Religion: Home & Reference

Welcome Religion students!

This resource guide is designed to help you locate Religion resources for your courses or for personal interest.  If you don’t find what you need, please consult Jamie Coen at jcoen@lagrange.edu with a question or to make an appointment.

You’ll find reference books on religion on the main level; their call numbers begin with B (BL to BX).  For Religion books that you can check out, see this page. 

            You may want to begin with

• The Encyclopedia of Religion (REF BL 31 .E466, 15 volumes)
  • The  Encyclopedia of Religion is also available online, in the Gale eBooks database (previously called Gale Virtual Reference Library)

Other reference books include:

The Encyclopedia of Christianity (REF BR 95 .E8913 1999, 5 volumes)

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (REF BR 95 .O8 2005)

Worship in the Early Church (REF BV 6 .J64 2009, 4 vols.)

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation (REF BR 302.8 .O93 1996, 4 vols.)

Encyclopedia of Protestantism (REF BX 4811.2 .E533 2004, 4 vols.)

Encyclopedia of World Methodism (REF BX 8211 .E5, 2 vols.)

Historical Dictionary of Methodism (REF BX 8211 .H577)

The Papacy: An Encyclopedia (REF BX 955.2 .D533)

Bible-related reference books include:

The Anchor Bible Dictionary (REF BS 440 .A54 1992, 6 vols.)

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible (REF BS 440 .O93 2011, 2 vols.)

The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (REF BS 440 .I63 2006, 6 vols.)

The New Interpreter’s Bible (REF BS 491.2 .I55 1994, 12 vols.)

Which, of the 31 Zechariahs, Is Which?  (REF BS 435 .S74 2006)

Some reference books with information on other religions:

Religions of the World (REF BL 80.3 .R455 2002, 4 vols.)

The New Encyclopedia of Judaism (REF BM 50 .E633 2002)

The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (REF BP 40 .O955 2003)

Encyclopedia of Buddhism (REF BQ 128 .E622 2004)

Depending on your topic, reference books in other sections may also be useful (e.g., The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, REF DS 35.53 .O955 2009, 6 vols.; Encyclopaedia Judaica, REF DS 102.8 .E496 2007, 22 vols.).  Consult the reference librarian for assistance.

Click on the book image or title to access this online encyclopedia: