Topic: History of Christianity

America: History and Life

Scholarly journal articles covering the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to today. Essential for the study of American religious history. Use it to search for material about a historical time period.

American Periodicals (1740-1900)

Searchable, full-text database, with digitized page images, of more than 1,100 American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Subject matter includes religion, theology, missions, abolition.

ATLA Religion Database

Covers contemporary scholarly journal articles, essays, sermons, and book reviews in the study of religion. Materials cover all religions and all theological points of view.

Christian Periodical Index

Find articles and reviews from an evangelical Christian perspective, representative of the major doctrinal positions within evangelical Christianity. Coverage dates back to 1957. Updated quarterly.

Historical Abstracts

Find articles in multiple languages covering the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada). Abstracts are in English.

Index Theologicus (IxTheo)

An international bibliography for theology and religious studies that provides citations to scholarly literature about Christianity, Christian theology and its dialogue with other religions. Includes publications in many languages and formats.

Index to American Periodicals

Indexes 1,118 magazines and journals periodicals from 1741-1935 that are in the American Periodical Series which is available on microfilm. Includes publications in the field of religion; and covers topics such as abolition and slavery.

Periodical Contents Index (PCI)

Periodicals Index Online (formerly known as "PCI") is an index to the contents of thousands of journals in the humanities and social sciences, including such subjects as Ancient Civilizations, Anthropology/Ethnology, Area Studies, History, Jewish Studies...

Religious and Theological Abstracts

Provides objective summaries of articles appearing in scholarly journals in the fields of Religion and Theology. Database lists a wide variety of periodical literature, including Christian, Jewish, and other world religions, and provides English language...

Women's Studies International

Find articles from key women’s studies databases, covering classic works, foundational research, and the latest feminist scholarship across a broad range of interdisciplinary sources.

American Periodicals (1740-1900)

Searchable, full-text database, with digitized page images, of more than 1,100 American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Subject matter includes religion, theology, missions, abolition.

Analecta hymnica Medii Aevi

An extensive collection and history of the medieval Latin hymns of the Catholic Church, 500-1400 based upon the original 55 volume edition of Guido Dreves.

Archives of Christian Churches and Organizations in Cuba Online

Three primarily twentieth century archival collections of: Presbyterian Church in Cuba, Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cuba, and Christian Student Movement of Cuba, largely in Spanish. More context and history in database’s Background section.

Cambridge Histories Online

Online access to all the volumes of the Cambridge Histories series. Religion titles include: The Cambridge History of the Bible, The Cambridge History of Christianity, The Cambridge History of Islam, The Cambridge History of Judaism.

China Historical Christian Database

The China Historical Christian Database (CHCD) maps Christian institutions and personnel in China (1550–1950), revealing networks of exchange between China and the West. It offers open-access data and visual tools, hosted by Boston University’s Center for...

Classic Sermon Index

A collection of over 40,000 sermons from ancient to contemporary times. Sermons are continually added to the database and are in English or English translation.

Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts

Database of works by Protestant Christian reformers of the Reformation and post Reformation eras that can be searched or browsed. English translations are available for some works.

Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation

The Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation provides access to Roman Catholic theological, political, and social writings from the Reformation and post-Reformation eras.

Global missions and theology

Digitized collection of 19 th century materials documenting missionary activities, practices and thought in the United States as well as missionary activities in Africa, Fiji and the Sandwich Islands, India, China, Southeast Asia, Japan and Hawaii.

Literature Online

Literature Online (Lion) includes a collection of over 360,000 works of historic and contemporary English and American poetry, drama, and prose with complementary reference sources and criticism. Content touching on religious themes is included.

Loeb Classical Library

Database consists of more than 500 original texts of Greek and Latin literature with English translations. The content is fully searchable and includes every volume from the print series. New and revised volumes are uploaded regularly.

Missionary Databases

List of databases with digital access to missionary records at non-Harvard repositories. For suggestions on how to find more missionary records, contact a Research Librarian at HDS Library.

