Religious Studies Resources
Gretchen E. Pearson, Bibliographer for Religious Studies
Noreen Reale Falcolne Library
For an appointment, call 315.445.4154
Library hours. Current hours also available by calling 445.4153, then pressing 1.
Department of Religious Studies at Le Moyne College
for information about faculty, courses, majors and minors, and links.
Contents
General Resources
Catholic Resources
Sacred Texts
World Religions
Biographical Resources
Theology
Ethics
Biblical Studies
Learned Societies
Surveys and Data
Syracuse Area Places of Worship
Women and Religion
Simon Tutorial
Acknowledgement
General Resources
Some of the resources listed below are available only in the Falcone Library or from off-campus through the Library's proxy server, which requires a college ID with a bar code label. When this is the case, the link will also take you to a page that explains that.
SIMON, the Library's online catalog
-books
-journals
-indices
-other reference materials
-audio and visual materials
-computer software
-electronic journals and books
-web sites
-Recommended as a starting place for research in religious studies. Assistance is available at the Reference Services desk any time the Library is open. For a tutorial, please click here.
Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed.
-excellent starting point for research on all religious practices, but strongest for Christianity
-gives thorough but general background information on individuals, organizations, concepts, and all religions
-provides references to further reading and additional resources.
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Internet Resources - General
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, is an online collection of resources which explores "the communities and religious traditions of Asia and the Middle East that have become woven into the religious fabric of the United States in the past twenty-five years." (from the Web site) Includes multimedia, news, and online resources.
Religion Online A collection of full-text resources (articles, book chapter, and entire books) on all aspects of Christianity. Many are scholars in their field. Includes a general index, as well as category and author indices.
Visual Resources: ATLA Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative "Phase One of the Initiative has focused on visual materials, including digital images of woodcuts, photographs, slides, papyri, coins, maps, and manuscripts." (from the introduction) Phase Two, targeted for completetion in 2004, will include textual materials as well as additional visual materials. Free.
The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
-Internet Guide to all aspects of religion and theology
-full-text sources
-syllabi
-discussion lists
-bibliographies
-electronic journal
Religious Studies -- A Directory of Online Resources for the Academic Study of Religion
-outstanding metasite created and maintained (VERY up to date) by Mike Madin
-supported by AcademicInfo
-links to general topics, all religions
-searchable
Virtual Religion Index at Rutgers University
-selective collection of links on most world religions and related aspects, such as Sociology and American Studies
-up to date, frequently revised, with a What's New list at the top
Exploring Religions
-developed by the faculty of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Wyoming
-information and additional links for the five main religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
Finding God in Cyberspace
-developed by a librarian
-provides a rich selection of reliable resources in religious studies
-both print and electronic resources
To find other web sites, search:
WorldCat
-an international database which includes web sites reviewed and selected by librarians and other experts in the field
-limit to Internet Resources, but this will also retrieve online books.
Librarians Index the Internet, lii.org, click on Religion
-suitable for public library patrons wanting general information
Scout Report remains an excellent and up-to-date source for web sites.
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Indices
ATLA Religion Database
-citations for journal articles
-citations for some books and book reviews
-all religions
-international (includes languages other than English)
-citations going back to 1949 in general
-the Library subscribes to many of the journals indexed--once you find an article, search for the journal title in Simon
-recommended starting place for journal research in any religion topic
-for Catholic topics, see Catholic Periodical and Literature Index below
-available off campus only to Le Moyne College students, faculty, and staff
Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
-the Library subscribes to many of the journals indexed--search Simon for the journal title
-journal articles, essays, and reviews of books on all aspects of Catholicism
-international
-only a few journals in CPLI can be found in ATLA, so this should be used for any Catholic topic
-available off campus only to Le Moyne College students, faculty, and staff
Essay and General Literature Index
-indexes anthologies (books). Many of these anthologies can be found in Simon, but you will need to search by book title, do not rely on the links attempted by EGLI when you click on Check Library Holdings
-all religions (especially strong in Humanities)
-international
-online index goes back to 1985, print index goes back to 1900 (search Simon under title>essay and general literature index)
-available off campus only to Le Moyne College students, faculty, and staff
Academic Search Elite
-full-text database for most articles
-selective (not all articles from every issue)
-time period covered vairies from title to title, some go back as far as 1992
-indexing and full-text coverage for about 45 religious studies journals
-available off campus only to Le Moyne College students, faculty, and staff
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Catholic Resources
Contemporary Catholic Trends Results of polls, conducted with Zogby International two or three times a year, are responses from Catholics on a variety of current, contemporary topics and issues.
