Reading background information helps fill in knowledge gaps. Virtually everyone, even experts, can benefit from reading authoritative summaries of the historic background, current developments, major players, and primary issues of a chosen topic. These summaries sometimes include basic bibliographies that help to jump start research projects.

Major sources of authoritative summaries are subject dictionaries and encyclopedias. Other background information may be obtained from biographical and statistical sources and other reference works such as handbooks and directories.

Search one or more databases for biographical information about a particular person or search the library catalog for one of the selected titles listed below..

Try the following types of searches in the library catalog to find biographies:

• Personal names as subjects or keywords
  • Lewis, C. S.
  • Kuhlman, Kathryn
• Classes of people as subjects or keywords
  • Bible scholars -- Biography
  • Clergy -- Biography
  • Evangelists -- Biography
  • Missionaries-- Biography
  • Theologians -- Biography
• Other keyword searches
  • Religio* biography
  • piritual biography
  • Christian* biography
  • Evangelical* biography
  • Pentecostal* biography

Search the library catalog to find a denominational or church-related directory or handbook.

Search Eample:

(denomination* OR sects) AND (handbook * OR director*)

Search the library catalog for subject dictionaries and encyclopedias. Here are some sample searches to try:

• (Bible OR biblical) AND (dictionar* or encycloped*)
• theolog* AND (dictionar* OR encycloped*)
• (counsel* OR psycholog* OR care OR ministry OR "church work with") AND (dictionar* OR encycloped* )
• (Pentecostal* OR charisma* OR renewal) AND (dictionar* OR encycloped*)
• (church) and (histor* OR fathers OR patrist*) and (encycloped* OR dictionar*)

To identify the more scholarly Bible commentaries, use the Bible commentaries series opens new windowchart in the opens new windowBible Commentaries Plus guide.

See also David Bauer's opens new windowEssential Bible Study Tools for Ministry, especially the "Highly Recommended" sections of his selected lists of commentaries for each book of the Bible. Ask for this at the Library Services Desk.

Statistics related to religion: ​opens new window​

• opens new windowAdherents.com
• opens new windowAmerican Religion Data Archive (ARDA)
• opens new windowAmerican Religious Identification Survey
• opens new windowBarna Research Online
• opens new windowBerman Jewish Databank
• Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate
• opens new windowFaith Communities Today
• Hartford Institute for Religion Research
• opens new windowICPSR Religious Data
• opens new windowNationMaster.com Statistics: Religion
• opens new windowOperation World
• Pluralism Project (Harvard University)
• Religious Congregations and Membership Study 2010
• opens new windowReligion and Society (Pew Research Center)
• opens new windowUS Office of International Religious Freedom
• Religious Landscape Study (Pew Research Center)
• U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS)

Other sources of statistical information:

• opens new windowAmerican FactFinder
• American National Election Studies (ANES)
• opens new windowBritannica® Online Academic Edition
• opens new windowCIA World Factbook
• opens new window​opens new windowFedStats
• opens new window​opens new windowGallup
• US Census Bureau's International Programs
• opens new windowWorld Values Survey

ORU databases the provide statistics: