can find there to use in your exploration of religion are bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference tools.

Indexes are used to locate work in periodicals, for example, on a specific topic. Two examples we have at Warren Hunting Smith Library are:

• Religion Index One: periodicals (INDEX W4 BL1.A4; this is an index to periodicals which deal with religion and a good way to locate material)
• Religious and Theological Abstracts (INDEX W4 BR1.R286)

Like indexes, bibliographies provide access to a range of publications regarding a specific topic. Examples which are relevant to religion and available at Hobart and William Smith's library include:

• Women and Religion: A Bibliography (QUARTO HQ1393.W66 1981)
• Black Women and Religion (REF BR563.N4R52)
• Psychology and Religion: A Bibliography (BL65.P82 1982)
• Politics and Religion: A Bibliography (QUARTO BL65.P7P66)
• Sociology and Religion: A Bibliography (QUARTO BL60.S62 1981)

Dictionaries, of course, provide explanations of terminology and related information. Examples which are relevant to religion and obtainable at the Hobart and William Smith Library include:

• The Oxford Dictionary of the World Religions (REF BL 31 .O9 1997)
• The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (REF BR95.O8 1997)
• The Oxford Dictionary of Jewish Religion (REF BM50.O94 1997)

Encyclopedias provide lengthier articles on crucial concerns. Examples available at the Hobart and William Smith Library include

• The Encyclopedia of Religion (REF BL31.E46 1987; 16 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Mormonism (REF BX8605.5 E62; 5 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience (REF >BL2525.E53 1988)

Other reference tools include, for example, very specific tools focused on individual religions such as

• A Concordance to the Qur'an (REF BP133.K37 1983)

Our reference tools also include works which help students engage in research in and reflection on religion such as

• Research Guide to Religious Studies (BL41.W5 1982)

Sample Journals at Warren Hunting Smith Library

The Warren Hunting Smith Library at Hobart and William Smith includes a variety of journals and magazines which deal with religion. In addition to newspapers and popular periodicals, the library collects the following scholarly journals.

• History of Religions
• Journal of Biblical Literature
• Journal of the American Academy of Religion
• Religious Studies
• Religious Studies Review
• Sociology of Religion
• Theology Today

Be sure to check the library for a more extensive listing of the periodicals you can find there.

 

More Info

• The Warren Hunting Smith Library & The L. Thomas Melly Academic Center
• The Rosensweig Learning Commons

Hours

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Monday: 10am - 5pm, 7pm - 10pm
Tuesday: 10am - 5pm, 7pm - 10pm
Wednesday: 10am - 5pm, 7pm - 10pm
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Wednesday: 9am - 2pm
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