CAN'T CONNECT?

Research

Guides & Tutorials

Research Guides by Subject:

Religious Studies

Send comments, questions, and suggestions for additional entries to: Anthony Stamatoplos, Religious Studies Liaison

Finding Journal Articles

Principle sources for citation indexes and full-text online articles

  • ATLA Religion Database Produced by the American Theological Library Association, the ATLA Religion Database is the most comprehensive index available to resources of interest to religious studies scholars. Includes citations to 336,000+ journal articles, 14,500+ multi-author works, 1461 journal titles, 357,000 book reviews, and 35 languages.
  • Philosopher's Index The best index for philosophers of all stripes. Search for citations to journal articles by subject or author. Citations will lead you to individual journal articles. Note that this index also provides citations to books and chapters in books.
  • Academic Search FullTEXT Elite This database is general in nature, unlike the subject-specific ATLA or Philosopher's indexes. The usefulness of Academic Search FullTEXT Elite will depend on your topic. The good thing is that the full text of many articles is available in electronic form you can print from your terminal (if you are a member of the IUPUI community).
  • Expanded Academic ASAP Like Academic Search Full-Text Elite, this database is general in nature. The usefulness of Expanded Academic ASAP will depend on your topic. The good thing is that the full text of many articles is available in electronic form-you can print from your terminal (if you are a member of the IUPUI community).
  • InfoTrac Religion & Philosophy 650,000+ articles from over 250 magazines and academic journals, covering religion, philosophy, archaeology and anthropology. Search can be limited to full-text and/or refereed (scholarly) publications.

Internet Resources

Comprehensive Sites Covering Many Religious Traditions

Please Note: Many of these sites cover the same material but have different ways of organizing that material.

Religion in American Life

  • IUPUI Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture A research and public outreach institute; activities include sponsoring conferences, commissioning books and other research projects, and fellowships for young scholars.
  • The Pluralism Project This Harvard University project studies and documents religious diversity in the United States. Especially valuable is their Directory of Religious Centers, the resources section, and news articles.
  • American Religion Data Archive (ARDA) Statistics. Lots of good information, but not the easiest site to navigate. Some files can be quite large and take some time to download.
  • Religion and the Founding of the American Republic This Library of Congress exhibit traces the relationship between religion and government in the early days of the American republic. It consists mostly of images of important documents with brief commentaries.
  • The Church in the Southern Black Community This University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill project traces how the southern African Americans experienced and transformed Protestant Christianity into the central institution of community life. It includes an extensive collection of rare electronic texts.
  • In the Beginning Was the Word: The Russian Church and Native Alaskan Cultures This Library of Congress exhibits consists mostly of images of rare documents, with brief commentaries on a little-known aspect of American religious life.
  • The Religious Freedom Page Created by a sociologist at the University of Virginia, this site covers religious freedom issues in the United States and abroad. Includes texts from national, world, and UN documents dealing with religious freedom and links to organizations which promote religious freedom and tolerance. Students should use critical thinking skills when dealing with sources that originate from regions where there is no clear line between religion and politics.
  • Muslim Life in America This new pamphlet from the State Department offers a basic introduction to some aspects of Muslim-American life. The front page takes care to emphasize the diversity among Muslim-Americans, and the links from this front page further amplify these differences. The site features a number of Photo Galleries, including Faces of Islam, Family Life, and Mosques and Prayers, among others. Users will also find related articles, a page of demographic facts, a bibliography with selected readings, links to Internet resources and nongovernmental organizations, along with other resources.

The Bible and Biblical Studies

Christianity

  • Christian Classics Ethereal Library Calvin College maintains this site of full-text classic Christian works believed to be in public domain. The collection includes works from the 3rd to the 20th centuries, plus fiction,hymnology, reference works, concordances, and bibles.
  • Research Guide for ChristianityAn excellent collection of Web resources, maintained by Yale Divinity School Library. The site includes primary sources, journals, organizations and institutions, electronic discussion lists, ethics and social issues, religion and the arts, and more.

Judaism

  • Judaism and Jewish Resources An incredibly comprehensive Website on all things Jewish. Don't be put off by the statement that the site is 6 years old; it has simply been building and improving for years.
  • Messianic Jewish Alliance of America A different kind of Judaism, the Messianic Jews believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah and Savior but reject Christian doctrines and practices.

Myth and Mysticism

  • Encyclopedia Mythica This is an encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, legends, and more. It contains over 5700 definitions of gods and goddesses, supernatural beings and legendary creatures, and monsters from all over the world.
  • Mysticism in World ReligionsCompares the mystical literature of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Consists of quotations from various scriptures and the writings of individual mystics compared and contrasted by topic.
  • The New Age DirectoryAn award winning site: psychics, astrology, UFOs, and all things New Age.

Eastern Religions

  • Islamic Studies, Islam, Arabic, and Religion Maintained by a professor of religious studies at the University of Georgia, this comprehensive site covers Islam, Arabic, and history. Students should use critical thinking skills when dealing with sources that originate from regions where there is no clear line between religion and politics.
  • Islamworld.net Comprehensive site for information on Islam. Not always easy to determine the origin or credibility of the links. Students should use caution when citing references.
  • Asia Pacific Research Online Specializes in networked scholarly information to online research, teaching, and publishing about Asia and related regions and topics.
  • Avesta-Zoroastrian Archives Official site for the Avesta Zoroastrian religion.
  • Hindu Universe: Hindu Resource Center Contains a comprehensive introduction to Hindu dharma, complete text of 85+ books, several scriptures, listings of Hindu temples, newsgroup archives, information on Hindu culture, festivals, calendar, and history.
  • Buddhist Information Network Exceptionally nice site, including online Buddhist texts, RealAudio, .wav, and MP3 files for chanting, meditation instruction, and audio books, calendars, and much more.
  • Asian and Buddhist Studies An extensive site maintained by a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Site includes sections on Asia, Buddhist studies, Buddhism, Tibet, and Asian arts.
  • Digital Asia Library The Digital Asia Library (DAL), a joint offering from the Ohio State University Libraries, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Libraries, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, consists of a catalog of Internet resources related to Asian studies.

Locating Books and Journals By Call Number at University Library

Browse the circulating stacks (3rd and 4th floors) and the reference collection (2nd floor) for books and journals using the call numbers below. This list does not represent all titles or subjects of interest to those engaged in religious studies. Consult the library catalog for additional areas of interest.

  • General dictionaries and encyclopedias: BL31 - BL85
  • Mythology: BL300 - BL325
  • Hinduism: BL1100 - BL1295
  • American religion: BL2501 - BL2530 (Not specific to any particular religious traditions in America)
  • Judaism: BM45 - BM950
  • Islam: BP1 - BP600
  • Buddhism: BQ1 - BQ9500
  • Christianity: BR1 - BR1800
  • Bibles and commentaries: BS1 - BS2500
  • Christian denominations: BX1 - BX9500

IUPUI Department of Religious Studies

Last updated by lcalvert on 03/10/2008
Home