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Religious Studies Guide

Research tools for students in religious studies

This guide contains suggested resources and how-to tutorials to guide you through your research. On this main page you'll find some databases and websites that we suggest you use for religious studies and theology research. We also have a guide dedicated to Catholic studies.

Getting Started

If you are just starting your research, you may need to develop your topic further. Ask yourself:

  • What do I already know?
  • What do I need to know?

As you consider these questions, take a look at a few of our reference resources for general, background information about your topic. The information you find in these resources will help you determine what you need to know, what search terms or keywords to use, an what, exactly, it is that you hope to discover through your research.

The library's catalog is a great place to begin your research. Simply use a variety of keywords, or click on "Advanced Search" to be more specific.

Search for books, articles, music, videos, and more:

Try Ebscohost's tutorials to learn about searching the ATLA database. Below is a method for searching specific texts.

Three Methods To Search For Biblical Scripture Citations from Atla on Vimeo.

Helpful links and websites for church documents:

  • Papal Encyclicals Online. You may browse by Church Council or by Pope. There is also a search engine, pictures of medieval Papal documents, etc.
  • If the document was issued after 1878, consult the Papal archive on the Vatican Website. Note that many of the older materials may not be available in English.
  • If the document was issued after 1930 consult the Catholic Periodical Literature Index (in print) for 1930-2004 or the ATLA Religion Database for 1981-present. Within ATLA, go to Advanced Search and under genre, choose "papal document." 
  • Search the library's catalog for "Papal documents" for books on the subject.