Reference Tools for Religious Studies - Christianity

The following bibliography lists library resources of possible use to students studying Christianity. The majority of the sources listed here are either located in the Van Pelt Library Reference Area or are available electronically via the Penn Library Web.

For links to additional web resources such as e-journals, comprehensive web sites, and source collections on the web, see Religious Studies: Selected Resources.

For assistance in using these and the many other reference works available for Religious Studies, please consult a reference librarian.

Library Catalogs

Franklin uses Library of Congress subject headings. For subject heading, terms see the Library of Congress Subject Headings, located near the reference desk on the first floor of the Van Pelt Library. Also, when looking at Franklin records of interest, chose the "full view" and note the subject headings assigned to these works. Many subjects are subdivided by such standard forms as bibliography, collections, dictionaries, periodicals, or by the names of places. LC Subject Headings must be entered in Franklin without the dashes.

Main Card Catalog. The Main Catalog in Van Pelt Library is now closed. It lists books, journals, and other materials in most campus libraries through 1985. The catalog is arranged in "dictionary" style--that is, with author, title, and subject entries interfiled in a single alphabet.

RLIN/Eureka Bibliographic File - Research Libraries Group Catalog
A bibliographic catalog of over 30 million books, serials, archives and manuscripts, musical scores, visual materials, maps, and data files held in over 100 large research libraries and current cataloging of the Library of Congress and the British Library. Since the catalog is so large, the best method for searching is to use known items such as authors, titles, or Library of Congress subject headings. Use this catalog to identify materials that Penn does not own and request them through Interlibrary Loan.

WorldCat Another large, 30+ million union catalog that includes the holdings of many university, college, and public libraries. Several Philadelphia-area libraries are included in WorldCat.

Library Catalogs Worldwide
A web page with links to the Library Catalogs worldwide, both academic and national union catalogs.

Guides to the Literature

Bradley, James E. Church history : an introduction to research, reference works, and methods. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Eerdmans, c1995.

The first half of the book has chapters on the method of researching and writing church history, preparing lectures, and writing articles and books. Also discusses primary source collections available in microform and online databases. The last half of the book is a bibliography of selected resources for the study of church history.

[Van Pelt Reference BR138 .B69 1995]

McCabe, James Patrick. Critical guide to Catholic reference books. 3d ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1989.

Deals with reference works which have a Catholic perspective covering basic reference works, theology, history, social sciences, and the humanities. Mainly English-language titles.

[ Van Pelt Reference Z 674 R4 no.20]

Bibliographies

Barrow, John Graves. A bibliography of bibliographies in religion. Ann Arbor, MI: Edwards Brothers, 1955.

A standard work which brings together all previously published bibliographies on religion from the 15th Century to the present. International in scope. Covers primarily Christian sources.

[Van Pelt Z 7751 B33]

Kepple, Robert J. Reference works for theological research. 3rd ed/ Lanham : University Press of America, c1992.

Covers topics such as Biblical studies, general Church history, specific periods in Church history, theology, ethics, and missions.

[Van Pelt Reference BR118 .K46 1992]

McIver, Tom. The end of the world : an annotated bibliography. Jefferson, NC : McFarland, 1999.

Primarily Christian writings, organized by date, but includes selections from other religious traditions as well.

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BL503 .M35 1999]

Indexes

Bibliographia patristica = Internationale patristische Bibliographie. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1956- . Annual.

An annual publication which lists articles from 900 serial titles concerning the Christian Fathers and related topics. Classified listing with Author Index. Ceased with v.33/35.

[Van Pelt Z7791 B5; v.1 (1956)-33/35 (1988/1990)]

Bulletin de théologie ancienne et médiévale. T. 1 [1929]- . Louvain: Abbaye du Mont Cesar. Annual.

Issued as a supplement to Researches de théologie ancienne et médiéval, this provides annotated lists of books and articles dealing with patristic and medieval theology.

