Yale University Library Research Guides: History of Christianity Guide: AmericanChristianity

1. Research Guides & Bibliographies

Religion and Politics: a Reference Handbook by John W. Storey and Glenn H. Utter
Call Number: BL65.P7 S76X 2002 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 1576072185
This work is part of the series Contemporary World Issues published by ABC-CLIO. The focus is mainly on the major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam. There is little theoretical discussion of the relationship between religion and politics; instead, most of the work focuses on contemporary events and personalities. A chronology, covering events dating from 1750 bce to the present day, is included; however, again the emphasis is on recent history, with the longest entry reserved for the year 2001. The Introduction focuses on 3 basic patterns in contemporary politics and religion in order to illustrate their complex relationship: the separation of church and state in the U.S.; the domination of the state by religion in Iran; and the control of religion by the state in China. Another chapter provides brief (1-2 page) biographical sketches of significant figures in the field of religion and politics. This section is interesting, though hardly comprehensive and again it is almost exclusively focused on 20th-21st century figures. Three tables are provided: one covering the percentage of adherents for each religion in each country, another covering the total number of religious adherents worldwide in religions numbering over one million, and a third covering the change in number of adherents for each religion in each country over the past century and a quarter (from 1900 to projections for 2025). A selection of quotations are provided; these are interesting, but this is not certainly not a comprehensive selection of quotes. A helpful feature is the directory -- again, more selective than comprehensive – of religious organizations that have become involved with political activity. This listing not only provides the name and address, but also a description of the work and goals of each organization. When available, the web address for the organization is also provided. Another chapter provides an annotated list of print resources. The chapter on nonprint resources provides a list – again annotated – of audiovisual materials as well as internet resources. However, unfortunately, a number of the internet sites I checked were dead links, and among several of the others were sites that had not been updated in a number of years (this may be inevitable in any listing of web resources). A glossary of terms is also provided, as well as an index. This is an interesting resource, but it is lacking in comprehensiveness and more theoretical discussion of the relationship between religion and politics, or at least more resources covering theory, is definitely needed.
Source Book and Bibliographical Guide for American Church History by Peter G. Mode
Call Number: BR514 M6 1964 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
Eerdmans’ Handbook to Christianity in America
Call Number: BR515 .E37 1983 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
The Religious Right: a Reference Handbook by Glenn H. Utter and John W. Storey
Call Number: BR526 U88 1995
Black Holiness: a Guide to the Study of Black Participation in Wesleyan Perfectionist and Glossolalic Pentecostal Movements by Charles Edwin Jones
Call Number: Z1361 N39 J66 1987 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
Church and State in America: a Bibliographical Guide by edited by John F. Wilson
Call Number: Z7776.72 C48 1986 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 031325236X
Bibliography of Religion in the South by Charles H. Lippy
Call Number: Z7778 S59 L56 1985 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
This is a bibliography intended to identify and describe secondary literature about religion in the South from a variety of perspectives. Chapters are arranged topically, covering both the relationship of southern religion to various aspects of culture (for example, in chapters such as “Southern Literature and Religion”, “Southern Religious Art, Architecture and Music”, etc.) as well as covering the various religious groupings in the South (“Roman Catholicism in the South”, “Presbyterianism in the South”, etc.) The main focus is on scholarly works, although some popular works are included. Each chapter is organized into two sections. The first section is an essay that surveys the secondary literature, notes the major works being done in the area, and provides critical appraisal of the value of the works discussed. The second section is a bibliographic listing of works, covering both those mentioned in the first section as well as other works. There are no annotations, however. Because the organization of the work is topical and not alphabetical, it would have been extremely helpful to include an index, if not of subjects, at least of authors and titles. Annotations would also improve the work as a whole.
Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism: a Guide to the Sources by Edith L. Blumhofer, Joel A. Carpenter
Call Number: Z7778 U6 B58 1990 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
A Guide to American Catholic History by John Tracy Ellis and Robert Trisco
Call Number: Z7778 U6 E38 1982 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
"About 1,250 annotated entries in classed arrangement, with author/title/subject index. Covers through 1979." GRB
American Evangelicalism: an Annotated Bibliography by Norris A. Magnuson, William G. Travis
Call Number: Z7778 U6 M34 1990 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 0933951272
History of the Episcopal Church in America, 1607-1991: a Bibliography by Sandra M. Caldwell and Ronald J. Caldwell
Call Number: Z7845 A5 C34 1993 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
"Includes more than 3,800 entries, some with annotations, for works concerning the history of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and the influence it has had on U.S. history. Emphasis is on secondary writings; only the most important primary sources are included. Offers comprehensive coverage of local histories (more than 1,500), and access to some 1,300 biographies of individuals, with the remainder of the entries arranged topically. Index. GRB
Jonathan Edwards: a Reference Guide by M. X. Lesser
Call Number: Z8255.5 L47 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
Jonathan Edwards an Annotated Bibliography, 1979-1993 by compiled by M.X. Lesser
Call Number: Z8255.5 L48 1994 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 031329237X

