Religion

The study of religion is a broad and interdisciplinary field that at its core looks at the ways humans make sense or meaning of the world around them. Historically, many university religion departments have used the “world religions paradigm” to organize their studies of religions. That model, featuring a definition of religion as something that holds universal truths, accessed through sacred scriptures, and embodied in communities usually centered on worship of a transcendent deity -- in other words a definition based on Christianity as the norm -- no longer reflects the assumptions, concerns, and ethos of the study of religion as taught at UVM. To hold onto that older paradigm is to reinforce the colonialist power structures that many scholars and activists are fighting to overcome or replace.

Those "World Religions" (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism) are important and are featured in this guide. However, we wanted our guide to more specifically reflect the courses taught here at UVM in the religion department, and provide a view of religion that is more complex and broad.

On these pages you will find selections of resources ranging from journals and databases to anthologies, general introductions, and collections of primary sources to assist you in beginning to research a wide variety of religions and topics in the study of religions.

This guide was revised in spring of 2023 by the students and instructor of the course REL105: "Religious Literacy". We believe that research in religious studies can accomplish many of the goals of religious literacy, including (taken from the American Academy of Religion):

• recognizing “internal diversity within religious traditions”
• explaining “how religions have shaped – and are shaped by – the experiences and histories of individuals, communities, nations, and regions”
• interpreting “how religious expressions make use of cultural symbols and artistic representations of their times and contexts”
• distinguishing “confessional or prescriptive statements about religion from descriptive or analytical statements”
• discerning “accurate and credible knowledge about diverse religious traditions and expressions.”

Bibliographies (aka "Sources," "List of References," "Further Reading") in books and journal articles are great places to find useful sources and expand your research. Here are some tips to help you decipher citations so that you understand the type of information source being cited. While many types of sources may be found in a "Bibliography", books, book chapters, and journal articles are the most common.

Book

Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

Clues that this is a book:

• Contains only one title: Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic (book title is usually in italics or underlined)
• Includes a place of publication: Philadelphia
• Includes the name of a publishing company: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Includes the year of publication : 1982

To find a specific book, search the Library Catalog by author or title.

Book Chapter

Tigay, Jeffrey H.  "The Integrated Epic in the Old Babylonian Period." In  Tigay, Jeffrey H.  The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982. pp. 39-54.

Clues that this is a book chapter:

• The book chapter title is usually enclosed in quotation marks:  "The Integrated Epic in the Old ..."
• The author of the chapter title is present (in addition to the author/editor of the source book): Jeffrey H. Tigay
• The source book is usually in italics or underlined:  The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic
• The source book is sometimes prefaced by  In  (sometimes in italics): In Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the....
• Page numbers (for the chapter) are included in the citation: 39-54 
• Includes a place of publication: Philadelphia
• Includes the name of a publishing company: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Includes the year of publication: 1982

To find the source book the chapter is in, search the Library Catalog by author or title. Important! Search by the title of the source book - not the chapter title. Or, search by author of the source book - not the author of the chapter title.

Journal Article

Clues that this is an article:

• Contains the title of the article, sometimes in quotation marks: "A Sun Myth in the Babylonian Deluge Story"
• Contains another title, the title of the journal or magazine in which the article appears, often underlined or in italics: Journal of the American Oriental Society
• Contains a volume and, sometimes, an issue number: 47.1, or sometimes 47(1)
• The date is sometimes a year, sometimes month and year, sometimes season (example: Spring) and year
• Page numbers are included in the citation: 289-301

If you have a citation to a specific article that you are interested in finding, search the   Journal Titles  finder for the title of the journal.

[Adapted from the Georgia Tech Library "Research/Writing/Citing Sources" url: http://libguides.gatech.edu/research]