[Van Pelt BR3 B855]

The Catholic periodical and literature index. Vol. 14 [1967 68]- . Haverford, PA: Catholic Library Association, 1968- . Bimonthly.

Formed by the union of Catholic periodical indexand Guide to Catholic Literature (Van Pelt BX801 .G855). A bi-monthly index which "provides a broad Christian approach to currently significant subjects" [Preface]. International in scope, a selected list of Catholic periodicals is indexed as well as books for adults by Catholics. Author Subject Index. Books also listed by title.

[Latest 5 years in Van Pelt Reference BX801 .C366]

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Baudrillart, Alfred. Dictionnaire d'histoire et de geographie ecclesiastiques... Paris: Letouzey, 1912- . 23v.

Scope covers all subjects as they relate to the Roman Catholic Church. Articles about places discuss the locations' connection with ecclesiastical history. Still in progress

[Medieval Studies Seminar BR 95 B3]

Benedetto, Robert. Historical dictionary of Reformed Churches. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 1999.

Brief entries; lengthy bibliography by topic and region.

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BX9415 .B46 1999]

Cabrol, Fernand. Dictionnaire d'archeologie chretienne et de liturgie. paris: Letouzey, 1907- . 15v.

Signed articles covering all aspects of liturgy and archaeology of the early Christian religion to the time of Charlemagne. Monuments, iconography, epigraphy, designs, rites and ceremonies, numismatics, and symbols are all covered.

[Van Pelt BR 95 C2; also in Religious/Medieval Studies Seminar Room]

The encyclopedia of apocalypticism. 3v. New York : Continuum, 1998.

v. 1. The origins of apocalypticism in Judaism and Christianity

v. 2. Apocalypticism in Western history and culture

v. 3. Apocalypticism in the modern period and the contemporary age

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BL501 .E53 1998]

Encyclopedia of early Christianity. Ed. by Everett Ferguson. 2nd edition. New York: Garland Pub., 1997.

Designed for the non-specialist, this work covers the period from the life of Jesus to about A.D. 600. Subjects include persons, places, doctrines, practices, art, liturgy, heresies, and schisms. Bibliographies attached include primary and secondary sources. Index.

[Van Pelt Reference BR 162.2 E53 1997]

Encyclopedia of the early church. Produced by the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum and edited by Angelo Di Berardino. 2 volumes. Cambridge [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1992.

[Van Pelt Reference BR66.5 .D5813 1992]

Encyclopedia of fundamentalism. Brenda E. Brasher, ed. New York : Routledge, 2001.

Covers Christianity almost exclusively.

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BL238 .E63 2001]

Hillerbrand, Hans Joachim. Historical dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Lanham, Md. ; London : Scarecrow Press, 2000.

Unsigned articles; subject bibliography.

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BR302.8 .H55 2000]

Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche. 3rd ed. Freiburg: Herder, 1993- .

Extensive coverage of theology and issues surrounding the Church. Articles range from brief to monographic in length. Roman Catholic scholarship.

2nd edition in Van Pelt Library BR 95 .B75 1930

[Van Pelt Reference BR 95 L48 1993]

New Catholic encyclopedia. Catholic University of America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967-1979. 18v.

Representing post-Vatican II thought, this work attempts to discuss any topic which affects the Roman Catholic Church. Articles range from very brief to monographic in length. Kept up to date by supplements issued periodically. Use of the Index is essential.

[Van Pelt Reference BX 841 N44 1967]

The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. Ed. by F.L. Cross. 3d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

A very useful work for biographies, this is a standard source which also covers doctrinal developments and definitions of ecclesiastical terms and customs. Bibliographies are included for most articles.

[Van Pelt Reference BR 95 O8 1997; also in Yarnall Collection]

The Oxford encyclopedia of the Reformation. 4v. New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.

Signed articles dealing with all facets of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. Bibliographies usually accompany the articles. An appendix of maps, as well as a synoptic outline, is in v.4.

