Library Guides: Theology and Religion: Background Information

Overview of Theology and Religion

Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine; more generally, Religion refers to any cultural system of worship that relates humanity to the supernatural or transcendental. Subfields of Theology include:

Biblical Studies is the academic application of diverse disciplines to the study of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
Church History studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian church has developed since its inception.
Liturgy is the customary public worship performed by a religious group according to its beliefs, customs, and traditions.
Moral Theology is a major category of doctrine in the Catholic Church, usually encompassing Roman Catholic social teaching, Catholic medical ethics, sexual ethics, and various doctrines on individual moral virtue and moral theory.
Systematic Theology formulates an orderly and coherent account of the doctrines of faith.

Theology is an interdisciplinary endeavor. Related subjects include: Catholic Studies.

Dictionaries

Dictionaries are most often collections of words in one or more specific languages, usually arranged in alphabetical order, providing information like word meanings, usage, etymology, and, when they contain more than one language, translations. Some dictionaries include information more commonly found in encyclopedias.

Concise companion to the Jewish religion
Concise Oxford dictionary of the Christian church
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Abridged from the acclaimed Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, this Concise version is written by an expert team of 80 international and multi-faith contributors. It contains entries on all the major and many minor religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Shinto, Sikhism, and Taoism.

Database of Latin Dictionaries This link opens in a new window
The aim of the database is not only to integrate different types of Latin dictionaries, whether modern, medieval or early-modern, but also to build in links between these different tools. Where the dictionaries provide Latin terms and vernacular equivalents or explanations (whether in contemporary or historic forms of English, French or German), searches will be possible on both the Latin lemmata and the English, French or German lemmata. All Latin word-forms that appear concretely in texts will have a link to entries in relevant dictionaries and from there the user can go and read the selected dictionary entry. The database will continue to grow gradually and will comprise three kinds of dictionaries: dictionaries to assist translation from Latin into modern languages, dictionaries providing semantic and etymological explanations in Latin of Latin words historical Latin dictionaries.
Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques : DHGE This link opens in a new window
Contains articles on the history of the Church. Bischo?fe des Heiligen Ro?mischen Reiches und der deutschsprachigen La?nder (1198-1648) (BHRR) is a new database integrated into the DHGE.

Dictionary of Buddhism
This dictionary features broad-ranging entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools, information on the spread of Buddhism in Asia and the West, and coverage of issues of contemporary concern such as human rights, abortion, euthanasia, ‘engaged Buddhism’, and the role of women in Buddhist teachings.
Dicitonary of Hinduism
Dictionary of the Bible

Digital dictionary of Buddhism This link opens in a new window
A compilation of Buddhist terms, texts, temples, schools, persons, etc. that are found in East Asian Buddhist canonical sources. Since much of what East Asian Buddhists have written about is the Buddhism of India, Central Asia, and Tibet, the content of this database/dictionary/encyclopedia/translation glossary is pan-Buddhist in character.
Leiden Armenian lexical textbase This link opens in a new window
"... designed to provide basic tools, in the form of texts and lexica, for the study of Armenian from the classical period, with a focus on the oldest states of the language."--Publisher's website.
Ma'agarim (Hebrew language historical dictionary project) This link opens in a new window
Contains the sources processed in preparation of the historical dictionary project database. Covers ancient times to the modern era. Retrieves citations according to roots, lemmas, declined forms, derivations and works according to title, author, date, or genre.

Oxford companion to the Bible

Oxford dictionary of Byzantium This link opens in a new window
Contains searchable entries covering 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.

Oxford Dictionary of Islam
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, providing a highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world.
Oxford Dictionary of Popes
This fascinating dictionary gives concise accounts of every officially recognized pope in history, from St Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, as well as all of their irregularly elected rivals, the so-called antipopes.
Oxford Dictionary of Saints
First published in 1978, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints offers more than 1,700 fascinating and informative entries covering 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.

Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church This link opens in a new window
"... contains over 6,000 A-Z entries ... from theology; churches and denominations; patristic scholarship; and the bible; to the church calendar and its organization; popes; archbishops; saints; and mystics."--Home page.
Oxford dictionary of the Jewish religion This link opens in a new window
"In 2,400 entries, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion covers more than three millennia of Jewish religious thought, custom, law, and practice, from traditional approaches to Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and post-denominational Judaism. Brief definitions and longer essays, all supplemented with bibliographies, enlighten readers about the major figures, folklore, and events in the history of Judaism throughout the world."--Home p.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias are collections of information on terms, figures, eras, locations also arranged alphabetically, and, alongside definitions of terms, they also include more in-depth general information on a topic. Encyclopedias can be general or subject-specific.

