LibGuides: Religious Studies : Christianity

Library Databases

Twentieth Century Religious Thought: Volume I, Christianity
Collection of works and archival materials related to twentieth century religious thinkers, focused on Christianity.

Acta Sanctorum This link opens in a new window
Religion full-text database that provides Acta Sanctorum, a collection of documents On the lives of saints, originally published from 1643-1940. On a Chadwyck-Healey platform.
Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts This link opens in a new window
Searchable database of Protestant Texts from the Reformation and post-Reformation eras. On the Alexander Street Press platform.
Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation This link opens in a new window
Database of works from the Catholic Reformation and post-Reformation eras, containing documents, sermons, letters, and treatises. On the Alexander Street Press platform.
Patrologia Latina Database This link opens in a new window
Religion full-text database that provides a digitized version of this history of the Roman Catholic church from 200 to 1216. On the Chadwyck-Healey platform.

Outside Resources

The Byzantine and Christian Museum
The Byzantine and Christian Museum, which is based in Athens, is one of Greece's national museums. Its areas of competency are centered on religious artifacts of the Early Christian, Byzantine, Medieval, post-Byzantine and later periods.

Books

The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible by Joel S. Kaminsky; Mark Reasoner; Joel N. Lohr This comprehensive introduction to the various collections of biblical literature used by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants gives the beginner clear, concise, and engaging entries into each book while covering major controversies. The authors show how various biblical books have influenced and continue to have an impact upon western ethics, politics, and, of course, religion. Using artistic renderings and charts, this book is student-friendly but communicates a depth of learning in a responsible and balanced fashion.A CHOICE Magazine Outstanding Academic Title of 2014.
ISBN: 9781426751073
Publication Date: 2014-03-18
Christianity: a Very Short Introduction by Linda Woodhead At a time when Christianity is flourishing in the Southern hemisphere but declining in much of the West, thisVery Short Introductionoffers an important new overview of the world's largest religion.Exploring the cultural and institutional dimensions of Christianity, and tracing its course over two millennia, this book provides a fresh, lively, and candid portrait of its past and present. Addressing topics that other studies neglect, including the competition for power between different formsof Christianity, the churches' uses of power, and their struggles with modernity, Linda Woodhead concludes by showing the ways in which those who previously had the least power in Christianity--women and non-Europeans--have become increasingly central to its unfolding story.
ISBN: 9780192803221
Publication Date: 2005-09-01
Figuring Racism in Medieval Christianity by M. Lindsay Kaplan In Figuring Racism in Medieval Christianity, M. Lindsay Kaplan expands the study of the history of racism through an analysis of the Christian concept of Jewish hereditary inferiority. Imagined as a figural slavery, this idea anticipates modern racial ideologies in creating a status ofpermanent, inherent subordination. Unlike other studies of early forms of racism, this book places theological discourses at the center of its analysis. It traces an intellectual history of the Christian doctrine of servitus Judaeorum, or Jewish enslavement, imposed as punishment for thecrucifixion. This concept of hereditary inferiority, formulated in patristic and medieval exegesis through the figures of Cain, Ham, and Hagar, enters into canon law to enforce the spiritual, social, and economic subordination of Jews to Christians. Characterized as perpetual servitude, this statusshapes the construction of Jews not only in canon law, but in medicine, natural philosophy, and visual art.By focusing on inferiority as a category of analysis, Kaplan sharpens our understanding of contemporary racism as well as its historical development. The damaging power of racism lies in the ascription of inferiority to a set of traits and not in bodily or cultural difference alone; in the medievalcontext, theological authority affirms discriminatory hierarchies as a reflection of divine will.Medieval theological discourses created a racial rationale of Jewish hereditary inferiority that also served to justify the servile status of Muslims and Africans. Kaplan's discussion of this history uncovers the ways in which racism circulated in pre-modernity and continues to do so in contemporarywhite supremacist discourses that similarly seek to subordinate these groups.
ISBN: 9780190678241
Publication Date: 2018-12-21
Orthodox Christianity and Gender by Helena Kupari; Elena Vuola The Orthodox Christian tradition has all too often been sidelined in conversations around contemporary religion. Despite being distinct from Protestantism and Catholicism in both theology and practice, it remains an underused setting for academic inquiry into current lived religious practice. This collection, therefore, seeks to redress this imbalance by investigating modern manifestations of Orthodox Christianity through an explicitly gender-sensitive gaze. By addressing attitudes to gender in this context, it fills major gaps in the literature on both religion and gender. Starting with the traditional teachings and discourses around gender in the Orthodox Church, the book moves on to demonstrate the diversity of responses to those narratives that can be found among Orthodox populations in Europe and North America. Using case studies from several countries, with both large and small Orthodox populations, contributors use an interdisciplinary approach to address how gender and religion interact in contexts such as, iconography, conversion, social activism and ecumenical relations, among others. From Greece and Russia to Finland and the USA, this volume sheds new light on the myriad ways in which gender is manifested, performed, and engaged within contemporary Orthodoxy. Furthermore, it also demonstrates that employing the analytical lens of gender enables new insights into Orthodox Christianity as a lived tradition. It will, therefore, be of great interest to scholars of both Religious Studies and Gender Studies.
ISBN: 9781138574205
Publication Date: 2019-10-21
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor); E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Uniquely authoritative and wide-ranging in its scope, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church is the indispensable one-volume reference work on all aspects of the Christian Church. It contains over 6,000 cross-referenced A-Z entries, and offers unrivalled coverage of all aspects of thisvast and often complex subject, from theology; churches and denominations; patristic scholarship; and the bible; to the church calendar and its organization; popes; archbishops; saints; and mystics.In this revision, innumerable small changes have been made to take into account shifts in scholarly opinion, recent developments, such as the Church of England's new prayer book (Common Worship), RC canonizations, ecumenical advances and mergers, and, where possible, statistics. A number of existingarticles have been rewritten to reflect new evidence or understanding, for example the Holy Sepulchre entry, and there are a few new articles, on Desmond Tutu and Padre Pio, for example. Perhaps most significantly, a great number of the bibliographies have been updated.Established since its first appearance in 1957 as an essential resource for ordinands, clergy, and members of religious orders; ODCC is an invaluable tool for academics, teachers, and students of church history and theology, as well as for the general reader.THEOLOGY- the development of doctrines throughout the ages, with their philosophical background and the different traditions of the major Churches- spirituality and heresy- history of the Reformation and Counter-ReformationPATRISTIC SCHOLARSHIP: Fathers of the Church, on whose work later theology is founded, are covered in detail, for example- the Nag Hammadi papyri and their significance for our understanding of Gnosticism- the problems of Marcarius of Egypt and Macarius/Simeon are explored- the recently discovered sermons of Augustine are mentioned, with their places of publication listedCHURCHES AND DENOMINATIONS- the beliefs and structures of both the mainstream and lesser-known denominations such as Amish, Muggletonians, Shakers, and Wee Frees- lengthy articles on the history of Christianity throughout the world, in countries such as Angola, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Spain, the United States, Vietnam, and ZaireTHE CHURCH CALENDAR AND ORGANIZATION- feast and saints' days- Sacraments- church services, offices, rites, and practices- canon law including Catholic revision- councils and synods- religious ordersTHE BIBLE- individual Biblical Books- major figures from Abraham, Moses, and King David to St Paul and the Evangelists- schools of Biblical criticism and entries on their chief exponentsBIOGRAPHICAL ENTRIES- these are wide ranging and include saints, popes, patriarchs, and archbishops- emperors, kings, and other rulers- mystics, heretics, and reformers- theologians and philosophers, with a summary of their opinions- artists, poets, and musicians
ISBN: 9780192802903
Publication Date: 2005-09-08

