Religion: Getting Started
Welcome!
Use the tabs of this guide for research about world religions:
- Books and Videos -- links to great resources available through PCC Library.
- World Religions in Portland -- suggested temples, mosques, churches and other sites that you can visit in Portland
- Bible - resources for Old Testament/Hebrew scriptures and New Testament studies
- Article Databases - find published magazine and journal articles
- Websites - recommended web resources, plus a Google Custom Search tool that searches only sites recommended by PCC faculty
- Get Help - resources on creating citations, finding writing and other tutors, and more.
Religion Encyclopedias
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Specialized encyclopedias are an excellent place to start your research.
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Gale Ebooks (formerly GVRL)GVRL has over 200 encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research, including: Encyclopedia Judaica; Encyclopedia of American Religious History; Encyclopedia of Buddhism; Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World; Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Encyclopedia of Religion: New Catholic Encyclopedia; Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices; and Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices.
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Credo ReferenceProvides online versions of 500 published reference works, including general and specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias
Religion Streaming Videos
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View high quality videos about the world's religions online from the Films on Demand database. Search by keyword or browse by Collections - World Religions
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Films on DemandThousands of high-resolution streaming videos organized by subject. For academic research as well as general interest, this collection includes archival and newsreel films as well as career and technical videos.
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Academic Video Online (AVON)Over 64,000 scholarly videos in multiple subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film & cinema, health, music and dance, news and current affairs, science, and much more. Programs include documentaries, interviews, performances, news, raw footage, and archival materials. Note: Some video content in Alexander Street Video, such as Sony Classic Pictures content, is protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology. Due to this DRM requirement, certain videos will not play on Apple devices or the Safari browser as they lack the technology required to play protected video.
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Kanopy Streaming VideosStreaming videos organized by subject, for academic research as well as general interest. Contains many genres, from documentaries to movies to training videos. Publishers include BBC, California Newsreel, Criterion Collection, First Run Features, New Day Films, PBS, etc.
Note: Kanopy does not support Windows 7 and Internet Explorer. If you are having trouble viewing Kanopy videos, you may need to upgrade or change your browser. See What Desktop Browsers and Systems are Supported by Kanopy and How to Troubleshoot Browser Issues for additional help.
Religion and Culture
Religion influences not only spirituality, but also everyday activities. In a given context, religion may have an effect on interpersonal relationships; food and drink; eating rituals and patterns; clothing; shelter; the arrangement of public and private space; commerce; medicine and health practices; the measurement and use of time, particularly around the practice of religious ritual; pilgrimages; the political and justice systems; and/or practices at the time of major life transitions (birth, adulthood, marriage, death, etc.).
Some resources for researching how a religion is expressed in the culture of a particular country:
- Countries and Their Cultures (an encyclopedia in the Gale eBook database)
- Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religion Practices (an encyclopedia in the Gale eBook database; "provides information on current religious practices around the world with an emphasis on how religions impact the daily lives of their followers.")
Web search strategy
Limit your web search to a results from a particular country by using the country code top-level domain. For example, by adding site:uk to a search, your results should mostly come from websites originating in England.
- Find the domain for a particular country: Internet country domain list
- Examples:
