Religious Studies

Religious studies materials are collected in support of the research and teaching needs of those in the UC Berkeley undergraduate Religious Studies program, as well as those in area studies departments, history, literature and other interdisciplinary fields. Scholarly works on all of the world's major religions are collected. Multimedia and electronic materials are as actively acquired as books and journals. Most print materials in religious studies are in the Gardner (Main) Stacks in Doe Library with additional core English language texts in the Moffitt Undergraduate Library. The East Asian Library houses all materials in East Asian languages.

To find books, journals and other media owned by the UC Berkeley Library search Berkeley's OskiCat or the UC-wide MELVYL catalog.

If you'd like to recommend an item to be added to the collection, please use the Purchase Recommendation Form.

The Electronic Resource Finder is a directory of the Library's databases and other online resources. It is organized by subject (e.g. religious studies), type of material (e.g. dissertations), or title (e.g. Bible in English). It is a useful tool to help you choose the right resources for your particular research needs.

The UC Berkeley Library maintains a cooperative collection development policy with the Graduate Theological Union Library, which provides for the sharing of collecting responsibilities for various aspects of religious studies between the two institutions.

Graduate Theological Union Library. 2400 Ridge Rd, Berkeley, CA 94709, 510-649-2500. A consortium library uniting the holdings of nine seminaries. Collection strengths include Christian denominations, theology, practical theology, the Bible, church history and new American religious movements. Collections are available for use by UC Berkeley students with some restrictions. Holdings are listed in the UC System's Melvyl online catalog and the Union's own GRACE catalog.

UC Berkeley students, faculty and staff can access Library resources from off campus using one of two simple methods:

Proxy Server
After you make a one-time change in your web browser settings, the proxy server will ask you to log in with a CalNet ID or Library PIN when you click on the link to a licensed resource. See the setup instructions, FAQ, and Troubleshooting pages to configure your browser.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
After you install and run the VPN "client" software on your computer, you can log in with a CalNet ID to establish a secure connection with the campus network.

These databases index journal articles, chapters of books, (and sometimes) books, and book reviews relevant to religious studies. You can research a topic by searching for authors or subject terms relevant to your research. A few of these databases include the full text of the articles, but most of them use UC-eLinks to take you to the full-text of the article you are interested in. For articles not available online, UC-eLinks will search the Melvyl catalog for a print copy of the journal.

Article Databases for Religious Studies

The Library collects both print and online religious studies journals with preference given to the online format when both are available. You can find religious studies journals in a variety of ways.

Search for a known journal title in OskiCat or Melvyl and follow the link to journal website. If the journal (or desired issue) is not available online, you will need the library location and call number to retrieve the print edition.
Choose journal titles from a list of electronic journals arranged by subject. From E-Journal Titles A-Z, choose Category: Arts & Humanities; SubCategory: Religion.
Use the Citation Linker to retrieve the full text if you have a citation to a specific article in a journal.

Note: Using ATLA Religion Database or another article database is a more efficient way to discover articles on a particular topic than browsing through individual journal issues.

The Library's rich collection of print books covers all aspects of religious studies taught at UC Berkeley. A growing number of titles are available as digital books.

Print books and individually cataloged electronic books can be found in the Library catalogs OskiCat and Melvyl. Catalog records for print books will show the library location and call number. Links in the catalog records for digital books will take you to the full text.
Collections of religious studies books and texts can be browsed from the collection's website. See the listing below or Religious Studies: Books and Text Collections or the complete list for all subjects at Book and Text Collections (electronic).

E-Book Collections for Religious Studies:

Acta Sanctorum
Bible in English (990-1970)
Contains twenty versions of the English-language Bible.
Early English Books Online (EEBO)
ebrary
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
HathiTrust
This cooperative system contains millions of books scanned from UC and other major research libraries, including those digitized by Google and the Internet Archive. Full text is available for items that are not protected by copyright.
Hebrewbooks.org
Humanities E-Book Project (formerly History E-Books Project)
Access to the full-text of important and frequently-cited books in humanties.
King James Bible
Luthers Werke
Making of America (Cornell University)
Making of America (University of Michigan)
Oxford Scholarship Online
Papal Letters (Ut per litteras apostolicas)
Patrologia Latina
Patrologiae Graecae
Responsa Project
Online collection of Jewish texts.
UC Press E-Books Collection (eScholarship Editions)

In addition to those in the print reference collection in the Doe Reference Center, the Library has many online religious studies dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Oxford Reference Online - Religion
Access to 12 reference sources published by Oxford University Press. Search all sources collectively or search within an individual title.
Encyclopedia of American Religions
Covers more than 2,300 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada -- from Adventists to Zen Buddhists. Includes, when available, rubrics for membership figures, educational facilities and periodicals. (Online version of 7th edition, 2003.)
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
A compilation of Buddhist terms, texts, temple, schools, persons, etc. found in Buddhist canonical sources
Encyclopedia of Islam
Based on the 10-volume print encyclopedia and covers the Islamic religion and the Islamic world in general, both current and historical, including Iran, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, the Ottoman Empire and other Islamic countries. Includes articles on political and religious institutions, history, topography, and distinguished Muslims both past and present.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Includes over 3000 entries related to all aspects of Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture. Also includes chapters from scholarly and introductory works, Qur'anic materials, primary sources, images, and timelines. Incorporates either in part or in full essential articles from the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, The Islamic World: Past and Present, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, The Koran Interpreted, and The Concordance of the Qur'an.
Encyclopedia of the Quran
An encyclopedic dictionary of quranic terms, concepts, personalities, place names and cultural history. Includes nearly 1000 entries in 5 volumes.
Catholic Encyclopedia
The 1913 15-volume set of the Catholic Encyclopedia. Covers topics both religious and secular, from a Catholic perspective.
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Online version of the 15 volume, 2nd edition (2003). Features 12,000 entries on theology, philosophy, history, literary figures, saints, musicians and much more. Also available is the New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement: The Wojtyla Years (2001)
Encyclopedia Judaica
Online version of the 22-volume Encyclopedia Judaica. Includes more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life, culture, history and religion, written by Israeli, American and European subject specialists.

The Library has many online English and foreign language dictionaries. Search the Electronic Resource Finder by Type: Dictionaries, Thesauri and Quotations or the relevant subject guides for more complete lists. Below is a selective list.

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
The accepted authority on the evolution of the English language. Entries contain detailed etymological analyses that trace word development through time and are illustrated by quotations from a wide range of English-language sources.
Webster's Unabridged
Includes Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (1961) and subsequent updates.
Le Grand Robert electronique
Based on the 12th edition of Le Grand Robert de la langue francaise (2001), it is the most complete French dictionary.
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online (OLDO)
Bilingual dictionaries (English plus French, German, Italian and Spanish) published by Oxford University Press. Online versions of the following titles: Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, Oxford-Duden German Dictionary, Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary, Oxford Spanish Dictionary.

Use these resources to find reviews of religious studies books.

ATLA Religion Database
1949-present. In Advanced Search, type "review" in a search box and choose "Publication Type" from the drop down menu.
Academic Search Complete
1865-present.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Knowledge)
1975-present. Choose "Document Type" from one of the drop down menus, then choose "Book Review" from the list of options.
IBR Online - Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen
1985-present. English and German search interfaces.
Periodicals Index Online (formerly PCI)
1770-1995.

Association of Religion Data Archives
Includes American and international surveys and data on religion. Includes data on religious adherents, religious freedoms, demographics, and other social measures as well as statistics on religious attitudes, behaviors, affiliations/identification.