Catholic Web Resources, a page at Finding God in Cyberspace. Presents a succinct, more scholary and useful list of annotated links.
Monks of Adoration web site
-largest collection of links to Catholic information on the Internet
-useful for a lay, general audience
Syracuse Catholic Diocese
-information about and links to Catholic churches and schools in the Diocese
-biographical information
-many useful links
Vatican web site
-still under construction (but what isn't)
-current documents issued by the Pope
-more documents and links are being added regularly
-appear to be working back from the current Pope, with varying amounts of information available under each, back to Leo XIII
Catholic Online an extensive set of web pages on nearly every aspect of Catholicism.
Documents of the Roman Catholic Church (a blog with links to documents)
-The Documents of the Council of Trent
-The Documents of the Second Vatican Council (also available in the Falcone Library)
-Encyclicals and Other Papal Documents (also available in the Falcone Library)
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Statements
-Catechism of the Catholic Church Print editions available in the Falcone Library. Includes a search engine.
----Another search engine for the Catechism.
-Writings of the Church Fathers/Doctors/Saint Selected Writings of the Church Fathers (also available in the Falcone Library in their entirety) other links to the Writings of the Church Fathers
Traditio Traditional Roman Catholic Internet Site, includes a National Registry of Traditional Latin Masses.
New Advent Catholic Web Site (The Catholic Encyclopedia on this site is the 1917 edition)
Society of Jesus, and also on the Catholic Resources web site (don't forget to read the jokes!)
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
National Shrine of North American Martyrs
Catholic Encyclopedia
-1913 edition (pre-Vatican II); be cautious when using this, since it contains outdated information
-newest edition of New Catholic Encyclopedia, Revised Edition (2003) available in the Falcone Library
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Sacred Texts
Bible: at least one copy of each version of the Bible is available in the Falcone Library. Search Simon under Title>Bible.English. Then search for the appropriate version.
-Unbound Bible unbound.biola.edu full text and searchable versions of 10 English Bibles, Greek and Hebrew Bibles, and Bibles in 42 other languages. Also contain some tools such as dictionaries and commentaries.
-English Standard Version: the most recent translation of the original Biblical texts.
-New American bible
-King James / Authoirzed (this link and the link to RSV below are for the same site, which allows users to browse the two versions side by side)
-The University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative has several versions of the Bible (King James, Martin Luther translation, Rheims, and the Revised Standard), as well as numerous other public domain documents.
-Revised Standard The University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center, another outstanding source of online documents (some available only to UVa students, faculty, & staff).
-The Bible Gateway Allows searching in multiple versions of the Bible
-New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Book of Mormon, also available in the Falcone Library.
Qur'an / Koran, also available in the Falcone Library. The Noble Qur'an is another site with three translations, a search engine, and an index.
Jewish Bible / Torah. See the first five books of the Bible (the Christian Old Testament). The cornerstone for Jewish Law.
For print copies of sacred texts, search Simon for title, followed by English. e.g. koran english or bible english. (unless you want it in Swahili...)
World Religions
The Falcone Library has an extensive collection covering all religions and most sects, inlcuding those often labled "fringe" or "alternative." Below are listed recommended resources for world religions, linking to the official home page of the organization whenever possible. Not all religions are listed below, others may be added later.
An outstanding source of information can be found at Prof. Wayne A. Selcher's World Religions web page.
-African Methodist Episcopal Church
----see also AME Today for current news
-Baha'i Faith
-Baptist Church
Buddhism
----see also About.com
-Church of Christ
-Church of Christ, Scientist
-Church of God in Christ
-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
----Encyclopedia of Mormonism REF BX 8605.5 .E62 1992
-Episcopal Church, USA
-Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
-Hinduism this site includes access to the magazine Hinuism Today.
-Hmong
----Hmong Cultural Center, Inc. Resources for students and teachers
----Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center
--------Relgion, religious beliefs, and Christianity
----In Simon, search under subject heading Hmong Asian People
-Islam (Islam has beocme one of the most oft-searched topics on the Internet since Sept. 11, 2001. Some of the sites below have pages devoted to responses to the terrorist attack.)
----Encyclopedia of Islam REF DS 37 .E56
----The Islam Page
----About.com's page on Islam, select from the subject list on the left.
----Al-Islam. Shi'ite perspective, multilingual Qur'an.
