Humanities and Social Sciences Library > Collections & Reading Rooms > General Research Division > Subject Directory

Religion

The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library collect extensively in many areas of religion.  The General Research Division acquires materials in diverse aspects of Christianity as well as in those areas of religion which impinge on other scholarly disciplines: sociology of religion, philosophy of religion, psychology of religion, the relationship of church and state, and similar subjects.

This collection scheme has its origins in the acquisitions program of the two predecessor libraries of The New York Public Library, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library.  Both libraries collected extensively in ecclesiastical history, and their holdings constituted the foundation of the religion collection when the Central Building on 5^th Avenue and 42^nd Street was opened in May, 1911.  It is equally significant to note that their collection policies, focusing more on the social and historical elements of religion than on the theological, have continued to condition and influence the acquisition policy of today.

Within Christianity the General Research Division has significant holdings in ecclesiastical history, Christian thought, Christian ethics, liturgy (both texts and commentaries), and religious biography and autobiography; as noted below, it is more selective in theology and Biblical studies.

In the area of patristics the Library has the standard works such as J. P. Migne’s Patrologiae Cursus Completus  (Greek and Latin, with the text of the Latin Fathers also available electronically),  Corpus Christianorum;  these are complemented by the translations found in The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Fathers down to A.D. 325;  A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (both series);  Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation;  and Fathers of the Church.  In addition, there are many monographs containing the writings of the Fathers as well as commentaries on same.  The Astor Library collected in patrology, and its holdings form the basis of the contemporary collection.  The writings of the Fathers provide not only insights into the doctrinal concerns of the early Church but also descriptions of the political, social, and intellectual forces which conditioned early Christian thought and ideology.

The General Research Division collects selectively in systematic theology, and its holdings include the writings of the principal Christian theologians as well as critical literature about them.  The holdings contain not only the standard works of such eminent theologians as Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and others, but also the writings of major Christian thinkers of the contemporary period.  These are complemented by critical commentaries, analyses, and biographies, an invaluable resource to the scholar and student. 

The collections of the General Research Division include many editions of the Bible (in Greek, Hebrew, and translations into English and many other languages), the standard Bible commentaries and concordances, and works on the Bible and personalities contained therein.  Like theology, this collection is selective, not comprehensive, but it does provide sufficient resources for the university student and the generalist.  A cognate area is that of the Bible and literature, where the Library, in response to its strong commitment to collect extensively in literary studies, has developed a significant collection.  (For more information on the Bible and significant editions located in the Library, please consult the heading Bible in this list.)

The Library does collect comprehensively in ecclesiastical history, the history of various churches and denominations, the history of Christianity in specific countries, Christian thought, Christian ethics, history of religious orders and monasticism, and biography and autobiography.  The General Research Division is especially strong in European and North American church history, and scholars in these areas will find a wide variety of resources in all the major western European languages.  As might be expected, there are significant holdings  for United States church history (including a significant collection of sermons which provides insights into the concerns and tensions of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America).  Although coverage is superb for all the major American churches, it ought to be noted that materials on Mormonism and Shakerism are especially well represented, both movements having significant cultural and historical links to the American experience.

Related to this is the Division’s strong holdings in liturgy and worship, encompassing not only the liturgical texts and books of the various Christian traditions, but also histories, commentaries, and analyses of same.  The Music Division at Lincoln Center complements these collections with its print holdings on the history of ecclesiastical music and relevant texts (including hymnals) and its recordings of church music.

Reflecting its commitment to the social sciences, the General Research Division  does collect systematically in those areas where religion and other disciplines intersect.  Thus, scholars in anthropology, sociology, and psychology will find abundant resources in social scientific approaches to religion. Related to this is the Library’s extensive collection on the contentious issue of church and state relations; although the American situation is emphasized, other western societies are also covered.  (Please note that the Library does not collect in pastoral theology, nor in the practical aspects of clerical and parochial life.)  

The Division’s extensive collection of scholarly periodicals includes many in the area of the church history and a selective number in theology and Biblical studies.  These are indexed in electronic databases such as The ATLA Religion Database and The Religion and Philosophy Collection.  (Please note that other relevant indexes, such as The Catholic Periodical Index, are available only in print format.)   In addition to its holdings of standard scholarly periodicals such as Church History,  Journal of Religion, and   Journal of Ecclesiastical History, the General Research Division  also contains more obscure resources such as Shaker and Shakeress Monthly,  Mennonite History,  New Jerusalem Magazine (published for the Swedenborgian movement),  Golden Age (an early publication of the Jehovah’s Witnesses),  and Free Church Circular (printed by the Oneida Community.)

Materials on the other major religions will be found in the Jewish Division and the Asian and Middle Eastern Division; the former collects extensively in all areas of the Jewish experience, and the latter has strong holdings on Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Bahai, Taoism, and Confucianism.  The Slavic and Baltic Division has a notable collection of printed books and books in manuscript in Church Slavonic, the ecclesiastical language of Orthodox and some Catholic Slavs.  The Art and Architecture Division includes many materials dealing with religious iconography.  The Manuscript Division and  the Rare Books Division include, among their vast holdings, significant works in the field of religion,  such as early editions of The Book of Mormon, the first printed Shaker pamphlet, the Gutenberg Bible, books of hours, “the Bay Psalm Book,”  and the first Hawaiian edition of the Book of Common Prayer, inscribed by Queen Emma whose husband rendered the translation from English.