Online Resources: Research


General Research Tools:

  • Religious Studies Web Guide (University of Calgary)
    "This web site, in existence since 1995, focuses on free internet resources of use to researchers involved in the academic study of religion."
  • Virtual Religion Index
    "This site is designed to advance research in matters of religion. ... This Virtual Religion Index is a tool for students with little time. It analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related websites to speed research. Hyperlinks are provided not only to homepages but to major directories & documents within. Our purpose is not to circumvent tours of worthy sites, but to cut down the time spent on surfing & sorting of automated searches...."
  • Comparative Religion Resources (University of Washington Libraries)
    The University fo Washington Library's "top recommended resources" for Religion.
  • Internet Guide to Religion (Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion)
    "A selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion: syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, web sites, bibliographies, liturgies, reference resources, software, etc. The purpose of the Guide is to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of electronic resources into teaching."
  • Religious Studies page
    from Voice of the Shuttle, UCSB: "a database that serves content dynamically on the Web."
  • Academic Info:  Religion Gateway
    "Academic Info is an independent online subject directory of over 25,000 hand-picked educational resources for high school and college students as well as a directory of online degree programs and admissions test preparation resources (SAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, USMLE, TOEFL)."
  • Religious Worlds
    "www.religiousworlds.com is an information source for religion, religions, religious studies"
  • Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
    "Our site mandate is to: "Promote religious tolerance and freedom; Objectively describe religious faiths in all their diversity; and Objectively describe controversial topics from all viewpoints."
  • Diaspora.fi: Religions in a Globalising World
    "Diaspora.fi is a resource page for scholars interested in religions in the globalising world. It provides information on available studies, journals, projects and researchers in the field."
  • Why Study Religion?
    "A website sponsored and developed by the American Academy of Religion"
  • Religious Movements (University of Virginia Library)
    "...an Internet resource for teaching and scholarship that is widely acknowledged as among the finest in the world."
  • Pew Charitable Trusts Centers of Excellence
    "The forum acts as a research organization, a clearinghouse for gathering and sharing information and a "town hall," providing a neutral venue for discussion. Launched in 2001, the forum delivers timely, impartial research to political leaders, journalists, scholars and public interest groups."

Encylopedia and Dictionaries

  • Concise Dictionary of Religion by Hexham, Irving. from: Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library
  • OneLook Dictionary Search: Religion Dictionary Sites
    "Think of this web site as a search engine for words and phrases: If you have a word for which you'd like a definition or translation, we'll quickly shuttle you to the web-based dictionaries that define or translate that word. If you don't know the right word to use, we'll help you find it. No word is too obscure: More than 5 million words in more than 900 online dictionaries are indexed by the OneLook search engine."
  • Encyclopedia Mythica
    "...award-winning internet encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and religion. Here you will find everything from A-gskw to Zveda Vechanyaya, with plenty in between."
  • The Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy
    "Most of the articles in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are original contributions by specialized philosophers around the Internet; these are identifiable by the author's name at the foot of the article. Others are are temporary, or "proto articles," and have largely been adapted from older sources. They are identifiable by the inclusion of the initials IEP at the close, and will in time be replaced by original articles..."
  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    "...the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public. Consequently, our dynamic reference work maintains academic standards while evolving and adapting in response to new research."
  • Monier Williams Online Dictionary(2008 revision)
  • The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Reference Tools

  • Electronic Reference Books on Religion from OhioLink Electronic Book Center
    The OhioLINK Electronic Book Center contains thousands of scholarly and reference e-books covering the humanities, sciences and social sciences.
  • MoreElectronic Books from OhioLink
  • English Religious Resources from Electgronic Text Center, University fo Virginia Library
    Electronic copies of the King James Bible, The Book of Mormon, the Koran, and Irving Kexman's Concise Dictionary of Religion.
  • "Exploring Religions"
    "A Web site introducing five world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam." Sponsored by the Religious Studies Program at the University of Wyoming.
  • Mircea Eliade, From Primitives to Zen (1967)
    "A Hypertext Conversion of The Great Reference Work Compiled By Mircea Eliade"

Audio-Visual Resources


Primary Texts