Background Information

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Oxford Reference Online - Religion
XRefer-Plus - Religion
Academic reference sources online and full-text.

The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (1908)  REF BL31 .E4 (13 volumes)
The Encyclopedia of Religion (1986)  REF BL31 .E46 1986 (16 volumes)
The Encyclopedia of Religion (2005)  REF BL31 .E46 2005 (15 volumes) and online.Comprehensive works covering all aspects and manifestations of religious experience.

New Catholic Encyclopedia   REF BX841 .N44 2003 (15 volumes)
"An international work on the teachings, history, organization, and activities of the Catholic Church and on all the institutions, religions, philosophies, and scientific and cultural developments affecting the Catholic Church from its beginnings to the present".

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions / edited by John Bowker   REF BL31 .O9 1997
Concise but detailed entries on all aspects of the world's religions, past and present.

The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition   BL245 .H57 2000
Covers the historical relationship of Western religions to science from fifth century BCE to late 20th century.

Encyclopedia of African American Religions   BR563.N4 E53 1993
Scholarly biographical and organizational entries surveying African-American religious experience - past and present.

Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion   BL458 .E53 1999
"Culturally nd historically comprehensive work that reflects contemporary approaches to women's history and experience in world religion". (from introduction)

Directories

Encyclopedia of American Religions   REF BL2525 .M449 1999
Historical overviews of all "families" of U.S. and Canadian religions, with directory listings of representative organizations.

U.S. Religious Interest Groups : institutional profiles   REF BL2525 .W413 1994
Defining "religious" very broadly, this volume gives directory listings of organizations that work to promote their public policy interests in the United States.

Who's Who in Religion   REF BL 2530 .U6 W48 4th ed. 1992/93
Brief biographical information.

Maps & Statistics

New Historical Atlas of Religion in America  REF BL2525 .N486 2001
Maps, charts, graphs, tables with interpretive text; this book visually outlines the growth and change of religion in the United States, 1790 - 1990.

Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000 REF BL2525 .R4689 2002 An enumeration by region, state and county, based on data reported for 149 religious bodies. Includes map and CD-ROM.

World Christian Encyclopedia: a comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world REF BR157 .W67 2001 Arranged geographically and also by segment, topic, etc.

U.S. Census Bureau - Religion Historical Statistics plus links to organizations conducting statistical research on religion.