The reference collection includes a variety of books and databases that provide access to information on all topics, usually concise overviews.
In the library, try browsing the library shelves with some of the call numbers that are listed below, or by searching in the library catalog or databases with the search tips provided on the Books and Databases tabs.
From off-campus, enter your LOLA # (i.e. L00123456), you must use the letter (B, L, N, or H) at the beginning of your LOLA # and your PIN is your birthdate (i.e. mmddyy or ddmmyy).
Here are examples of some of the types of sources availabe in standard shelving. Please continue your search in the online catalog.
God Is Not One by
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, dizzying scientific and technological advancements, interconnected globalized economies, and even the so-called New Atheists have done nothing to change one thing: our world remains furiously religious. For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic systems (capitalist or communist) or clashing political parties (Republican or Democratic) propose very different solutions to our planet's problems. So why do we pretend that the world's religious traditions are different paths to the same God? We blur the sharp distinctions between religions at our own peril, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, and it is time to replace naïve hopes of interreligious unity with deeper knowledge of religious differences. In Religious Literacy, Prothero demonstrated how little Americans know about their own religious traditions and why the world's religions should be taught in public schools. Now, in God Is Not One, Prothero provides readers with this much-needed content about each of the eight great religions. To claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. For example: -Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission -Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation -Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order -Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening -Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Prothero reveals each of these traditions on its own terms to create an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to better understand the big questions human beings have asked for millennia--and the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. A bold polemical response to a generation of misguided scholarship, God Is Not One creates a new context for understanding religion in the twenty-first century and disproves the assumptions most of us make about the way the world's religions work.
Is Religion Dangerous? by
Holy wars, crusades, discrimination, hate these by-products of religion are all many contemporary commentators can see. But is religion dangerous? Is it a force for evil, something to oppose as a corrupt system that leads to terrorism and violence? Is it something to disdain as irrational and out of step with modern society? Keith Ward here addresses these concerns intelligently and insightfully. Looking at the evidence from history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology, he focuses on the main question at issue: does religion do more harm than good? He begins with a clear definition of what religion actually is, examining the key area of religion and violence. Ward goes on to assess the allegations of irrationality and immorality before finally exploring the good religion has engendered over the centuries. Without religion, the human race would be considerably worse off with little hope for the future. In fact, he argues, religion is the best rational basis for morality. Thought-provoking and powerful, Is Religion Dangerous? is essential reading for anyone interested in the confluence of truth, freedom, and justice.
A Handbook of Ancient Religions by
Ancient civilisations exercise an intense fascination for people the world over. This Handbook provides a vivid, scholarly, and eminently readable account of ancient cultures around the world, from China to India, the Middle East, Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. It examines the development of religious belief from the time of the Palaeolithic cave paintings to the Aztecs and Incas. Covering the whole of society not just the elite, the Handbook outlines the history of the different societies so that their religion and culture can be understood in context. Each chapter includes discussion of the broad field of relevant studies alerting the reader to wider debates on each subject. An international team of scholars convey their own deep enthusiasm for their subject and provide a unique study of both popular and 'official' religion in the ancient world.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Literati (Credo Reference) Library
ORB--Online Encyclopedia for Medieval Studies
Association for the Sociology of Religion
Canadian Society for the Study of Religion
Center for the Study of Religion and Culture
Society of Biblical Literature
Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University
International Institute of Social History
National Library Catalogues Worldwide
Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life
Here are examples of some of the types of sources availabe in the Reference Collection. Please continue your search in the online catalog.
Religion and American Cultures by 
Encyclopedia of American Religions by 
Atlas of the World's Religions by 
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion by 
Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions by 
Religions of the World by 
