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Subject-specific eGuides

Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion

Searching for resources

There are two key library catalogues you may use when studying at Cambridge:

Girton Library catalogue (Heritage) – search Girton Library’s collection and see if items are available or already on loan. See our eGuide for further information.

iDiscover – to search across the University’s print and electronic collections (including books, eBooks, journals, newspapers, articles and much more, from other colleges, faculty and department libraries, and the University Library. Most, but not all, of Girton’s collection can be found here. See our Searching iDiscover eGuide for further information.

You will be able to borrow from Girton’s Main Library and the University Library. Your subject-specific library is the Divinity Faculty Library. However, there may be other libraries within Cambridge which stock useful resources. For a full list of the Cambridge libraries see the directory and check each library for access guidelines.

Search Spacefinder to find places of study outside of College.

Subject-specific resources

You can find and search for databases that might help you on the Database A-Z LibGuide. However, some key resources for your subject include:

  • ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Full Text Serials ATLA Religion Database provides information on topics such as biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religion in social issues. This database is the definitive index for religious and theological literature.
  • Bible In English This database contains 20 different versions of the English Bible, including 12 full Bibles, five New Testament texts, two versions of the Gospels only, and William Tyndale's translations of the Pentateuch, Jonah, and the New Testament
  • Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism This work presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions. Its 438 essays are original work written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. The encyclopedia presents an even-handed view of Hinduism, recognizing the divergent perspectives and methods in the academic study of a religion that has ancient historical roots with many flourishing traditions today. Including all essays from the printed edition, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism is now regularly updated with new articles and available in a fully searchable, dynamic digital format.
  • Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism Online A comprehensive academic reference work devoted to the plurality of Buddhist traditions across Asia, offering readers a detailed treatment of this complex phenomenon in six thematically arranged volumes: Literature and Languages (I, publ. 2015), Lives (II, publ. 2019), Thought (III, forthcoming 2022), History (IV, forthcoming 2023), Life and Practice (V, forthcoming 2025), Index and Remaining Issues (VI, forthcoming 2026).
  • Brill's Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online The Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity focuses on the history of early Christian texts, authors, ideas. Its content is intended to bridge the gap between the fields of New Testament studies and patristics, covering the whole period of early Christianity up to 600 CE. The BEEC aims to provide a critical review of the methods used in Early Christian Studies and to update the historiography.
  • Brill's Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism Online Provides a comprehensive overview of worldwide Pentecostalism from a range of disciplinary perspectives. It offers analysis at the level of specific countries and regions, historical figures, movements and organizations, and particular topics and themes.
  • Textual history of the Bible The Textual History of the Bible Online is unique in providing, for the first time, a cross-searchable platform which will contain all available information regarding the textual history, textual character, translation techniques, manuscripts, and the importance of each textual witness for each book of the Hebrew Bible, including its deutero-canonical scriptures.
  • BrowZine - Access to online journals provided at Cambridge University BrowZine helps researchers to focus fast on journals of relevance in their fields of interest and ranks them. By creating an account researchers can keep up to date in their field of expertise via BrowZine's superior browsing capabilities.
  • Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library of Biblical Texts The Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library presents a complete Hebrew transcription and English translation of the Biblical texts, together with high-resolution images. The contents of this online publication is identical to that of the Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Biblical Texts CD-ROM, published by Brill and Brigham Young University but its interface is adapted to Brill's online platform for reference works.
  • Digital Karl Barth Library This online repository of Barth's work includes an English translation of Barth's magnum opus, 'The Church Dogmatics', the original German version, 'Die kirchliche Dogmatik', the first 45 volumes of Barth's Gesamtausgabe (incl. hundreds of letters, sermons, lectures, conversations, and academic writings.) Finally, there are seven additional, German works that have not yet been published as part of the Gesamtausgabe and English translations of thirteen further, important texts by Barth. All texts are cross-searchable.
  • Early Western Korans Online This remarkable collection demonstrates the impact of the holy book of Islam in Europe. Long before printing with movable type became common practice in the Islamic world, Korans had been printed in Arabic type in several European cities. The collection includes Korans and Koran translations, printed between 1537 and 1857, and is of interest to book historians, theologians, philologists, and scholars of Islamic Studies alike.
