Introduction
What is a database? A database is an organized collection of records presented in a standardized format that can be searched on a computer. The Orbis catalog is a database, as is the ATLA Religion Database.
When you search in a database what you are doing is searching through records that represent and describe some other object, such as a book, an article, a collection of facts. When you search in the ORBIS catalog, for example, you are not searching within the books themselves, but instead you are searching through records that have been created to describe the books (and other items) within the collections of the Yale libraries. The record provides you with information about an item, such as its author, what it is about, and where it can be found.
There are various electronic databases that can help you locate articles, statistics, primary texts, and other kinds of information. You can search in a single database, or you can search within multiple databases at the same time (for instructions on searching across multiple databases, see Multi-Database Search). While there are literally hundreds of databases available at Yale, only a certain number of them are specifically geared toward religious studies and theology. However, there are also a number of databases that cover related subject areas, as well as databases that cover more than one subject area, including religion.
All the databases available at Yale are accessible through the Databases & Article Searching page on the library's web site.
For databases to find journal articles in theology, see Article Databases for Theology under Finding Journal Articles.
Databases for Theology
- ATLA Religion Database The most important and comprehensive database for religious studies. Provides citations to journal articles, book reviews, and essays. Approximately 15% of cited journal articles link to full text.
- Blackwell Reference Online Online reference resources. Click on the link in the database under Subject for Religion to get access to a selection of dictionaries and encyclopedias dealing with religion, including the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought.
- Brill Dictionary of Religion Online dictionary. Includes entries on the different theologies and doctrinal declarations of official institutionalized religions.
- Catholic Periodical & Literature Index Provides citations to articles published in Roman Catholic periodicals, as well as papal documents, church promulgations, and books about the Catholic faith that are authored by Catholics and/or produced by Catholic publishers.
- Classic Protestant Texts More than 1,500 works from the Reformation and post-Reformation eras, including the theological writings of more than 300 Protestant authors.
- Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation This database offers a constantly growing treasury of documents, including papal and synodal decrees, catechisms and inquisitorial manuals, biblical commentaries, theological treatises and systems, liturgical writings, saints’ lives, and devotional work
- Early Church Fathers (Libronix edition)
Full electronic version of the Edinburgh Edition of the writings of the Early Church Fathers translated into English. Available on Workstation B (Trowbridge Reference Room), Workstation D (Marvin Pope Biblical Seminar Room). - Elenchus Bibliographicus Searchable database for articles, dissertations and books published between 1998-2002. Coverage includes the History of Theology, Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology, Ascetical and Mystical Theology, and Moral and Pastoral Theology. No full-text.
- Francis This databases covers multiple disciplines, including theology and religious studies. Indexes a wide range of materials, including journal articles. Citations include abstracts but no links to full-text.
- Karl Barth Digital Library Online collection of Karl Barth's works with a set of text-analysis tools. The current release features the first 36 volumes of Barth's Gesamtausgabe, originally published under the TVZ imprint.
- Library of Latin Texts contains texts from the beginning of Latin literature (Livius Andronicus, 240 BC) through to the texts of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
- Luther's Works (English) 55 volume set of Luther's Works, in English translation. The CD includes the entire Luther corpus, the KJV Bible, and The Book of Concord. Available on Workstation B.
- Luthers Werke - Weimarer Ausgabe The complete Weimar Edition of Luther's works. In addition to Luther's Bible translations and his treatises, the database includes his sermons, letters, Tischreden, poems and hymns.
- Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483-1546 From the Luther-Hall in Wittenberg, the largest museum in the world devoted to the history of the Reformation, material about Luther's life and times - hyperlinked, animated, multimedia. Available on Workstation E.
- New Catholic Encyclopedia Among the 12,000 entries are articles on theology, philosophy, history, literary figures, saints, musicians and biographies of contemporary religious figures; thousands of photographs, maps and illustrations; and updated bibliographical citations.
- Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) Database The two PHI CD's currently available contain Latin and Bible texts from the Center for the Computer Analysis of Text at the University of Pennsylvania, the Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri, and texts in Arabic and Coptic. Available on Workstation E.
- Papal Letters - Ut per litteras apostolicas-Lettres Pontificales The collection Ut per litteras apostolicas is the electronic version of the series of papal registers and letters of the 13th and 14th centuries preserved in the Vatican Secret Archives in Rome.
- Past Masters Full-text, searchable versions of many important philosophical writings.
- Patrologia Latina Database The Patrologia Latina Database (PLD) is a comprehensive electronic version of the Latin portion of Jacques-Paul Migne's massive Patrologiae Cursus Completus, including notes, glosses and indexes.
- Patrologiae Graecae Patrologiae Graecae contains more than 160 volumes of Greek material (with Latin translations) relevant to the study of the history of the Christian Church from its beginnings through the Council of Florence in 1439.
- Religion & Philosophy Collection Provides citations to journal articles in more than 300 full text journals in religion and philosophy, including more than 250 peer-reviewed titles. Many articles available in full-text. Updated daily.
- Religious & Theological Abstracts Provides citations with abstracts (summaries) for articles in religion from more than 400 journals. However, full-text of the articles is not available through this database.
- Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Unabridged) Covers more than 2,300 theologically significant words, including important prepositions, numbers, and proper names. Available on Workstation B and Workstation D.
- Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) The bulk of Classical and Koine Greek literature is available for searching and browsing in this database.
- Vatican Council II - the Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents Includes the 16 original constitutions and decrees of the Vatican Council II and 49 documents issued after the close of the council. Available on Workstation E.
Yale University Divinity School Library |
Amy Limpitlaw, Research & Electronic Services Librarian
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