Library

Library Catalogs

Bowdoin College Library Catalog
Books, videos, government documents, etc. in Bowdoin's library.

NExpress
A combined catalog containing the library holdings of Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Wellesley, Williams, Middlebury, and Northeastern. Requests take 2-3 days.

MaineCat
Includes the holdings of most Maine libraries. Requests take 2-5 days

WorldCat
A combined database of many library catalogs worldwide. Request items found in WorldCat through our Interlibrary Loan service.

Reference Sources

There are hundreds of sources on religion in the reference section of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. Often, it is best to find the relevant section and browse. Use the following categories and examples to help guide you.

Online dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and biographical works are found in Oxford Reference Online and Xreferplus.

General

Reference books on religion in general, biography, religions of the world, doctrines, religious life & organization, please look at the BL1 - BL632 section. A few of the books you will find there are:

Encyclopedia of Religion
The second edition (2005) of the next source in this list. Many new topics and revised entries

Encyclopedia of Religion (Eliade)
Main Ref BL31 .E46 1986
Considered a standard in the field, a sixteen volume set covering topics from wars and warriors to the afterlife. Many entries include an overview, historical background and the meaning of the term in context to different religions.

HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion
Main Ref BL31 .H37 1995
While most entries range from a paragraph to a few pages, there are lengthy articles covering the major religions. The articles address problems, prospects, thought and ethics.

Historical Atlas of the Religions of the World
Main Ref BL80.2 .F28
Religions of the past, ethnic religions of the present and universal religions of the present are the three sections dividing the book. Maps and timelines complement the text.

Atlas of the World's Religions
Main Ref Folio BL80.2 .A84 1999
Rise and spread of the world's religions. Includes timelines.

Encyclopedia of Religion and Politics
Main Ref BL65.P7 1998

Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism
Main Ref BL238.E63 2001

Encyclopedia of Science and Religion
Main Ref BL240.3.E53 2003

Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion
Main Ref BL458.E53 1999

History and principles of religions by region are shelved in the BL660 - BL2680 section:

Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth & Religion
Main Ref BL715.O845 2003

Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen
Main Ref BL1005 .L4813 1989

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Main Ref BL1105.L63 2002

RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism
Main Ref BL1840.R68 2003

Shambhala Dictionary of Taoism
Main Ref BL1923 .S48 1996

Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience
Main Ref BL2525 .E53 1988
This three volume set contains articles addressing diverse topics such as religious music and hymnody, the history of preaching in America and Islam in North America.

Judaism

Reference books on Judaism are shelved in the BM section. An important exception to this is the Encyclopaedia Judaica which is good for biographies and is located at Main Ref DS102.8 .E496.

Book of Jewish Knowledge
Main Ref BM50 .A8 1964
An encyclopedia of Judaism and the Jewish people, covering all elements of Jewish life from Biblical times to the mid-twentieth century.

The Jewish Religion : A Companion
Main Ref BM50 .J28 1995
The main Jewish personalities, beliefs and practices are presented in encyclopedic format. Articles are generally a page to a few pages.

Encyclopedia of Judaism
Main Ref BM50.E63 1999

Islam

Reference books on Islam are shelved in the BP section:

The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam
Main Ref BP40 .G42 1989

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Main Ref BP40.E525 2004

Encyclopedia of the Quran
Main Ref BP133.E53 2001

Buddhism

Reference books on Buddhism are shelved in the BQ section:

Historical Dictionary of Buddhism
Main Ref BQ130 .P74 1993

Encyclopedia of Buddhism
Main Ref BQ128.E62 2004

An Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Deities, Demigods, Godlings, Saints and Demons : With Special Focus on Iconographic Attributes
Main Ref BQ128 .B86 1994
This two volume set contains color plates, deity tables and paragraph length entries.

Christianity

Reference books on Christianity are shelved in the BR section:

Oxford Companion to Christian Thought
Main Ref BR95.O94 2000

Encyclopedia of African American Religions
Main Ref BR563.N4 E53 1993
Includes a chronology.

Encyclopedia of the Early Church
Main Ref BR66.5 .D5813 1992
Coverage is through the eleventh century.

Christian denominations are in the BX section:

The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Main Ref BX841 .H37 1995

Encyclopedia of Protestantism
Main Ref BX4811.3 .E53 2004

The Bible

Texts and works about the Bible, including concordances, dictionaries, and exegetical sources, are found in the BS section:

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary
Main Ref BS440 .H235 1996

The New Interpreter's Bible
Main Ref BS491.2 .N484 1994

The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Main Ref BS425 .S8 1963

Gateways to Religious Studies Web Sites

Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
This website is a selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are teaching or studying religion and theology at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Religion, Religions, Religious Studies
Links to world religions as well as literature and philosophy. All sites are annotated.

Virtual Religion Index
Includes links for major religions, but also anthropology and sociology of religions, ethics and moral values, ancient religions and psychology of religion.

Bible Gateway
A tool for reading and researching scripture. Multiple translations and languages, audio, etc.