Library Guides: Theology & Religious Studies Subject Guide: Reference Books

Reference and More for Religious Studies

Anchor Bible Dictionary by Freedman, David Noel, 1922-2008
Call Number: BS440 .A54
Information about developments and issues associated with the study of the Bible, covering people and places, versions of the Bible, methodologies of Bible scholarship, and historical and archaeological subjects, and includes illustrations, cross-references, and bibliographies.
Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by Livingstone, E. A.
Call Number: Online
Provides authoritative coverage of theology, patristic scholarship, churches and denominations across the world, canon law, and the church calendar, as well as entries on theologians, philosophers, artists, musicians, and mystics.
Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Call Number: Online
Contains entries on all the major and many minor religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Shinto, Sikhism, and Taoism.
The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium
Call Number: Online
Covers all aspects of Byzantine history and civilization from the 4th through the 15th centuries, with special depth in subjects such as bureaucratic titles and fiscal terms, urban life, and rural economy.
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
Call Number: Online
Focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, stressing topics of most interest to Westerners. A highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world.
The Oxford dictionary of saints
Call Number: Online
Covers the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated.
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
Call Number: BS2312 .K513
Substantial articles on Greek words that are theologically significant in the New Testament. Traces usage in classical Greek literature, the Septuagint, intertestamental texts, and the New Testament.

Encyclopedia of African Religions and Philosophy
Call Number: Online
Presents African thinkers, concepts and traditions, with a focus on African religious and philosophical practices. It offers a dependable and significant synthesis of African studies that encompasses major trends in the field since the early 1980s. The encyclopedia considers all religious and philosophical systems of Africa, both indigenous and non-indigenous. It also recognizes the determining role of the Diaspora in understanding African traditions and African identity.
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Call Number: Ebook
Articles describing the Islamic world from its known beginnings to the present day.
Encyclopedia of religion
Call Number: Online
Presents a cross-cultural approach that emphasizes religion's role within everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture.
New Catholic encyclopedia
Call Number: BX841 .N44 2003
Articles contained in fifteen volumes describe issues relating to and affecting the Catholic Church, in areas such as history, ethics, spirituality, and social sciences.
The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Call Number: Online
Includes articles covering subjects in analytical depth, as well as short biographies of the major figures in the story of Judaism. Issues of practical interest today are give special attention, such as the article Medical Ethics which relates to Abortion, Artificial insemination, Autopsies, Birth control, Euthanasia, Surrogate mother, etc.
The Oxford encyclopedia of the Reformation
Call Number: Online
Information about the religious and social changes that altered the face of Europe in the sixteenth century. Covers issues of church polity and theology, developments in politics, economics, demographics, art and literature.

Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion by Louis Jacobs
Call Number: online
From Maimonides to Methuselah, from Kabbalah to Kibbutz, Jacobs provides an invaluable source of information for anyone wanting to learn more about the rich heritage of the Jewish religion.
The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Metzger, Bruce M.
Call Number: Online
Provides an authoritative one-volume reference to the people, places, events, books, institutions, religious belief, and secular influence of the Bible.
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
Call Number: Online
Articles covering everyone from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ and everywhere from the Garden of Eden to Golgotha and Gethsemane.

There are commentaries on the Bible in general, as well as commentaries on a particular portion of the Bible. For general commentaries on the Bible, try searching "bible and commentaries," or for more specific commentaries, add the book of the Bible as well. For example, commentaries on the New Testament may be found with: Bible and New Testament and Commentaries. Commentaries on the Gospels may be found with Bible and Gospels and Commentaries, and so on.

Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century
A well-known and up-to-date commentary on the Bible with a Catholic slant.

Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
One of the most trusted scholarly commentaries series for Biblical Studies scholars. Draws from the wisdom and resources of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from around the world. Includes a book-by-book translation and exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Apocrypha to make available all the significant historical and linguistic knowledge which bears on the interpretation of the Bible.

Commentaries

Layers of Commentary by Romana Klee

CC-BY-SA 2.O

Selected Internet Sites

Encyclopedia Mythica
An encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and religion. Has a mythology section divided into six geographical regions and a Folklore section.
Jewish Encyclopedia Online
Contains the complete contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, which was originally published between 1901-1906. The Jewish Encyclopedia, which recently became part of the public domain, contains over 15,000 articles and illustrations.