Library Guides: Religious Studies Library Guide: Recommended Websites

Website lists for

Research Websites

The following websites are suitable for academic research in religious studies. Some are general, while others cover particular religions. Mouse over each link for a description of that website.

We have also prepared pages listing recommended websites that focus on certain specific religions. To pull up these pages, mouse over the "Recommended Websites" tab and click on the page title, or click on the links to the left.

Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
ARDA consists of compilations of quantitative and geographic data on religions worldwide, including Christian denominations and congregations in the United States. Reports and maps are available for each country, as well as for US states and localities; links, lists of sources, and updates are included.
Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library
BBC World Service Guide to Religions of the World
Concise, objective descriptions of beliefs and practices of followers of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism.
Bya-Ra: a Tibetan Research Database
Catholic Encyclopedia
Full text of the 1914 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia; its entries are often of considerable historical value.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
An extensive and frequently consulted collection of digital texts of public-domain books on Christianity, compiled at Calvin College with the aid of a large group of volunteers.
Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum
A digital library compiling links to Latin texts available online, from the earliest sources through the 18th century AD; part of the Forum Romanum Web project.
Digital South Asia Library
Reference and research materials, including texts, images, maps, & statistical data, with bibliographies, indexes, and links to further resources. A major international collaborative project of numerous research institutions in the UK, US, and South Asia.
Exploring Ancient World Cultures
Introductory overview of cultures of Greece, Rome, Egypt, the ancient Near East, India, and China, as well as mediaeval Europe and the Islamic world. Includes selected primary texts and links to sites. Editor, Anthony F. Beavers, University of Evansville.
Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
A site containing introductory articles on Buddhism, as well as an international list of contacts. FWBO describes itself as "an international network dedicated to communicating Buddhist truths in ways appropriate to the modern world."
International Religious Freedom Report
Annual report of the US State Department Office of International Religious Freedom, arranged by country, with concise summaries on the protection of religious freedom or barriers to such freedom.
Internet Islamic History Sourcebook
A compilation of public-domain and copy-permitted historical texts, arranged by period and theme, edited by Dr. Paul Halsall. This resource also includes links to a number of other relevant Web sites and digital maps.
Internet Sacred Text Archive
A collection of electronic texts representing a wide range of religions, mythologies, and spiritual beliefs, this site is continually updated and expanded.
Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic, Religion
A varied, balanced, and award-winning guide to Web resources for the study of Islam, the Islamic world, and Arabic; compiled by Dr. Alan Godlas of the University of Georgia.
Jainism : Jain Principles, Tradition, and Practices
While primarily a portal with organized links to other sites on Jainism, this site (maintained at Colorado State University) provides an historical outline and direct links to images.
Middle East Studies Internet Resources
This Columbia University site collects important electronic bibliographic and research resources relating to Middle Eastern and North African studies. It includes an extensive section on religion in the Middle East.
Middle English Compendium
Access 3 major electronic resources in Middle English studies: The Corpus of Middle English Prose & Verse, the HyperBibliography, and the Middle English Dictionary.
Multi-Lingual Bibles (ARTFL Project)
A site providing searchable texts of Bible versions, facilitating comparisons among the King James English, Latin Vulgate, Luther German, and Louis Segond French translations.
Persee: portail de revues scientifiques en sciences humaines et sociales
Provides full-text access to a broad range of scholarly journals published in France in the humanities and social sciences. Made available by the Ministere de l'education nationale, de l'enseignement superieur et de la recherche.
Religious Movements Page
The Religious Movements page, a University of Virginia site, provides profiles of over 200 religious movements, including basic information on history and beliefs, links, and bibliographies.
Scrolls from the Dead Sea
Digital images, extensive background information, and bibliographies, to accompany and supplement a Library of Congress exhibition on the Dead Sea scrolls. These ancient documents, from the library of the Qumran community, provide evidence -- while raising many questions -- about ancient Judaism as well as the roots of Christianity.
Theoi Project : Guide to Greek Mythology
"Comprehensive guide to the Gods (Theoi), Spirits (Daimones) and Monsters (Theres) of ancient Greek mythology and religion." Includes family trees and maps relating to the mythology, a gallery of images from Greek and Roman art, and a bibliography.
The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
The Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) includes digital archives of audio & video, images, maps, and Tibetan texts.

Gateway Websites

These websites contain large collections of links to resources grouped by topic.

East & Southeast Asia: an Annotated Directory of Internet Resources
For both Asia in general and for the individual political units, resources are grouped by various political, social, cultural and economic categories and sub-categories. ARCHIVED VERSION OF SITE
Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
Portal to Asian Internet Resources (PAIR)
The catalog includes current information and data such as bibliographies and databases, data sets, newspapers and journals, government reports, and organization sites. Resources are in English and/or one or more of 27 Asian languages.