General Directories and Atlases 

Atlas of the World’s Religions. Ninian Smart, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ThRef BL80.2 .A847 1999

Atlas of Religious Change in America, 1952-1990. Peter L. Halvorson. Atlanta: Glenmary Research Center, 1994. RefG1201.E4 H3 1994

World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ThRef BR157 .W67 2001

Handbooks and Encyclopedias 

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. John Bowker, ed. ThRef BL31 .O9 1997

Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed. Lindsay Jones, ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. ThRef BL31 .E46 2005
A thorough revision of the 16 volume Encyclopedia of Religion first published in 1987, with Mircea Eliade as editor.

A New Handbook of Living Religions. John R. Hinnells, ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1997. ThRef BL80.2 .H275 1997

Islam

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. 4 vols. J. L. Esposito, ed. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Ref DS35.53 .O95 1995

The Encyclopedia of Islam. New edition. 11 vols. C. E. Bosworth et al., eds. Leiden: Brill, 1960-2002.Ref DS37 .E523

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. 5 vols.+ index volume. Jane Dammen McAuliffe, ed. Leiden: Brill, 2001-2006. ThRef BP133 .E53 2001

• Includes articles treating important persons, concepts, places, values, actions and events related to the text of the Qur'an, as well as essay-length treatments of important topics in the field of qur'anic studies. The 860-page index volume includes indexes of proper names, Arabic words and phrases, and qur'anic citations.

The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an. Andrew Rippin, ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 4th floor BP130.4 .B57 2006

• Provides a general orientation to the study of the text, content, interpretation, and application of the Qur'an, with bibliography and suggested further readings.

The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an. Jane Dammen McAuliffe, ed.Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006. 4th floor BP 130.4 .C36 2006

Historical Atlas of Islam. Malise Ruthven. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004. Ref G1786 .S1 R9 2004

The Literature of Islam: A Guide to the Primary Sources in English Translation. Paula Youngman Skreslet and Rebecca Skreslet. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006. Ref Z7835 .M6 S585 2006

• A bibliography of the literature of Islam as presented in English translation. Entries are organized into the areas of canonical literature, interpetation of scripture and tradition, law, theology, and philosophy. Includes suggestions for secondary reading.

Islamic Studies Pathways: An Academic Guide to Islamic Studies Resources on the Internet

Index Islamicus. Th Indexes Z7835 .M6 P4

The Qur'an

There are a number of English translations of the Qur'an (4th floor, BP109 .A7). For one helpful perspective see Khaleel Mohammed, "Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an," Middle East Quarterly 12 (2005). See also the wise advice of Jane Dammen McAuliffe in The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an (above), pp. 15-17. For an annotated classified biblography of English translations, see chapter 1 of Skreslet and Skreslet (cited above) ThRef Z7835 .M6 S585 2006.

Four translations often used:

• The Koran Interpreted. Trans. Arthur J. Arberry 4th floor BP109 .A7 (2 copies)
  The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. Trans. Marmaduke Pickthall. 4th floor BP109 .P5
  The Holy Quran. Trans. A. Yusuf Ali. 4th floor BP109 .A38 1968
  The Qur'an. Trans. M. A. S. Abdel Haleem. 4th floor BP109 2004

There are a number of online English translations, one of which is:

• Qur'an in English Three translations (Pickthall, Yusuf Ali, and M. H. Shakir) arranged line-by-line in parallel.

Judaism

The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Geoffrey Wigoder, ed. New York: New York University Press, 2002. ThRef BM50 .E63 2002

The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. R. J. Zwi Weblowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder, eds. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. ThRef BM50 .094 1997

Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2d ed. 22 vols. Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum, eds. New York: Thomson Gale, 2007. Ref DS102.8 E496 2007

Reader's Guide to Judaism. Michael Terry, ed. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. ThRef BM50 .R43 2000

RAMBI: An Index of Articles on Jewish Studies. Jewish National and University Library.

Index to Jewish Periodicals. 1964- ThRef Indexes Z6367 .I5

Hinduism

The A to Z of Hinduism. Bruce M. Sullivan. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2001. ThRef BL1105 .S847 2001

The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Gavin Flood, ed. Oxford; Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2003. 4th floor BL1202 .B72 2003

Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. Robin Rinehart, ed. Oxford: ABC CLIO, 2004. 5th floor BL1202 .C65 2004
After briefly outlining some of the most important developments in the history of Hinduism, the remaining essays address specific topics in contemporary Hinduism, with bibliographies accompanying each essay.

Buddhism

A Dictionary of Buddhism. Damien Keown, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. ThRef BQ130 .K46 2003

The A to Z of Buddhism. Charles S. Prebish. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2001 ThRef BQ130 .P73 2001

Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism. Donald S. Lopez Jr., ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. ThRef BQ4040 .C75 2005
Fifteen essays addressing important concepts in Buddhism: buddha, art, death, economy, gift, history, institution, pedagogy, power, practice, ritual, sex, word, and modernity.

Encyclopedia of Buddhism. 2 vols. Robert E. Buswell, Jr., ed. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2004. ThRef BQ128 .E62 2004
Over 500 entries, arranged alphabetically, with bibliography for each entry as well as a comprehensive index, maps, and timelines of Buddhist history.

Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism
Access to Insight is an Internet website dedicated to providing accurate, reliable, and useful information concerning the practice and study of Theravada Buddhism, as it has been handed down to us through both the written word of the Pali Canon and the living example of the Sangha

Daoism and Confucianism

Daoism Handbook. 2 vols. Livia Kohn, ed. Leiden: Brill, 2004. 4th floor BM1925 .D36 2004
Each of the twenty-eight essays in this work treats a specific topic, historical period, or school following a four-part pattern: history, texts, worldview, and practices, concluding with a bibliography. Volume 2 contains separate subject, title, name, and place indexes.

Historical Dictionary of Taoism. Julian F. Pas in cooperation with Man Kam Leung. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. ThRef BL1923 .P37 1998
Concludes with a good classified bibliography.

RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism. 2 vols. Xinzhong Yao, ed. New York: Routledge, 2003. ThRef BL1840 .R68
Contains a long introductory article, followed by 950 articles arranged alpabetically, with bibliographies and subject, name, and text title indexes.

RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Taoism. F. Pregadio, ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. On order
Contains more than 800 entries on specific terms, texts, places, ideas, and practices of the religion.

The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. BL1900 .A1 T276 2004 V.1