Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
World Religions | Christianity | Islam | Judaism | Eastern Religions | The Bible
Religion in the U.S. | Special Topics in Religion
World Religions
Religion Encyclopedias from Gale
- Search eight religion encyclopedias at once.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
- Entries on all major and many minor religions, cults, movements and sects.
- Includes information on sacred texts, biographies, traditions and more.
- 8,200 entries; Oxford University Press, 2000.
- The definitive encyclopedia for world religions, which takes a cross-cultural approach and examines religion in the context of everyday life and emphasizes the unique experience of religion from culture to culture.
- 3300+ articles; 2nd ed., Macmillan Reference, 2005.
Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals
- 120-plus entries in this title examine religious beliefs expressed through ritualized behavior and festivals.
- Explores expressions of faith across cultures and religions throughout the world.
- Routledge, 2004.
- Covers the history, the theological basis, the practice and the current state of religion and religions throughout the world
- Six major sections: Religion and the Study of Religion, Judaism and Christianity, Islam, Religions of Asia, Traditional Religions, New Religious Movements.
- Routledge, 1988.
Christianity
- "Scholarly presentation of persons and subjects related to Catholicism and the humanities".
- Also includes biographies, maps, illustrations, photographs and updated bibliographies.
- 2nd ed.; Gale, 2003.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
- A guide to every aspect of Christian religion and life.
- 6,000 entries; 2nd ed.; Oxford University Press, 2000.
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity
- Covers the Jewish and pagan societies in which early Christianity developed, the Bible and philosophical school, the eastward expansion of Christianity, social history, worship practices and more.
- Articles include bibliographies.
- 2nd ed.; Garland, 1998.
- Traces the course of the history of Protestantism from its beginnings to the present day.
- 1000+ entries; Routledge, 2004.
- Presents the lives and work of fifty of the most important Christian theologians.
- Five sections cover Christian Beginnings, Middle Ages, Reformation and its Aftermath, Modern Theology and the Twentieth Century.
- Routledge, 2004.
The Oxford Dictionary of Popes
- "Papal Who's Who"
- Oxford University Press, 1986.
- Includes information on more than 1,000 including entries on saints from the developing world and recently canonized saints.
- 1,700 entries; 5th ed.; Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Comprehensive reference to all popes and anti-popes from St. Peter through John Paul II.
- Also explores the papacy as an institution.
- Considered the standard English-language work on the papacy.
- Routledge, 2002.
- Topics included are: the Church before the Reformation; Luther and Germany; the Reformation outside Germany; Calvinism and the Second Reformation; the Reformation and society; arts and architecture; gender; and writing and printing.
- Routledge, 2000.
- Clear, concise entries on all the major personalities, from founding fathers and saints to popes, monarchs and heretics, plus a chronology of events.
- Includes both Eastern and Western churches.
- 2nd ed. Routledge, 2002.
Islam
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World- Islam's role in the modern world, in the context of the religion's history and development over the last 13 centuries.
- Includes articles, biographies, definitions, illustrations and maps.
- Gale, 2004.
The North American Muslim Resource Guide: Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada
- Includes: a directory of mainstream Muslim community organizations, an overview of Muslim values and institutions, a brief history of Islam in North America, and statistics.
- Routledge, 2002.
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
- Focuses primarily on the modern Islamic world of the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Religious, political and social spheres of Islamic life.
- Also includes a section on Islam in specific countries.
- 2,500 entries; Oxford University Press, 2003.
Judaism
- 2nd edition, published in 2007
- Provides information on Jewish life and knowledge
A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion
- Covers a wide variety of information on all aspects of Jewish belief and practice.
- Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Traces the major intellectual events of the last two thousand years, including the growth of Medieval Jewish philosophy, the early modern mystics, the radicals, the Hasidic leaders, the Enlightenment and secular and religious Zionism.
- Routledge, 1997.
- A survey of English-language translations of the most important primary texts in the Jewish tradition.
- Also includes some 470 essays discussing individuals, literature, thought and beliefs, practice, history, and arts and material culture.
- Fitzroy, Dearborn: 2000.
Eastern Religions
- Includes entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools, the spread of Buddhism, and contemporary issues in Buddhism.
- 2,000 entries; Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Describes the Buddhist world view, basic teachings and practices of Buddhism, as well as its different schools and sects.
- Includes topics as diverse as: scriptures, art, architecture, ceremonies, monastic orders.
- Also explores the relationships between Buddhism and other world religion.
- Gale, 2003.
- Includes overviews of traditional and contemporary philosophers, as well as those of the present day, from Confucius to Zoroaster, to Fung Youlan.
- Features introductions to the major strains of eastern philosophy.
- Routledge, 2000.
RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism
- history, doctrines, schools, rituals, sacred places and terminology of Confucianism, and the new thinking taking place in China and other Eastern Asian countries.
- 1235 entries total.
- Routledge, 2003.
The Bible
- Information about the books of the Bible, customs, religions and worship, history, and theology, important places, and personalities, textual and critical analysis.
- Also discusses denominational interpretations of themes and doctrine of the Bible.
- 2,000 entries; Oxford University Press, 1996.
The Oxford Companion to the Bible
- Entries are more extensive than a dictionary, and include interpretive essays and explorations of biblical views of modern issues.
- 700 articles, Oxford University Press, 1993.
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
- Describes people and places that appear in the Old and New Testaments.
- 325 entries; Oxford University Press, 2001.
Who's Who in the New Testament
- Over 300 extensive entries provide unparalleled information on every figure from the New Testament.
- Comprehensive historical, geographical, and archaeological background on each entry, full interpretive analysis of the varying versions of the Gospel.
- Routledge, 1971, 2002.
Who's Who in the Old Testament - together with the Apocrypha
- Over 3,000 entries on every figure from the Old Testament.
- Comprehensive historical, geographical, and archaeological background on each entry.
- 2nd ed. Routledge, 2002.
Religion in the U.S.
Contemporary American Religion
- Covers the popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the 20th century.
- 500+ entries; Gale, 1999.
Encyclopedia of African-American Religions
- Includes biographical sketches of religious leaders, entries on denominations and religious organizations, articles focusing on important aspects of African-American religious life.
- Garland, 1993.
Encyclopedia of American Religions
- Major religious denominations and traditions in the United States.
- Includes a directory of churches and religious groups.
- 7th ed.; Gale, 2003.
Special Topics in Religion
Encyclopedia of Religion and War
- Explores the relationship between religion and war, examining religion as a source of conflict and war as a force in the spread and development of religion.
- Topics include warrior cults, genocides, Northern Ireland, Holy War, assassins, religious feminism and war, Taliban, pacifism, the Holy Roman Empire, and more.
- Routledge, 2004.
- Describes worldwide monastic traditions of both Christianity and Buddhism with more than 600 entries
- Important monastic traditions are also compared and contrasted.
- Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
Encyclopedia of Religious Freedom
- Explores the cultural issues related to freedom of religious expression and religious institutions.
- Routledge, 2003.
The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia
- From 5th c B.C. Greece to the present day, this work describes the relationship of science and religion throughout history.
- Also includes biographical studies of major scientific figures - among them Galileo, Newton, and Darwin - whose discoveries had important religious implications.
- Garland, 2000.
Popular Dictionary of Paganism
- Terminology and key concepts, technical terms and important figures.
- Routledge, 2002.
The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons
- Entries on over 1800 of the most important deities and demons from around the world.
- Routledge, 2004.