New Catholic encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
This 15 volume, second edition features revised and new articles. Among the 12,000 entries in the encyclopedia are articles on theology, philosophy, history, literary figures, saints, musicians and much more.
New Catholic encyclopedia : jubilee volume, the Wojtyła years This link opens in a new window
A scholarly supplement to the New Catholic Encyclopedia that focuses on the pontificate of John Paul II and includes thematic essays presenting the man and his work.
New Catholic Encyclopedia. Supplement 2009 This link opens in a new window
A supplement to the New Catholic Encyclopedia that focuses on the theme of science and the church.

New Catholic Encyclopedia. Supplement 2010
This supplement focuses on the Church in Modern History, particularly WWII and after. It also includes about 200 entries on the men and women who have been beatified or canonized since 2003.
New Catholic Encyclopedia. Supplement 2011
This supplement covers the areas of art, music and literature. It includes articles written by specialists and scholars, bios of the beatified and canonized since 2010 as well as entries on other relevant current Catholic issues, events and topics, such as: Internet and the Church, Pope Benedict XVI, popular culture, sex abuse crisis, television and Catholicism, and women artists and Catholic art.
New Catholic Encyclopedia. Supplement 2012-2013
This supplement covers a wide range of topics including ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, philosophy of literature, art, and music, political philosophy, and philosophy of law. It contains numerous articles of special interest to Catholic thought and culture covering such areas as the philosophical aspects of love, hope, wisdom, marriage, friendship, death, pain and suffering, the human person and the human soul, and the philosophy of God and religion.

Catholic encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
Articles transcribed from the 1913 ed. of the Catholic Encyclopedia; includes links to the document The Making of the Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) and to New Advent Catholic supersite home page.
Encyclopaedia Islamica This link opens in a new window
Consists of an abridged and edited translation of the Persian Dāʼirat al-maʻārif-i buzurg-i Islāmī. Provides "entries on important themes, subjects and personages in Islam generally [and] ... offers the western reader an opportunity to appreciate the various dimensions of Shiʻi Islam, the Persian contribution to Islamic civilisation, and the spiritual dimensions of the Islamic tradition"--Home page. The project started with the letter A in 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2023.
Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. This link opens in a new window
Features more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life, culture, history, and religion, written by Israeli, American and European subject specialists.

Encyclopaedia of Islam
The Encyclopedia of Islam, new edition (also known as 2nd edition), includes articles on Muslims of the world and all aspects of their lives: tribes and dynasties, crafts and sciences, political and religious institutions, geography, ethnography of the various countries and history, topography and monuments of the major towns and cities, etc.

Encyclopaedia of Islam This link opens in a new window
Reference work on the Islamic World. It includes comprehensive coverage of Islam in the twentieth century and of Muslim minorities all over the world.
Encyclopaedia of the Quran This link opens in a new window
Includes direct access to 62 early printed western Qurans online and the electronic Quran Concordance, a unique online finding aid for textual research.
Encyclopedia of Bioethics This link opens in a new window

Encyclopedia of Hebrew language and linguistics online This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world, 2nd. ed. This link opens in a new window
This reference work includes articles on the history, religion, cultural practices, and political economies of Muslims from the seventh-century in West Asia to today's Muslim societies throughout the continents of Asia, Africa, the Subcontinent, Europe, and the Americas.
Encyclopedia of medieval pilgrimage This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of Religion This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of religion in America This link opens in a new window
Examines how religious history and practices are woven into the political, social, cultural, and historical landscape of North America.

Encyclopedia of religious and spiritual development

Encyclopedia of the Bible and its reception This link opens in a new window
EBR offers a comprehensive and in-depth rendering of the current state of knowledge on the origins and development of the Bible according to its different canonic forms in Judaism and Christianity. At the same time, EBR also documents the history of the Bible's reception in Judaism and Christianity as evident in exegetical literature, theological and philosophical writings of various genres, literature, liturgy, music, the visual arts, dance, and film, as well as in Islam and other religious traditions and contemporary movements."--Publisher's website.
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls This link opens in a new window
Online version of Lawrence Schiffman and James VanderKam's year 2000 print publication, providing an "... account of what we know about the scrolls--their history, relevance, meaning, and the controversies that surround them ... viewed in historical, linguistic, and religious contexts, with archaeological evidence providing a clear basis for dating and preservation of the manuscripts."--Home page.

Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America
Comprehensive, descriptive and analytical reference on women and religion in North America.
International encyclopedia for the Middle Ages

Lexikon des Mittelalters This link opens in a new window
An electronic version of the Lexikon des Mittelalters, a fundamental medieval studies encyclopedia covering the period from 300 to 1500 AD/CE for the whole of Europe and parts of the Middle East and North Africa. Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Martin Luther

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation This link opens in a new window
Consists of information about the religious and social changes that altered the face of Europe in the sixteenth century, encompassing not only issues of church polity and theology but also developments in politics, economics, demographics, art and literature.

Oxford guide to people & places of the Bible

Oxford research encyclopedias: Religion This link opens in a new window
"Substantive, peer-reviewed, and regularly updated, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion combines the speed & flexibility of digital with the rigorous standards of academic publishing... All articles are written and peer reviewed by certified experts of the topic... Reference articles are monitored by experts to ensure fresh and timely updates reflect new insights."
Religion past and present This link opens in a new window
Religion Past and Present is an updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion, Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart. It includes the latest developments in research and encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religious, theological, and biblical studies.

