eNewsletter
Please find below a number of websites and references to various religions. If you find that a link is bad, please let the Reference staff know. These resources are scholarly, many are from university research centers, and all should be considered reputable sources.
Christianity/Bible
Bible Gateway – allows searching of the Bible in various English translations and in more than 25 languages.
Bible Odyssey – provides free articles and videos that bridge the gap between the academy and the public in an effort to increase biblical literacy. From the Society of Biblical Literature, the preeminent scholarly society for biblical studies in the U.S.
Blue Letter Bible – “A King James Version Bible with over one million links to lexicons, concordances, conservative Christian commentaries, and six searchable Bible Dictionaries.” Offers Hebrew and Greek lexical resources.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library – “An excellent resource for electronic texts: the Bible, commentaries, hymns, sermons, Early Church Fathers (38 vols.), and many texts from the history of Christianity.”
Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon – “A new dictionary of the Aramaic language…by an international team of scholars, with headquarters at the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati….[to] cover all dialects and periods of ancient Aramaic, one of the principal languages of antiquity…especially for the Jewish and Christian religions.”
Association of Religious Data Archives – internet-based archive established to democratize access to the best data in religion. Includes teaching tools, congregational resource center, and research resources.
Congregational Resource Guide – This guide offers resource recommendations chosen to address the needs of congregations and their leaders. The CRG draws on the expertise of the Alban Institute, the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, and other specialists. Hosted by the Alban Institute; offered as a gift by Lilly Endowment Inc.
Google Full-Text Theological Journals Search.
Documenta Catholica Omnia – This resource contains links to various mostly medieval and early Catholic documents. In Latin.
Judaism
Academic Jewish Studies internet directory – “The Academic Jewish Studies Internet Directory is the prime gateway to 505 high quality resources for the study of Judaism, including access to library catalogs and to databases like ‘RAMBI – Index of Articles in Jewish Studies’.”
Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon – “A new dictionary of the Aramaic language…by an international team of scholars, with headquarters at the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati….[to] cover all dialects and periods of ancient Aramaic, one of the principal languages of antiquity…especially for the Jewish and Christian religions.”
Shamash: the Jewish network. “Shamash is the oldest and best known Jewishly oriented service accessible through the Internet. Shamash serves the full spectrum of Jewish religious, educational, cultural, communal, and social service organizations interested in utilizing new electronic technologies to share information and deliver services to the Jewish community worldwide.”
Islam and Islamic Studies
islam.uga.edu – Islam and Islamic Studies resources via the University of Georgia’s Virtual Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Islamic World (VCISIW) “for studying Islam and the diverse perspectives of Muslims.”
Islam Web – A site designed to enrich the viewers’ knowledge and appreciation of Islam. Its aim is to provide the viewing community substantial knowledge about Islam, particularly the non-Muslim who may need clarification of common distortions of the media and misrepresentations of ill-informed followers.
Buddhism
buddhanet – Buddhist education and information network, through the Buddha Dharma Education Association.
Access to Insight – readings in Theravada Buddhism “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.”
Study Buddhism – “an extensive source of authentic Buddhist teachings, presented in a down-to-earth and practical way….[the]aim is to make the wisdom of Tibet available and accessible to our modern world….the next generation of The Berzin Archives, founded in 2001 by Dr. Alexander Berzin, a Buddhist teacher, translator and practitioner with more than 50 years of experience.”
Tibetan and Himalayan Library – “publisher of websites, information services, and networking facilities relating to the Tibetan plateau and southern Himalayan regions. THL promotes the integration of knowledge and community across the divides of academic disciplines, the historical and the contemporary, the religious and the secular, the global and the local. In addition to more typical academic projects, THL promotes participatory knowledge that is created by and benefits local communities, while including contributors from all walks of life around the world. Data includes text, audio-video, images, maps, immersive objects, reference works, and interpretative essays.” Developed in part through the University of Virginia.
Hinduism
Sanatana Dharma Hinduism – “is dedicated to providing quality information on Hinduism and related religions that originated in India, without belittling other religions. We aim to represent main stream Hinduism for Hindus all over the world, not just a particular community, caste or nation. We focus on the essential principles, beliefs and practices of Hinduism, not a particular version or variety, as found in the ancient scriptures. Through our articles, books and other presentations we want to present the richness and diversity of Hinduism without aligning ourselves to any particular sectarian movement, guru tradition or practice.”
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm – From ReligiousTolerance.org, Ontario consultants on religious tolerance, “a multi-faith group. As of late-2016, we consist of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist.”
Rahda Madhav Dham – “Radha Madhav Dham is one of the largest Hindu temples and ashrams in the U.S. and is widely known for welcoming hundreds of visitors every day, regardless of their backgrounds, to its religious services, family festivals, and devotional retreats. Located in the rolling hills southwest of Austin, Radha Madhav Dham is an integral member of the local interfaith community, working with other faith-based institutions to provide charitable works and strengthen the common bonds between all religions.”
Comparative religion
The Hermetically Open Archive contains more than 25,000 occult texts covering “Hermetics, Rosicrucians, Theosophy, alchemy, mysticism, Gnosis and Western Esotericism, Sufism, Kabbalah, Anthroposophy, Catharism, Freemasonry, Manichaeism, Judaica, the Grail, Esotericism, and comparative religion.” From Amsterdam’s Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (the Ritman Library).