3. Atlases & Geographical Resources

New Historical Atlas of Religion in America by Edwin Scott Gaustad, Philip L. Barlow
Call Number: G1201 E4 G3 2001 Folio (Trowbridge Reference Room)
The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America by Bret E. Carroll
Call Number: G1201 E4 C3X 2000 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
Atlas of Religious Change in America, 1952-1990 by Peter L. Halvorson and William M. Newman
Call Number: G1201 E4 H3 1994 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
Atlas of Religious Change in America, 1971-1980 by Peter L. Halvorson, William M. Newman
Call Number: G1201 E4 H33 1987 Oversize
Historical Atlas of Religion in America by E. S. Gaustad
Call Number: G1201 E4 G3 1976 Oversize (Stack Reference)

2. Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Concise Dictionary of Christianity in America by coordinating editor, Daniel G. Reid
Call Number: BR515 C665 1995 (Stack Reference)
ISBN: 0830814469
Dictionary of Christianity in America by coordinating editor, Daniel G. Reid
Call Number: BR515 D47 1990 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 083081776X
Encyclopedia of Religious Controversies in the United States by edited by George H. Shriver and Bill J. Leonard
Call Number: BR515 E53 1997
ISBN: 031329691X
Dictionary of Heresy Trials in American Christianity by edited by George H. Shriver
Call Number: BR517 D5 1997 (Stack Reference)
ISBN: 031329660X
The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History by edited by Michael Glazier and Thomas J. Shelley
Call Number: BX1406.2 E53 1997 (Trowbridge Reference Room)
ISBN: 0814659195

4. Primary Sources

The Yale Divinity Library's Special Collections include archival documentation of individuals, institutions, and organizations related to the history of Christianity in America. A few examples of collections are listed here; use the discovery tools noted below to find more.

Personal papers of clergy:

Dutton Family Papers: (RG63)
David Nelson Beach Papers: (RG60 A)
Gerald Beard Papers: (RG65)
Henry David Gray Papers:(RG52)
Various smaller collections in Miscellaneous Personal Papers Collection: (RG30)

Records of churches and religious organizations:

New England Church Records: (RG48)
Religious and Benevolent Societies and Organizations: (RG34)
Social Ethics Pamphlet Collection: (RG73)
Many missionary organizations
Many student Christian movement records

Use these tools to find primary sources at Yale and elsewhere:

Orbis, the online catalog, contains records for primary source collections at Yale; use the Advanced Search option to limit the "Type" of material to "Archives or Manuscripts" or do a search and then use the "Filter your search" feature to find "Archives or Manuscripts."
Yale Finding Aid Database searches through all the text of the finding aids that describe archival and manuscript collections in the Yale libraries.
Worldcat is the most complete source for finding collections around the world.
Archive Grid searches through collection records and finding aids to collections, both at Yale and beyond.
Archive Finder is another tool for finding manuscript collections. The best use of Archive Finder is the repository search, which you can use to find archives in specific geographic locations.
Connecticut Archives Online is a union catalog of archival collections held in Connecticut repositories.

Yale subscribes to various databases that provide access to primary source material online. Some samples are listed below.

Archives Unbound: topically-focused digital collections of historical documents, including, e.g., American Indian Correspondence: Presbyterian Historical Society Collection of Missionaries' Letters.
The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries: includes more than 400 sources of diaries, letters, and memoirs providing access to thousands of views on almost every aspect of the war.
Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment: this database, assembled from hundreds of primary sources, documents the relationships among peoples and with the environment in North America from 1534 to 1850.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories: provides a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1840 and 1950.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries, Colonial-1950: includes the personal experiences of 1,325 women, as revealed in their diaries and letters.
Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600 - 2000: documents the multiplicity of women's reform activities by bringing together thousands of pages of books, images, and documents.

Newpapers and other published works can also be primary sources. Some examples of online resources of this type are listed below:

Accessible Archives: provides a searchable collection of American newspapers from the 18th & 19th Centuries
America's Historical Newspapers: This archive of American historical newspapers provides access to full text digitized versions of primary source material, Early American Newspapers, Series I, II, III, IV, and V. It includes titles from all 50 present states.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans: 1639-1800: has been hailed as the definitive resource for researching every aspect of 17th- and 18th-century America.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker: (1801-1819) provides full-text access to the 36,000 American books, pamphlets and broadsides published in the first nineteen years of the nineteenth century.

There are many good quality, freely available web resources such as the American Memory project of the Library of Congress and the Documenting the American South project of UNC.

History of Christianity Guide: American
Christianity

1. Research Guides & Bibliographies

3. Atlases & Geographical Resources

2. Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

4. Primary Sources

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