...examples of reference books and other materials. These give the kind of background and overview which can help you broaden or narrow your focus to a searchable topic. Improve your search vocabulary, see what some experts think, and find short bibliographies of recommended sources -- books and articles -- on your topic.
The Churches the Apostles Left Behind by Not a Reference book as such. A great American theologian looks at the faith history of the different centers of Christianity at the end of the Apostolic Era.
Statue of L. A. Muratori
Modena
The following will help you begin your research -- and perhaps find a good topic! Subject dictionaries give you thorough definitions and explanations of terms. Subject encyclopedias help you see a topic broadly, and also help you narrow down your topic; most offer definitions and suggested readings, which will help you start your information-gathering. See box below for electronic reference texts. NOTE: These are only examples.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (complete collection)
Contemporary American Religion, 2v, 1999
Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd Ed., 22v, 2007
Encyclopedia of American Religions, 7th Ed., 2003
Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Ed., 15v, 2005
New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd Ed., 15v, 2003
New Catholic Encyclopedia Jubilee Volume, 2nd Ed., 2000
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices , 3v, 2006
Oxford Reference Online Premium (complete collection)
A Dictionary of the Bible W. R. F. Browning
Oxford Companion to the Bible Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds.
Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible B.M. Metzger & M.D. Coogan, eds.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church E. A. Livingstone, ed.
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Alexander P. Kazhdan
Encylopedia of the Middle Ages André Vauchez
The Oxford Dictionary of Popes N.D. Kelly and Michael Walsh
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation Hans J. Hillerbrand, ed.
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints David Hugh Farmer
Cambridge Companions Online (complete, growing collection)
Culled from the subgroup:
The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion and Culture
The Cambridge Companion to Abelard
The Cambridge Companion to Anselm
The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas
The Cambridge Companion to Augustine
The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation
The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine
The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics
The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Cambridge Companion to Duns Scotus
The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology
The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology
The Cambridge Companion to Friedrich Schleiermacher
The Cambridge Companion to The Gospels
The Cambridge Companion to Hans Urs von Balthasar
The Cambridge Companion to Jesus
The Cambridge Companion to the Jesuits
The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin
The Cambridge Companion to John Henry Newman
The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Edwards
The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth
The Cambridge Companion to Karl Rahner
The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard
The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology, 2nd ed.
The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther
The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology
The Cambridge Companion to Paul Tillich
The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology
The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism
The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology
The Cambridge Companion to St Paul
You can access a list of our electronic Reference tools for a wide variety of topics using LINUS. Besides individual reference works, there are clusters of tools searchable from one site. Examples of multi-title online reference sites:
Gale Virtual Reference Library*
Oxford Handbooks Online: Religion
Use your MyLMU loginname and password to access from off-campus
*see specific titles in the lower center box
St. Benedict (terracotta, life sized)
by Antonio Begarelli
Abbey Church of St. Peter, Modena
photo: T. Amodeo 2010