Getting Started
At the beginning of the research process, it's very useful to get an overview of your topic. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference sources are a great way to get started and to find background information on your topic from various perspectives.
- Oxford Handbooks Online - Religion This link opens in a new windowContains dynamic, full-text searchable reference books on a range of religious and theological topics with in-depth entries and robust references.
- Gale eBooksProvides the full text of over 200 subject encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories.
- Credo ReferenceAllows you to search for articles from over 600 different electronic reference books and also works as a gateway to a very wide array of other information sources, including images, audio and video. It is a really excellent place to begin research with 'Topic Pages' offering authoritative overviews and a Mind Map feature to assist in narrowing and focusing research and identifying keywords for database searching.
Encyclopedia of Spirits and Ghosts in World Mythology by ISBN: 9781476623399Publication Date: 2016-03-09Of all the anomalous phenomenon reported, ghost sightings are by far the most common. The words "ghost" and "spirit" are used interchangeably in American English but in other cultures the lingering souls of the departed are not to be confused with ancestral spirits, demonic spirits, numens or poltergeists. This encyclopedia lists hundreds of entities of the spirit realm--from aatxe to zuzeca--from world mythology and folklore.
Sourcebook of the World's Religions by ISBN: 1577311213Publication Date: 2000-06-22Now in its third edition, this is the most comprehensive work available on the rich variety of paths available to today's spiritual seekers. More than a reference work, it explores how religions can collaborate to help the world. Essays explore interfaith community and spiritual practices such as theosophy, wicca, and indigenous religions. Portraits of all the major religious traditions are also included.
Additional eBooks
Alternative Conceptions of the Spiritual by ISBN: 9781350382688Publication Date: 2024-09-19This volume answers the call for novel work on a broader range of ideas about the spiritual, engaging with key concepts and neglected recent literature from other traditions. Alternative Conceptions of the Spiritual engages with polytheism, animism, panspiritism and theophanism as propounded by recent philosophers and members of lesser-known spiritual traditions and new religious movements. Summarizing and assessing their core ideas and arguments with both clarity and sympathy, Dumsday combines respectful dialogue with logical rigour.
