The ATLA Religion Database is the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion, with coverage from 1949 and retrospective indexing for some journal issues as far back as the nineteenth century. Subject areas covered are:
Search the ATLA database using keywords or known authors as you would in any other database. For more precise searching use the subject headings index. The Scriptures Tool allows you to do a precise search for citations about specific scripture citations.
Using Subject Headings
It is a good idea to search using specific subject headings if you want to be sure to retrieve all the relevant citations on a topic. To search using subject headings:
1. Click on the Indexes menu option at the top:
2. In the "Browse an Index" drop-down list, select "Subjects All."
3. Type in a search term and click the BROWSE button.
4. A list of terms will appear. Some subject headings will have sub-headings, so be sure to scan the entire list for subject headings that are of interest. Put a checkmark in the box(es) next to each subject heading you are interested in:
Note that the "Records Count" refers to the number of citations in the ATLA database that use that subject heading.
5. When you are finished checking all the appropriate subject headings, click the ADD button. Your search terms (subject headings) will appear in the search box at the top. Click SEARCH to execute the search.
TIP: The "Subjects All" index is good for finding citations to sacred texts of world religions. For example, to find citations in the ATLA database about aspects of the Bible, you would search for "bible" in the index. The results will show the main heading plus lots of entries for the main heading with sub-headings:
bible
bible --agriculture
bible --amerindian interpretations
bible --antiquities
bible --antiquities --bibliography
bible --aramaic passages
bible --assyro-babylonian influence
bible --authority
To find terms in the "Subjects All" index about specific parts of a sacred text, type in the term followed by a period, then followed by the name of the part. For example the search for "bible. matthew" yields this listing:
bible. matthew
bible. matthew --authorship
bible. matthew --bibliography
bible. matthew --commentaries
bible. matthew --criticism, feminist
bible. matthew --criticism, form
Using the Scriptures Tool
The Scriptures Tool is a quick way to find citations dealing with text from the Christian Bible. This tool is based on the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
1. Click on the Scriptures menu option at the top:
2. The books of the Bible are listed in canonical order. To view sub-parts of a book click on the [Expand] link until you find the precise text section you are interested in. You can stop at the book or chapter level or go all the way to a specific verse:
3. When you find the book, chapter, and/or verse you are interested in, click the link to execute a search for citations that discuss the Bible text. Your results set will include references to any articles that have a subject heading for the interested Biblical passage that includes the desired text. In this example, having searched for 1st Corinthians, verse 1, this result is included even though the item includes more than that one verse:
For more help: Some video tutorials on using the ATLA database are availble on the ATLA web site here.