----Islamic Studies, Islam, Arabic, and Relgion Good intor to Islam and Sufism. ISlamic Studies, Islam, Arabic, & Religion. A thorough, award-winning site, with essays, links, and primary materials, by Prof. Alan Godlas at the University of Georgia. Appears to be balanced in providing a number of viewpoints, and covers all aspects of Islam. Highly recommended.
-Jehovah's Witness
-Judaism
----Jewish Encyclopedia REF DS 102.8 J6 Very dated (1906), but useful especially for historical and biographical information.
----Encyclopedia Judaica REF DS 102.8 .E56 Slighly less dated (1972), but useful for biographical information, as well as international and historical information. Good bibliographies.
----Jewish Christian Relations An interdisciplinary, scholarly database, mostly full-text, with many links, of articles, bibliogrpahies, news, organizations, people, resources, and statements on Jewish relations with Christians.
----Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Extensive collection of online texts, historical information, bibliographies, etc. There's even a section for Women's Studies.
----Judaism and Jewish Resources. One very long page of links to sites, making it difficult to use unless you have a lot of time!
-Mormons: see above at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
-Native American religious practices
----Search Simon uner Subject>religion indians, and look for appropriate geographic area or group. (Please note: the actual subject heading is Indians of North America Religion, and if you type it in this way, you will be able to see the full range of subject headings, which may provide you with additional resources and ideas.)
----Handbook on North American Indians, REF E 77 .H25, is an excellent starting point for background information.
----Native American Spirituality, archived copy, at the University of Virginia. An excellent introduction, links, bibliography, but dated.
----ReligiousTolerence.org's page on Native American Spirituality. excellent links and bibliography / webography.
----Native American Sites, maintained by Lisa Mitten. Clicking on Information on Individual Native Nations will lead you to sites on specific tribes, where you will find information about their culture. An amazing site!
----NativeWeb.org the Resources page on Religion and Spirituality is a lengthy list of organizations covering a wide range (international)
-Presbyterian Church in America
-Presbyterian Church (USA)
-Sikhism
-Seventh Day Adventist
-Taoism
-Unitarian Universalist
-United Church of Christ
-United Methodist Church
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Biographical Resources
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
-best place to begin searching for biographical information
-indexes nearly three million biographical sketches in several hundred resources
-Falcone Library owns many of these resources
Dictionaries and encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopedia of Religion listed above, and Butler's Lives of the Saints, will also contain biogrpahical information
Augustine of HIppo contains many full-text papers written by the author of the site, James O'Donnell, as well as others. No indication of a date created or whether is is updated, and some of the links don't work, but valuable tool for research on Augustine, and the links that do work are quite useful.
Theology
Fides Quaerens Internetum: The Christian Theology Page of Bryan Stone, probably the most comprehensive site on theology.
Provides links to associations, educational institutions, online texts, online journals, discussions, and publishers.
Internet Theology Resources, at St. John's School of Theology - Seminary. Extensive annotated collection of links, including non-Christian relgions.
Theology Website, with the Internet journal Quodlibet. Includes a blog.
Ethics
Values Institute at University of San Diego: Ethics Updates, click on Religion and Ethics. Includes audio and video of presentations on various topics, links to journals and documents.
Society of Christian Ethics a non-denominational scholarly association.
Women and Religion
For books, search Simon using the subject heading Women and Religion. A more precise topic may be found below that general heading. Also try Women in Christianity, or Women in Buddhism, or Women in ... etc.
Diotima: Materials for the study of women and gender in the ancient world.
Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries on Women and Theology. (currently unavailable) A selective, annotated list of Internet resources on religion, theology, and the feminine divine. Covers all mojor religious practices.
Hartford Institute for Religion Research: Woman and Religion. For articles, research reports, and links to other sites.
Matrix: a scholarly resource for the study of women's religious communities from 400 to 1600 CE. Information on communities, primary and secondary resources, a bibliography, and visual images.
Biblical Studies
Codex Sinaiticus manuscript: part of the earliest known Christian Bible.
Biblical Studies Carnival is a collection of academic Biblical studies blogs. Posters needn't be professors or biblical scholars, "amateurs are more than welcome!" From the Carnival web page: "A blog 'carnival' is a blog post where a host blogger links to and sums up the best blog articles in a given subject area in a specific period of time. The host typically rotates among a number of different bloggers ensuring diversity and different perspectives in the subject area."
