Subject Guide
How to Use This Guide
Use the resources recommended in the box below to get started by doing background research on possible topics. Encyclopedias such as these will give you brief, widely accepted explanations of different people, concepts, texts, and other things. Knowing more about the background of your topic will help you use more effective search terms. It may even let you know about debates surrounding the topic. If you're not sure about your topic, keep an open mind and read shorter encyclopedia entries until you are more certain about what your topic will be.
When you've chosen a topic, click on the menu tab to the left that says "Religious Studies Databases" to search for more in-depth scholarly materials on your research question or focus.
Getting Started With Reference Resources
- New Catholic EncyclopediaProvides brief, basic details about a large number of topics on Catholicism. Good for background as you begin looking for topics.
- CredoLarge reference database. Contains religious studies resources, among many other disciplinary areas.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryContains some resources related to religious studies. A collection of over 200 reference books (over 600 volumes) in all subject areas published 1990s to present.
- Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the ArtsAn in-depth, comprehensive reference work that covers the cultural history of biblical texts, themes, characters, images, and the Bible itself in the literary, visual, and musical arts