religion, religious celebrations, rites and rituals

Religion, Religious Celebrations, Rites and Rituals

If you would like to know what religions are represented by these symbols
go to the Religions & Scripture Web Site.

Choosing a Topic & Getting Started

Usually it helps to start out general and work toward the specifics. Of course, many times you may have a specific article or story that originally struck your interest and lead you to your topic: your baby being baptized, you saw a news story about ritual scarring, or you want to know more about Mehndi . . . Still, try to start with the basics and create a research strategy for yourself before you go off collecting bits of information from everywhere. This will keep you from wasting time collecting materials that you really may not need.

Search Terms

The key to finding information using the LINCC catalog, print indexes, any of the online databases, or WWW search engines is choosing the right search terms. It may be easy to find information on one topic and quite a challenge with others. If you have a general topic like baptism you can start by taking your topic to the Encyclopedia Britannica Index or the LINCC catalog and see what other subject headings you see associated with your topic

So... What are you looking for?
Can you find other search terms or topics in LINCC or Britannica (or elsewhere) that might help you?
Can you think of a broader term if you are not finding anything?
Can you narrow your search if you are getting too much information?

Reference Resources

PCC has many reference sources that should get you started.

Some of PCC's reference titles are listed below.
These are results from the LINCC catalog using "S=religion" .
You can try other search terms for more specific resources
For example "S=weddings - cross-cultural studies" or "S=marriage customs and rites"

You can find the shelf location of these resources by using the LINCC electronic catalog in the library through the Internet.
There are titles on both the Lakeland and Winter Haven Campus.

Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: an introduction
Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion / June Melby Benowitz
Encyclopedia of Religious Controversies in the United States
The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects and New Religions
The Encyclopedia of American Religious History
Encyclopedia of African American Religions
Encyclopedia of Religion

* Look in the index of these resources for your particular topic

Electronic Resources:
Reference, Magazine, Journal and Newspaper article resources

This is just a sample of the many electronic resources available to you.
Many of these resources are available to you anywhere-anytime via the Internet.
Some can only be accessed while you are in the PCC Library - ask the librarian for details.
You can see all the electronic resources available in the PCC libraries by visiting the library's home page.

Britannica Online (going back to basics)
You will probably be able to find general information on your topic by using Britannica Online.
Britannica Online will also link you to selected articles and reviewed websites.
PCC Students can access Britannica Online through the remote access databases link on the library home page.

World Cultures CD-ROM
Full text articles on social, political, economic, historical and religious information on 1500 cultural groups

JSTOR - available within the PCC Library
Full text access to scholarly journals by title, subject area and keyword searches

* If you want to find articles for magazine, journal or newspaper articles from "days-gone-by"
Try the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature or the New York Times Index -
You'll find these in the reference section of the library and the Librarian will be happy to show you how to use them if you are confused.

Internet Resources
Remember, don't believe everything you read: evaluate your sources!
There are lots of sites that will help you evaluate sources and show you... How to Find Quality Web Sites?

BBC Guide to World Religions

The Catholic Encyclopedia Online

LII (Librarian's Index to the Internet)
Religion & Philosophy Topics
Atheism to Zen Buddhists - Look for Amish, Fundamentalism, Mennonites, Seventh-day Adventists, Society of Friends... under "Christianity"

Religions & Scriptures
Some great links are provided here - Jainism site is very meaty, but... the Zoroastrianism site is "for sale"
Also links to the respective scriptures for that religion

Religious Tolerance.org
You can find descriptions of all kinds of religions at this site

Yahoo Religion & Spirituality Links

There are lots of www tricks that can help you find information on the web - like adding ".com" or ".org" to your topic.
For example http://www.quaker.org is a very nice site produced by and about "The Religious Society of Friends" ; however, http://www.amish.org will take you to the "Shipshewana Campground and Amish Log Cabin Lodging" web site.

If you search for Druidism or Wiccans or any mystical like stuff you may find that you get a lot of game sites or sites about animation or, believe it or not, sites by nutty folks who actually may make stuff up for the fun of it. If you are drowning in these kind of sites try doing an advanced search and adding in NOT GAMES or NOT COMICS and look at the resulting URL's to see where they reside - are they education, government, non-profit organizations, personal homepages...

...and remember, if you want assistance - JUST ASK

CC Fullerton
10/2000