This Guide consists of selected resources on religious studies available in Auraria Library and on the Internet.

Choose Your Topic

Information about religious studies can be found in several collections, i.e., reference, periodicals, government documents, media and book collections. Books shelved on the second floor may be checked out. Within each collection area, library materials are arranged and located by Library of Congress call numbers. The call number refers to a subject. Areas of the Library where materials on religious studies may be found are:

• B Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
• B-BD  Philosophy, Logic
• BF Psychology
• BH-BJ Aesthetics, Ethics
• BL-BX Religion 

For a more specific approach, use the Library of Congress Subject Headings , or ask reference librarians for more information.

Reference Books

Once you have decided on your topic, you may want to find an overview or a definition of your topic.A good place to start is with subject encyclopedias or dictionaries .  These resources are helpful to you in understanding the usage of terms and concepts. The following are a selection of  encyclopedias and dictionaries in the reference section of Auraria Library and on the Internet:

Catholic Encyclopedia "...exclusively a church encyclopedia, nor is it limited to the ecclesiastical sciences and the doings of churchmen. It records all that Catholics have done, not only in behalf of charity and morals, but also for the intellectual and artistic development of mankind." Also located in REF BX841 .N44 1967 

Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas. 4 Volumes. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973. REF CB5 D52

Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 volumes and index. Jerusalem: MacMillan Co., 1971. The most comprehensive and authoritative primary encyclopedia on most aspects of Judaism and Jewish culture.REF DS102.8 E496

Encyclopedia of African American Religions . Larry G. Murphy, et al, Eds.New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1993. REF BR563 .N4 E53.; Broad coverage of the leaders, groups and issues of African-American religious life.

Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions . James R. Lewis, ed. Amherst, NY Prometheus Books, 1998. REF BL2525 .L49 1998

Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: An Introduction . Arline B. Hirschfelder, ed. New York Facts on File, 2000. REF E98 .R3 H73 2000

Encyclopedia of Religion . Mircea Eliade, editor in chief. New York : Macmillan, 1987. REF BL31 .E46 1987 10 volumes. Written for the non-specialist, this source covers ideas, practices and persons in religion from paleolithic to modern times.

Great Thinkers of the Western World : the Major Ideas and Classic Works of More Than 100 Outstanding Western Philosophers, Physical and Social Scientists, Psychologists, Religious Writers and Theologians. New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. REF B72 .G74 1992

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. John Bowker, ed.  New York : Oxford University Press, 1997. REF BL31 .O84 1997 

Religion and American Law : An Encyclopedia . Paul Finkelman, ed.
New York : Garland Pub., 2000.  2nd Floor KF4783 .A68 R45 2000 

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy The online full text version of the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Philosophy, with articles on philosophical topics and on philosophers. Searchable by subject, keyword, names, and titles of articles. 

World Faiths. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1990. REF BL80.2 .N5226 1990 

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life.   Timothy L. Gall, ed., Detroit : Gale, 1998. REF GN333 .W67 1998  4 volumes.

Books

Use the following library systems to locate books and other materials:

• Auraria Library Online Catalog -- Use the Library online catalog (Skyline) to locate specific materials owned by Auraria Library .
• Prospector: the Colorado Unified Catalog -- Use Prospector to determine which major Colorado library may own a particular item.
• You may use ILL (Interlibrary loan) to order journal and magazine articles that Auraria Library doesn't own and you cannot locate in Skyline or Prospector. 
• You may use WorldCat to request books, dissertations, videorecordings and other materials that Auraria doesn't own.

Article Databases

Scholarly, peer reviewed information is be found in journal articles; popular culture and news oriented information may be in magazines. Consult the Find Articles guide, which provides information about locating journals and magazines as well as outlines the fundamental differences in these types of periodicals .

Databases -- Go to this page for a customized list of databases related to religious studies.Many databases listed on this page contain scholarly, peer reviewed articles in leading journals.

Internet

• Academic Info Religion -- An annotated directory of Internet resources for the academic study of religion.
• Adherents.com -- This site offers a large collection of statistics on "over 4,000 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc."
• American Academy of Religion
• American Religion Data Archives (ARDA) -- Located at Purdue University, ARDA concentrates on data sets currently not stored in a public archive and makes them available for free use at this site.Users may browse the data file directory and download data sets.
• Beliefnet
• Facets of Religion
• Hartford Institute for Religion Research
• Intute
• Places of Peace and Power -- Martin Gray, an anthropologist with an interest in sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions, has created this site to share photographs and descriptions of some of the 900 sacred sites in 40 countries that he has visited.
• The Pluralism Project -- Examines religious diversity in the U.S.
• Religion on the Web
• Religion and the Founding of the American Republic -- At the Library of Congress, explores the role religion played in the founding of the American colonies, in the shaping of early American life and politics, and in forming the American Republic.
• Religious Freedom -- Jeffrey K. Hadden, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, has constructed three Websites that examine the sociological aspects of religion.
• Virtual Religion Index 
• Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
• World Prayers
• Witch Hunts
• World Council of Churches

Explanation of Location Codes
REF = Reference Stacks on Main level near Reference Desk     
INDEX = Index Stacks on Main level near Reference Desk 
GOVPUB = Stacks on Main level near Government Publications office  
GOV PUB CD-ROM = In the CD-ROM Cluster by the Government Publications Office on Main level
PERIOD = Periodicals Department  Main Level, Most Recent Issues in Current Periodicals