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World History by Topic: Religion, Cultures & Society

Religion, Cultures & Society in History

Encyclopedia of Religion. 
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 2005.
- Also available in print at Ref BL31 .E46 2005 v.1-15


Historical dictionary of Anglicanism
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
- Ref BX5007 .B83 2015

Historical dictionary of Buddhism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009.
- Ref BQ130 .O47 2009 

Historical dictionary of Calvinism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012.
- Ref. BX9406 .P53 2012

Historical dictionary of Catholicism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012.
- Ref BX945.3 .C65 2012

Historical Dictionary of Daoism
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

Historical Dictionary of Islam
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalism
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Historical dictionary of Hinduism. 
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2011.
- Ref BL1105 .S847 2011

Historical Dictionary of Jainism.
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
- Ref BL1303 .W45 2004

Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Historical dictionary of Lutheranism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2011.
- Ref. BX8007 .G37 2011

Historical dictionary of Methodism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2013.
- Ref. BX8211 .H57 2013

Historical dictionary of Mormonism
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2008.
- Ref. BX8605.5 .B558 2008

Historical dictionary of new religious movements
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012.
- Ref. BP601 .C47 2012

Historical dictionary of radical Christianity
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012.
- Ref. BR95 .B68 2012

Historical dictionary of Seventh-Day Adventists.
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005.
- Ref BX6153 .L36 2005 

Historical dictionary of Shamanism
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Historical dictionary of Shinto
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2011.
- Ref. BL2216.1 .P53 2011 

Historical dictionary of Sikhism
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
- Ref BL2017.3 .M35 2014

Historical dictionary of Sufism
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.
- Ref BP188.48 .R46 2016 

Historical dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1998.
- Ref. BP327 .A33 1998

Historical dictionary of the Baptists
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009.
- Ref. BX6211 .B73 2009

Historical dictionary of the Coptic Church
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2008.
- Ref. BX130.5 .G33 2008

Historical dictionary of the Friends (Quakers).
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2012.
- Ref BX7611 .H57 2012

Historical Dictionary of the Latter-Day Saints
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Historical dictionary of the Orthodox Church
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1996.
- Ref. BX230 .P76 1996

Historical dictionary of the Puritans
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
- Ref. BX9323 .P37 2007 

Historical dictionary of the Reformed Churches
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2010.
- Ref. BX9415 .B46 2010 

Historical dictionary of the Shakers
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2008.
- Ref. BX9765 .P38 2008 


Additional Reference Sources for World History by Topic (Religion, Cultures & Society):

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the United States History research guide, under the "Reference Sources" → "Encyclopedias & Dictionaries" tab.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History (generally) research guide, under the "Reference Sources" → "Encyclopedias & Dictionaries" tab.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Period research guide, under the "Prehistory & Ancient" tab, the "Medieval History" tab, etc.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Region research guide, under the "Africa" tab, the "Asia" tab, etc. 

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Topic research guide, under the "Commerce, Commodities & Material Culture" tab, the "Empires, Borderlands & their Legacies" tab, etc.

Primary sources provide immediate, firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning an event or topic.

Examples of primary sources include letters and diaries; photographs, audio and motion picture recordings; transcribed speeches; books, newspapers and magazines published during the period under consideration; government documents and other publications; oral histories, autobiographies and memoirs; and even artifacts, like clothing, furniture, and other items of material culture from the period.

The Cambridge History of Christianity:
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006-2009
v.1 Origins to Constantine.
    - Main Library BR165 .O66 2006
v.2 Constantine to c.600.
​    - Main Library BR200 .C66 2007 
v.3 Early Medieval Christianities, c.600–c.1100.
​    - Main Library BR252 .E27 2008
v.4 Christianity in Western Europe, c.1100–c.1500.
​    - Main Library BR252 .C475 2009 
v.5 Eastern Christianity.
​    - Main Library BX290 .E27 2006
v.6 Reform and Expansion 1500–1660.
​    - Main Library BR305.3 .R44 2007
v.7 Enlightenment, Reawakening and Revolution 1660–1815.
​    - Main Library B802 .E5455 2006
v.8 World Christianities c.1815–c.1914.
​    - Main Library BR477 .W87 2006
v.9 World Christianities c.1914–c.2000.
​    - Main Library BR145.2 .W68 2006  


The Cambridge history of Judaism.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
- Main Library BM155.2 .C35 1984 v.1-4
- Contents: v.1 The Persian period. v.2 The Hellenistic age. v.3 The early Roman period. v.4 The late Roman-Rabbinic period.


Singh, Khushwant. A history of the Sikhs
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004.
- Main Library DS485.P3 K58 2004 v.1-2


Harvey, Peter. An introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history and practices. 2nd. ed.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- Main Library BQ4022 .H37 2013


Brekke, Torkel. Modern Hinduism
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
- Main Library BL1150 .M63 2019


The new Cambridge history of Islam.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- Main Library DS35.6 .C3 2010 v.1-6
- Contents: v. 1 The formation of the Islamic world, sixth to eleventh centuries. v. 2 The western Islamic world, eleventh to eighteenth centuries. v. 3 The eastern Islamic world, eleventh to eighteenth centuries. v. 4 Islamic cultures and societies to the end of the eighteenth century. v. 5 The Islamic world in the age of Western dominance. v. 6 Muslims and modernity: culture and society since 1800.


Links and citations to additional sources of information on the history of religion and society might be found on the UCSB Library research guides for:

What's on This Page?

In the boxes on this page, you will find links and citations to information resources on religion, cultures & society in history.

For advice on finding books on your topic, see the 'How to Find Books' tab of the World History (generally) research guide.