Past Masters

Full text works by major western theological, philosophical, and literary writers through the twentieth century. Authors include Augustine, Calvin, James, Kierkegaard, and Luther. Works are primarily, but not exclusively, in English translation.

Sources chrétiennes online

Critical editions of texts from the first 1400 years of the Church. This is the searchable version of the Sources Chrétiennes series. The series features original texts in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian, and Georgian, accompanied by French translations.

Twentieth Century Religious Thought (Christianity)

Twentieth Century Religious Thought: Volume I, Christianity includes the complete 17-volume German edition of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke (DBW) and English edition of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Series (DBWE); an international selection of English...

Ut per litteras apostolicas: Lettres Pontificales = Papal Letters Online

Ut per litteras apostolicas is an index to papal registers and letters from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

American Periodicals (1740-1900)

Searchable, full-text database, with digitized page images, of more than 1,100 American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Subject matter includes religion, theology, missions, abolition.

Christian Muslim Relations

A bibliographical history of the relations between the faiths, currently in two parts. Part I covers the period from 600 to 1500 throughout the Mediterranean basin, while Part II covers the period from 1500 to 1914 in all parts of the world.

Encyclopedia of Christianity Online

An English language encyclopedia based upon the third revised edition of the German Evangelische Kirchenlexikon (1999-2008). The encyclopedia looks at Christianity within a global context and in relation to other religions and philosophies.

Encyclopedia of Religion

The second edition of a classic reference work covering all aspects of religion. Emphasis is on religion's role in everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture. Articles with bibliographies are authored by scholars of religion.

Encyclopedia of Religion in America

Encyclopedia of Religion in America examines how religious history and practices are woven into the political, social, cultural, and historical landscape of North America. Covers early European settlement to the present day.

Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception

Entries on (I) origins and development of the Bible in its different canonic forms in Judaism and Christianity and (ii) history of the Bible's reception in the broader culture and many religious traditions. Ongoing progress toward future completion.

Europa Sacra

Use to find information about medieval Church prelates.

New Catholic Encyclopedia

The New Catholic Encyclopedia is a reference work on Catholicism. It also covers religions, traditions, movements, and historical figures that shape Catholicism.

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Provides annotated bibliographies of essential literature on various subjects in the humanities and social sciences. Guides are updated quarterly, with entries added yearly to each subject area, as well as revisions to existing entries.

Oxford Dictionary of Popes

This dictionary gives concise accounts of every officially recognized pope in history, from St Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, along with their irregularly elected rivals. It is a continuous history of the papacy over almost 2,000 years.

Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

Concise articles with bibliographies that can be a useful initial guide to many aspects of Christian religion and life including theology, patristic scholarship, churches and denominations, the church calendar and organization, and the Bible.

Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages

Covers key aspects of European history (including ecclesiastical history), society, and culture from 500 to 1500 A.D., as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era.

Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance

This dictionary provides rich detail on all aspects of the Renaissance in 14th to 17th century Europe. It includes comprehensive coverage of the art, literature, science, culture, philosophy, religion, economics, history, and conflict of the period.

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation

Information source on religious and social changes that altered the face of Europe in the sixteenth century, focusing not only issues of church polity and theology but also developments in politics, economics, demographics, art and literature.

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion seeks to provide accurate, scholarly information about the world’s many religions and topics of research and debate. It will grow and evolve continuously, compiling over time an extensive collection of vetted...

Pluralism Project

An ongoing research effort, the Pluralism Project studies and interprets religious diversity and interfaith relations in the United States. The site includes an introduction to the religions of the world through the lens of America, a survey of the...

Religious Biographical and Genealogical Information

This guide describes biographical information available from Harvard Divinity School Library and online through the Harvard Library.

Religious Statistics

This guide describes information about religious statistics available from Harvard Divinity School Library and online through the Harvard Library.

Unitarian Universalist Congregations

a bibliography of publications and manuscripts in the public domain that chronicle major events events in the life of historically Unitarian and Universalist congregations in the United States. Includes digitized directories, yearbooks, and periodicals of...

Religious Statistics

This guide describes information about religious statistics available from Harvard Divinity School Library and online through the Harvard Library.