Guides: Religious Studies: Find Background Information

Finding Background Information

Reference materials are a great place to start your research. They provide a good overview of topics, help adjust the scope of your research and can lead you to additional sources. For more information, please consult the Reference Materials subject guide.

Reference Materials
by Humanities and Social Sciences Library Last Updated Aug 16, 2024 2070 views this year

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Useful Internet Resources

Concordances

A concordance is an alphabetical list of the words found i na text, with citations of the immediate contexts in which they are found. Biblical concordances can be extremely useful in the study of the Bible, and several are available below.

Nelson's complete concordance of the Revised standard version of the Bible
Call Number: Birks Reference BS425 E4 1972
The NRSV Concordance unabridged : including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books by John R. Kohlenberger
Call Number: Birks Reference BS425 K645 1991

Biographies

Fifty Eastern Thinkers
Close analysis of the work of fifty major thinkers in the field of Eastern philosophy from the earliest times to the present day. The philosophers covered range from founder figures such as Zoroaster and Confucius to modern thinkers such as Fung Youlan and the present Dalai Lama. Introductions to major traditions and a glossary of key philosophical terms make this a comprehensive and accessible reference resource.
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. Each pope and antipope's entry covers his family and social background and pre-papal career as well as his activities in office.
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th edition
More than 1,700 entries covering the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world. This revised fifth edition includes appendices containing maps of pilgrimage sites, a list of saints' patronages and iconographical emblems, and a calendar of principal feasts.
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
More than 300 articles that cover everyone from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ and everywhere from the Garden of Eden to Golgotha and Gethsemane.
Who's Who in Christianity
Invaluable reference guide to the leading men and women who have influenced the course of Christian history, including the founding fathers, monarchs, popes, saints, philanthropists, heretics, theologians and missionaries. The book encompasses the Eastern and Western Churches, and the lives and opinions of personalities who have shaped the past twenty Christian centuries.
Who's Who in Jewish History
Complete reference guide to over a thousand prominent men and women who have shaped Jewish culture over twenty centuries of Jewish history.
Who's Who in the Old Testament
Nearly 3000 extensive entries covering every character in the Old Testament, including exactly where to find them in the Bible. Also includes a section on the Apocrypha, the collection of works that bridges the gap between the Old and New Testaments.
Who's Who in the New Testament
Over 300 extensive entries covering every major character in the New Testament, including where exactly to find them in the NT.
Who's Who of World Religions
This is the first collection of biographical studies of figures from religions around the globe and from traditions both ancient and modern.

General Reference Sources

Oxford Reference
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Blackwell Reference Online (Wiley Online Library)
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Reference works including encyclopedias and companions incorporated into Wiley Online Library.
Gale Ebooks
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Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library. Explore this database of encyclopedias and reference sources within the Gale eBooks platform. For multidisciplinary research. Purchased e-books on the Gale platform.
McGill has text mining rights for Gale Databases for our researchers. Please contact a librarian for more information.

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