Starting Points
The following resources offer introductions to research on religion and spirituality. You can use them to get a broad understanding of your topic before delving deeper with the databases and other resources listed further down on this page.
Intro Readings
Featured Resource: Harvard Divinity School Library
Harvard Divinity School Library "is the primary portal to the vast resources for the study of religion available to researchers at Harvard."
The HDS Library in open to the public. Explore their collections and research resources online. Many of the related guides listed at the bottom of this page were created by HDS librarians.
Swartz Hall photo by Justin Knight.
Find Data
Explore the Harvard Divinity School Library's
Religious Statistics Research Guide
Find data on all topics & support resources in our
Data Resources for HKS Affiliates Research Guide
Religious Statistics Research Guide
Find data on all topics & support resources in our
Data Resources for HKS Affiliates Research Guide
Also explore:
- World Religion Database (Harvard Login)Provides extensive data and statistics on religious membership, attendance, etc. around the world.
Find Books & Articles
For books, search for full titles or keywords in HOLLIS, Harvard's library catalog.
Also for books, explore our Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Collection:
For journal articles, explore the databases below:
- ATLA Religion Database (Harvard Login)Contains citations and some full text of journal articles, essays, sermons, and book reviews in the field of religion. Citations cover all religions and all theological points of view.
- Christian Periodical Index (Harvard Login)Journal articles and book reviews from across the evangelical Christian perspective.
- Encyclopedia of Religion (Harvard Login)Though almost 20 years old, this encyclopedia is still widely regarded as a standard English-language reference work in the field of religious studies. It covers all world religions and focuses on both theological and societal dimensions of religion.
- Index Islamicus (Harvard Login)Bibliography of books, articles, conference proceedings, and reviews on Islam and the Muslim world in European languages.
- Index to Jewish Periodicals (Harvard Login)Provides access to English-language articles and book reviews on Jewish history, activity and thought in more than 160 journals devoted to Jewish affairs.
- New Testament Abstracts (Harvard Login)"Research and bibliographic aid for scholars, librarians, clergy, and students of the New Testament and its historical milieu."
- Old Testament Abstracts (Harvard Login)Abstracts for journal articles, monographs, multi-author works and software related to Old Testament studies.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (Harvard Login)Provides detailed synopses of major research problems and themes in religious studies, with extensive bibliographies.
- Religious & Theological Abstracts (Harvard Login)Provides citations and abstracts (though not full text) of mostly scholarly articles in religion and theology, as well as interdisciplinary articles touching on religious issues.
- Vocabulary for the Study of Religion (Harvard Login)"Offers a unique overview of critical terms in the study of religion(s). This first dictionary in English covers a broad spectrum of theoretical topics used in the academic study of religion, including those from adjacent disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, historiography, theology, philology, literary studies, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political sciences."
Search several of the above databases simultaneously with the
Religion Databases Cross-Search
from the Harvard Divinity School Library
Religion Databases Cross-Search
from the Harvard Divinity School Library
Find Primary Sources
- Twentieth-Century Religious Thought: Christianity (Harvard Login)Extensive collection of classic theological texts and other primary sources from twentieth-century Christianity.
- Twentieth-Century Religious Thought: Islam (Harvard Login)Extensive collection of classic theological texts and other primary sources from twentieth-century Islam.
Find Video
- Alexander Street Press Diversity Collection (Harvard Login)Contains documentaries, interviews, biographies, performances, and lectures.
- Digitalia Film Library (Harvard Login)Digitalia Film Library offers streaming video of films and documentaries from Latin America, Europe and North America.
- Film Platform (Harvard Login)A curated collection of educational films covering a variety of topics from legal studies generally to human rights, environmental studies, politics, technology, among others.
- Kanopy (Harvard Login)Collection of videos including documentaries. Clips can be created and saved.
- PBS Video Collection (Harvard Login)Contains hundreds of documentaries and other television broadcasts from PBS, including "American Experience," "Finding Your Roots," "Frontline," etc.