World Religions
The Times World Religions presents a fully-comprehensive survey of the origins, developments, beliefs and distribution of the world's religions. Full-colour maps, pictures and a thorough yet accessible text combine to form a unique global overview of human faith and a key to understanding its role in the modern world.
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices
In 1,800 pages across 3 volumes, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices provides information on current religious practices around the world with an emphasis on how religions impact the daily lives of their followers.

Directories, Guides, and Handbooks

Reference resources like directories, guides, and handbooks provide subject-specific, sometimes technical information to aid in understanding important aspects of the discipline or subject that they treat. Finding Aids are useful for finding information within libraries, archives, or specific collections.

Directories

Europa Sacra This link opens in a new window
Offers unrivalled coverage of medieval Church prelates, information on all 1300 medieval bishoprics, archdioceses and patriarchates under obedience to Rome. As of 2003, it provides prosopographical information on 18,507 bishops, archbishops and patriarchs. Gradually more recent prosopographical works on members of religious orders and data on secular clergy supplied by nationally-based prosopographical projects will be added.

Finding God in Cyberspace
Lists a wide variety of web resources on religious studies and Catholicism.

Labyrinth resources for medieval studies This link opens in a new window
Provides free, searchable access to electronic resources in medieval studies with connections to databases, services, texts, and images.
Resource pages for biblical studies This link opens in a new window
Provides links to scholarly studies of early Christian writings and their social world (Bible texts, translations and related texts; Biblical studies electronically published; Mediterranean social world; Philo of Alexandria).

Wabash Center: guide to Internet resources for teaching and learning in theology and religion
"A selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion: syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, websites, bibliographies, listserv discussion groups, liturgies, reference resources, software, etc. The purpose of the Guide is to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of electronic resources into teaching."

Guides

In Principio This link opens in a new window
A collection of approximately 1,000,000 incipits covering all known Latin texts, in manuscript form, from the start of Latin literature to around 1500 A.D. This includes ancient, patristic, medieval, and humanist literature and covers all genres: theology and liberal arts, history and poetry, medicine and liturgy, civil and canon law, exact and occult sciences, summons and sermons, glossaries and correspondences, cooking recipes and cursing formulas, large and small treatises, even isolated sentences. Updated semi-annually.

International encyclopedia for the Middle Ages

Vetus Latina database This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive patristic records for the Vetus Latina Institut in Beurum. Access info: Click on "Enter databases" then select Vetus Latina

Handbooks

Oxford handbooks online. Religion This link opens in a new window
The religion area of OHO provides new essays on critical topics and emerging issues in the study of religion, complementing hundreds of essays on Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and cross-cultural thematic studies that are part of the rich trove of Oxford Handbooks in religion. All of these essays can be accessed individually through key word searches related to the religious traditions, thematic fields, and analytic approaches covered in this comprehensive collection of essays, authored by some of the most authoritative scholars in religious studies. Advisory editors monitor the development of this collection and ensures its academic relevance and competency.

Biographies

Biography provides a description of a person's life, detailing the basic facts like birth and death, education, family background, etc. but also portraying the individual subject's experience of those life events.

Acta sanctorum the full text database. This link opens in a new window
Collection of texts on the lives of the saints from the beginning of the Christian era to the end of the sixteenth century, published over a period of three hundred years by the Société des Bollandistes. Usage info: Licensed for 4 simultaneous users.
Biographisch-bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon This link opens in a new window
Onlive version of the German biographical church encyclopedia that provides information about persons related to history of the Church.
Cardinals of the holy roman church This link opens in a new window
Consists of "biographies of the 20th century cardinals and of the events and documents concerning the origin of the Roman cardinalate and its historic evolution."
Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text collection of transcriptions and facsimiles of documents by Catholic authors of the 16th and 17th centuries "including papal documents, synodal decrees, catechisms, confessors' manuals, biblical commentaries, theological treatises, liturgical works, inquisitorial manuals, preaching guides, saints' lives, and devotional literature."--About.
Early English books online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Access info: Content presented as images online, or can be downloaded in PDF format for viewing off-line. No plugins required to view images online.
Eighteenth Century collections online: ECCO This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive searchable digital edition of The Eighteenth Century microfilm set, which has aimed to include every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas, between 1701 and 1800. Consists of books, pamphlets, broadsides, ephemera. Subject categories include history and geography; fine arts and social sciences; medicine, science, and technology; literature and language; religion and philosophy; law; general reference. Also included are significant collections of women writers of the eighteenth century, collections on the French Revolution, and numerous eighteenth-century editions of the works of Shakespeare. Where they add scholarly value or contain important differences, multiple editions of each individual work are offered.

Theology and Religion

Theology and Philosophy Librarian