  • Encyclopedia of the Bible and its reception online The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) is the first and only comprehensive reference work devoted to the Bible and its reception.Since the publication of its first two volumes in 2009, EBR has continued to break new ground and is an indispensable reference work not only for theology and religious studies, but also for the humanities, the arts, cultural studies, and the social sciences. As its foundation, the encyclopedia contains the most up-to-date information on the origins and development of the Bible in the canons of Judaism and Christianity. It then documents the history of biblical interpretation and reception, not only in Christianity and Judaism, but also in Islam and other non-Western religious traditions and movements.
  • Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd edition) Edited by Marc Gaborieau, Gudrun Krämer, John Nawas and Everett Rowson, the third edition of Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Islam is an entirely new work, with new articles reflecting the great diversity of current scholarship. The new scope includes comprehensive coverage of Islam in the twentieth century and of Muslim minorities all over the world.
  • Encyclopaedia Judaica Provides an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition is important to scholars, general readers and students.
  • Encyclopaedia of the Qu'ran An encyclopaedic dictionary of qur’ānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur’ānic studies. The first comprehensive, multivolume reference work on the Qur’ān to appear in a Western language. Includes direct access to 62 Early Printed Western Qur’āns Online and the Electronic Qurʾān Concordance, a unique online finding aid for textual research.
  • Gregory of Nyssa Online (Gregorii Nysseni Opera; Lexicon Gregorianum) The online critical text edition of Gregory of Nyssa's works, together with the Greek-German dictionary of the language used by Gregory of Nyssa, the only dictionary available specifically addressing the vocabulary of late Classical Greek.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament Online The third edition of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner’s Hebrew dictionary ‘The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament’ is widely acclaimed as the most up-to-date dictionary for the Old Testament and related literature in classical Hebrew and Aramaic and is now available online.
  • Index Theologicus: International Bibliography of Theology and Religious Studies A comprehensive bibliography for theology and religious studies with over 1.6 million records.
  • InteLex Past Masters Contains online versions of major scholarly editions of: Augustine, Luther, Hegel, Hume, Nietzsche, Plato, Plotinus, Wittgenstein and many others.
  • Loeb Classical Library The digital Loeb Classical Library is a fully searchable, perpetually growing virtual library of all that is important in Greek and Latin literature: epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory; and the great medical writers and mathematicians. Key features include: Single- and dual-language reading modes; bookmarking and annotation features; tools for sharing bookmarks and annotations; Greek keyboard; user account and My Loeb content saved in perpetuity; intuitive search and browse; Inclusion of every Loeb volume in print; and regular uploading of new and revised volumes.
  • Patrologia Graeca For all volumes listed by by volume number, please see https://archive.org/details/PatrologiaGraeca
  • Patrologia Latina Database Online version of the first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne's Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina. The PLD contains all 221 volumes of the first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne's Series Latina, which includes the original 217 volumes (1844-1855) plus the later four volumes of indexes (1862-1865). The Patrologia Latina Database covers the works of the Church Fathers from Tertullian in 200 AD to the death of Pope Innocent III in 1216, including all prefatory material, original texts, critical apparatus and indexes. Some major figures included are Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Boethius, Isidore, Bede, Peter Damian, Bernard, Augustine, Peter Lombard, Peter Chrysologus and many others. Migne's column numbers, essential references for scholars, are also included. Although the text is primarily in Latin, the database has an English language search engine and help. A cross-search option allows users to find search terms in both the Patrologia Latina Database and the Acta Sanctorum Database. Also, Brill's edition of Jan Frederik Niermeyer's Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus is available from the search page. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina reference numbers are also included.
  • Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Access restricted to 10 users at one time - if you cannot access because of this restriction please try again a short time later or email ejournals@lib.cam.ac.uk.
  • Works of St Augustine Ultimately aiming to comprise the complete works of St Augustine in translation, this is the fourth release that includes The City of God. There are now online 41 volumes of the 50 volume printed series from New City Press edited by Boniface Ramsey.
  • Works of Martin Luther The 55-volume set of Luther's Works. The first thirty volumes contain Luther's expositions of various biblical books, while remaining volumes include his Reformation writings and occasional pieces. The final volume of the set contains an index of quotations, proper names, and topics, and a list of corrections and changes.

 

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