[Van Pelt Reference BR302.8 .O93 1996]

Also available in Van Pelt Library Rare Bk & Mss Furness Collection and at the Center for Judaic Studies Reference Collection.

Quasten, Johannes. Patrology. Westminster, Md., Newman Press, 1950-1960. 4v.

Bio-bibliographical essays on each of the Church Fathers, including anonymous writers, a bibliographic introduction, and essays on the history of the period.

[Religious Studies Seminar BR67 .Q3; also available in Center for Judaic Studies Library Reference Collection]

Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum: Sachwörterbuch zur Auseinandersetzung des Christentums mit der Antiken Welt. Ed. by von Theodor Klauser. Stuttgart: A. Hiersemann, 1950- . 15v. Supplement, 1985- .

Lengthy articles covering the relationship of the Christian church with the ancient world up to the sixth century A.D.

[Van Pelt Reference BR 131 R4]

Theologische Realenzyklopädie. Ed. by von Gerhard Krause and Gerhard Muller. New York: W. de Gruyter, 1977- . Still in progress, this work has lengthy, signed articles with extensive bibliographies.

[Van Pelt Reference BR 95 T45]

World Christian encyclopedia: a comparative study of churches and religions in the modern world, AD 30-2200. Ed. by David B. Barrett. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Organized by country, this work contains statistics, surveys, chronologies, directory information, etc., of aspects of Christianity within that country. Bibliography; atlases; dictionary of terms; indexes.

[Van Pelt Reference - on order as of 1/30/01]

[First edition in Van Pelt Library BR157 .W67 1982]

Directories

The Official Catholic directory. New York: P.J. Kennedy, 1913- . Annual.

Contains a copious amount of directory, institutional, and statistical information about the Catholic Church in the United States.

[Latest in Van Pelt Reference BX845 C5]

Yearbook of American and Canadian churches. 41st, 1973- . Prepared in the Office of Research, Evaluation and Planning of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. Annual.

Covers the organizations and activities of all faiths.

[Latest at Reference Desk BR513 Y4]

Biography

Butler, Alban. Butler's lives of the saints. New full ed. Tunbridge Wells, Kent : Burns & Oates ; Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, 1995-

Arranged by date. Each volume has its own contents [by date] and its own index.

Updates Butler

[Van Pelt Reference BX4654 B8 1995]

Cohn-Sherbok, Lavinia. Who's who in Christianity. London ; New York : Routledge, 1998.

Brief entries of 1200 of the most prominent people in the history of the Christian church. Each entry includes a very short bibliography (one or two titles) for further research. Contains a glossary of specialized terms as well as an index of names by category (pope, economist, mystics, etc).

[Van Pelt Reference BR1700.2 .C64 1998]

Dictionary of popes and the papacy. Bruno Steimer and Michael G. Parker, eds.; translated by Brian McNeil and Peter Heinigg. New York : Crossroad, c2001

[Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks BX955.3 .L4913 2001]

Farmer, David Hugh. The Oxford dictionary of saints. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Includes all English saints, all saints of whom there is or was a notable cult in England, and the most important saints of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Cross-references and bibliographies included.

[Van Pelt Reference BR1710 F34 1997]

Kelly, J. N. D. The Oxford dictionary of Popes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

The aim of this work is to "provide summary biographies not only of the officially recognized popes but also of those who have been classified...as antipopes" [Preface]. Arrangement is chronological beginning with Saint Peter and ending with John Paul II. Bibliographies included. Alphabetical list of popes with page references. An appendix is included for Pope Joan. Index of names and subjects.

[Van Pelt Reference BX955.2 K45 1986; also Van Pelt]

Atlases

Atlas of the Christian church. Edited by Henry Chadwick and G.R. Evans. New York, N.Y. : Facts on File Publications, c1987.

Covers Church history from the Early church to the Christian world today.

[Van Pelt Reference BR98 .A74 1987]

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