This guide provides resources for the study of Theology and Religious Studies. This page focuses on resources that cover many faiths, with general resources first and resources for particular religions second. On the left are pages that focus on particular religions, and/or themes. Links to resources might not duplicated from the main page into the thematic pages so please explore widely.
This guide, in particular the thematic pages are under construction. More resources are being added and new thematic pages are being created. Please schedule an appointment if you need assistance finding resources for your topic.
Journal Articles
- EBSCO Religion
Ebsco Religion allows you to search the following databases simultaneously:
ATLA Religion Database
Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
Index to Jewish Periodicals
New Testament Abstracts
Old Testament Abstracts - ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials PLUS
ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials PLUS provides coverage from 1949 and retrospective indexing for several journal issues as far back as the nineteenth century. Full-text content is included for more than 425 journals. - ProQuest Religious Magazine Archive
Covers magazines devoted to religious topics, from 1845 to 2015. The publications were originally written by/for a wider populace rather than for academics. A wide variety of religions and denominations are represented, allowing for comparative studies of religions during this period. - Humanities Source
Humanities Source is designed to meet the needs of students, researchers and educators interested in all aspects of the humanities. The collection includes full text for more than 1,400 journals, with citations to over 3.5 million articles, including book reviews, and indexing back to 1907. - JSTOR
Full text of older issues of journals. Access includes Arts & Sciences I-XV, Business I Collection, Health & General Sciences Collection, and the Life Sciences Collection. - Google Scholar
Articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Click "more" below to customize Google Scholar to access USF library journal subscriptions.
General Reference Sources
Religions of the World by ISBN: 9781598842036Publication Date: 2010-09-21Six-volume encyclopedia provides comprehensive, global coverage of religion, emphasizing larger religious communities without neglecting the world's smaller religious outposts. The encyclopedia also covers the world of religious unbelief as expressed in atheism, humanism, and other traditions. It includes detailed statistical information on the major religious communities in each country, entries on famous and important religious sites and places of pilgrimage, Biographies of the most influential religious leaders in history, photographs, maps and illustrations, and a bibliography for each entry.
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices by ISBN: 9780787666118Publication Date: 2005-11-18"Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices presents detailed information on current religious practices around the world, with an emphasis on how religion impacts the daily lives of its followers. Entries cover everything from central doctrines and sacred texts to dietary customs and significant holidays. The three-volume set explores 13 major religions, plus 24 sects, and spans Asia and Oceania, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Also includes 300 illustrations, belief tables showing how individual religions are unique and what they share with other religions, a glossary, maps, a cumulative index and much more.
Encyclopedia of Sacred Places by ISBN: 9781598846546Publication Date: 2011-09-13This encyclopedia documents the diversity of shrines, temples, holy places, and pilgrimage sites sacred to the world's major religious traditions, and illustrates their elemental place in human culture. Articles describe both the places and their associated traditions and history. Over 300 A-Z entries covering sites and pilgrimages sacred to the world's major religious traditions including photographs, maps, glossary of relevant terms, and appendices listing sites by country, faith tradition, and placement in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions by ISBN: 9781414406879Publication Date: 2016-10-17Comprehensive coverage of more than 2,300 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada -- from Adventists to Zen Buddhists. Information is presented in two distinct sections, essays and directory listings describing the historical development of religious families and providing factual information about each group within those families. Includes, when available, rubrics for membership figures, educational facilities and periodicals.
Books
- Ignacio: Library Catalog
The library catalog lets you search across the holdings of Gleeson Library and Zief Law Library, including books, videos, and other materials. - Link+
Search across more than 60 libraries in California and Nevada, and request available books to be delivered to Gleeson Library in 2-4 business days. LINK+ will be cancelled at the end of spring semester 2024. More information.
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
HathiTrust is a collaborative of academic and research libraries preserving 17+ million digitized items. HathiTrust offers reading access to the fullest extent allowable by U.S. copyright law, HathiTrust members steward the collection — the largest set of digitized books managed by academic and research libraries. Gleeson Library is not a HathiTrust member but anyone can create a guest account - Open Library
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3 million books.
- WorldCat
WorldCat.org lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. Excellent for identifying resources. Access the discovered resources through other databases or through InterLibrary Loan.
Buddhism Resources
- Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism
An annotated bibliography of the best scholarship in the discipline.
Encyclopedia of Buddhism by ISBN: 9780028659107Publication Date: 2004-04-01This encyclopedia is a historically focused work that provides an introduction to the doctrinal, ethical, social and spiritual ideas that inform the various traditions of Buddhism and the changes they have undergone over more that 2500 years.
Christianity Resources
- Old Testament Abstracts
The database features indexing and abstracts for journal articles, monographs, multi-author works, and software related to Old Testament studies. - New Testament Abstracts
Contains more than 44,000 article abstracts, 1,200 review abstracts, 16,500 book abstracts covering the New Testament and its historical milieu. - Catholic News Archive
This list is being compiled by the Catholic Research Resources Alliance with the help of all in support of the goal to provide access to all extant Catholic newspapers in North America.
New Catholic Encyclopedia by Publication Date: 2002An ebook version of the standard New Catholic Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival and Lent by ISBN: 9780780804326Publication Date: 2001-11-01A guide to this season's joyous celebration and solemn worship, including folk customs, religious observances, history, legends, folklore, symbols, and related days from europe, the americas, and around the world.
Hinduism Resources
- Oxford Bibliographies: HinduismAn annotated bibliography of the best scholarship in the discipline.
- Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions. Its essays are original work written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. The encyclopedia aims at a balanced and even-handed view of Hinduism, recognizing the divergent perspectives and methods in the academic study of a religion that is both an ancient historical tradition and a flourishing tradition today
Resources on Islam
- Oxford Bibliographies: Islamic StudiesAn annotated bibliography of the best scholarship in the discipline.
- Qurʾānic Studies Online
Qurʾānic Studies Online consists of the Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān, the Dictionary of Qurʾanic Usage, and the Qurʾān Concordance, all of which can be search together. - Early Western Korans Online
This remarkable collection demonstrates the impact of the holy book of Islam in Europe. Long before printing with movable type became common practice in the Islamic world, Korans had been printed in Arabic type in several European cities. The collection includes Korans and Koran translations, printed between 1537 and 1857, and is of interest to book historians, theologians, philologists, and scholars of Islamic Studies alike.
Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture by ISBN: 9781610691772Publication Date: 2014-04-25This in-depth examination of the life, history, and influence of Muhammad as discussed by leading scholars provides a wide-ranging look at the prophet's legacy. Internationally recognized scholars summarize views of Muhammad from the earliest editors of the Qu'ran to contemporary Muslim theologians. This detailed resource explores the traditions, ceremonies, and beliefs of Islam as they have spread worldwide, and examines Muhammad's role in other religious traditions as well as the secular world.
Jewish Studies
Additional resources on the Jewish Studies and Social Justice page
- Oxford Bibliographies: Jewish StudiesAn annotated bibliography of the best scholarship in the discipline.
- Index to Jewish Periodicals
Index to Jewish Periodicals is the definitive index on Jewish history, activity and thought. This database provides a comprehensive guide to English-language articles, book reviews, and feature stories in more than 230 journals devoted to Jewish affairs.
Encyclopedia JudaicaProvides an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition is important to scholars, general readers and students.