Resource pages for Biblical Studies "Focusing on early Christian writings and their social world."
Biblical Studies on the Web Provides access to full text journals and to online catalogues (LOC and Iniversities in the UK, Ireland, Innsbruck, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome). Searches only by keyword, so be sure to use variant spellings and synonyms.
New Testament Gateway Collection of links to scholarly resources on the New Testament, divided by topic.
Biblical Studies at Rutgers University, part of their Virtual Religion Index. Scroll down for a lengthy list of additional topics.
Learned Societies
American Academy of Religion
------See also their Related Scholarly Organizations
Society of Christian Ethics
Society of Biblical Literature
Theta Alpha Kappa
Surveys and Data
American Religion Data Archive Contains quantitative data on surveys pertaining to the study of American religion. Maps of each state.
Contemporary Catholic Trends Data from the surveys.
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Syracuse Area Places of Worship
Several web sites in the Syracuse area list churches, synagogues, and temples, and provide relevant information where
available.
Syrahoo.com provides a list of churches, together with links to web sites where available, and even rates the web sites.
Syracuse Area Churches with Home Pages is an extensive list by denomination.
Many religious organizations provide lists of area churches, try the national governing body of that church, such as the ELCA for Lutherans, or the US Catholic Bishops' listing of the Dioceses by state (also available in print form in the Library), or by doing a Google search for the city and denomination. The yellow pages in a local phone book also gives you a list.
Simon Tutorial
When using Simon, each search selection takes you to a page that explains how to best search in that mode. What follows is a brief overview of using Simon. Keep in mind that nearly everything in the Library, and everything to which the Library subscribes, can be found in Simon. This includes books and journals (paper, microform, and electronic), audiovisual materials, computer software, and web sites, to name the more common resources.
Subject heading or keyword? Which to use? Why?
Keyword searching:
-will always retrieve something, but not always relevant, and often too much
-is good for current terminology
-can find alternate spellings
-will help find appropriate subject headings, which should be used to find relevant materials
-if you stop with a keyword search, relying on it solely, you will always miss relevant materials
-cannot limit, need to retype your search
Subject heading searching:
-Using Subject Headings always retrieves relevant materials on the subject. Subject headings can be combined for a refined search by clicking on LIMIT THIS SEARCH
-Subject: lastname, firstname
e.g. S>thomas aquinas
or S>augustine sait
or S>king, martin luther
or S>john paul ii pope
or S>mary blessed virgin saint
or S>teresa mother
To find a subject heading, try
-Word (keyword) search
----click on appropriate subject heading near the bottom
----e.g. Word>saint peter, click on subject>Peter the Apostle
----e.g. Word>st peters basillica, click on subject>basillica di san pietro in vaticano
-Name, followed by title, e.g. jphn paul ii pope (see examples under subject, above)
-Places
-Subject Religion following a broader topic, e.g. Indians of North America Religion
Author (books by person)
same as above:
Author>lastname, firstname
For journals the Library subscribes to:
-in Simon click on Journal Title
-type in the complete title of the journal (not the article!)
-if the journal is available online, there will be a link there
-volume and issue numbers, and dates, will be listed, so look for the date or volume number needed
Sacred Texts
To find copies of sacred texts in the Falcone Library, search under the generic title, followed by the language wanted, such as T>bible english or T>koran arabic. Copies of most of the sacred texts can be found in either the Reference collection or in the circulating bookstacks, and in most cases both places
Locations
Floor Plans can be found on both floors to assist you in finding the locations of materials. Help is also available at the Reference Services Desk, where you should go for assistance in finding and using resources/
For additional assistance, you may contact the Bibliographer for Religious Studies, Gretchen Pearson, by phone at 315.445.4154, or by e-mail at pearson@lemoyne.edu.
Citation Formats
If you are writing a paper, you should consult with you professor to find out which citation format to follow. Most materials on the Internet are protected by copyright, just as other materials in print. Good scholarship required citing the source of information used. In general, according to the Hacker Handbook, a citation to an online resource may include the following information:
-author or organization
-title of web page
-section heading
-date created and latest update
-date accessed
-URL
For additional assistance, try using the Online Writing Lat at Purdue University.
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Acknowledgements
I wish to share all accolades for this web site with the faculty of the Le Moyne College Department of Religious Studies and wish to express my deepest gratitude for their generous guidance, support, and input. Errors and shortcomings are soley mine.
gep
Page compiled by Gretchen Pearson updated 04/07/09.