American Heritage Center

Gladys Margaret Crane Papers, Collection 400098

This collection documents the work of Gladys Margaret Crane as a university professor in theatre and religious studies and her experience as a student at Washington State University, University of Indiana, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. It relates her involvement in the Lutheran church, the League of Women Voters of Wyoming, and other various organizations.

John Roberts Papers, Collection 00037

John Roberts was an Episcopalian missionary who worked among the Arapaho and Shoshone peoples on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. As an ordained deacon, he established St. Michael's Mission for the Arapahos. He also translated Biblical texts and church material into the Arapaho and Shoshone languages with assistance from Fremont Arthur, Michael White Hawk, and Charles Lajoe.

John I. Yellot Papers, Collection 01064

This collection features personal and biographical material relating to John I. Yellot's father, the Reverend Yellot. This material contains a scrapbook which features many newspaper clippings about the debates regarding prohibition and religion between he and H.L. Mencken.

Lyda C. Wood Diaries, Collection 10740

The Lyda C. Wood collection consists of three diaries (1934, 1936, 1942) which detail her missionary activities with American Indians in Wyoming and Colorado.

Richard S. Putney Oral History, Collection 400094

Oral history interview with Richard S. Putney, a minister with the University of Wyoming campus ministry in the 1960s and 1970s, who was involved with the Black 14 protests, peace movements, civil rights demonstrations, and Vietnam War protests. Audrey Putney, his wife, also contributes.