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2005 ALA/RUSA Outstanding Reference Source

2005 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature is a landmark work in the burgeoning field of religion and nature. It covers a vast and interdisciplinary range of material, from ecology, theology, philosophy, and beyond. Entries cover major thinkers, religious traditions, and important events, with clarity and style. Widely praised by reviewers and the recipient of major awards, this is a must-have title for anyone interested in the manifold and fascinating links between religion and nature, in all their many senses.

The Encyclopedia critically explores the relationships among human beings, their environments, and the religious dimensions of life. This wide-ranging work, chronologically, geographically, and religiously, includes 1,000 entries from 520 international contributors. In addition to the standard, scholarly entry, this highly-accessible reference is creatively enriched through two unique, additional genres: scholarly perspectives articles wherein authors advance an argument or reflect on their own role in or views regarding the religion and nature field; and practitioner entries, which are written by well-known figures who have had an impact in the issues the encyclopedia engages.

"It will no doubt remain an essential reference source on the subject for many years to come." –Library Journal (starred review)

"This is a remarkable encyclopedia that explores our spiritual connections to nature in countless ways, and describes our ever more urgent efforts to create a more compassionate and environmentally sustainable world." –Jane Goodall, UN Messenger of Peace and DBE Founder – The Jane Goodall Institute

Over 1,100 entries

Ambitious, authoritative, and comprehensive, The Oxford Encyclopaedia of South Asian Christianity covers for the first time the 2000-year old story of Christianity in India and its neighbouring countries. Looking at Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives, alongside India, as well as Myanmar, Afghanistan, and the global South Asian diaspora, the Encyclopaedia celebrates the trans-cultural, migratory, and unique nature of South Asian Christianity. The rich heritage of the religion and its evolution over the last two millennia are clearly mapped: from people, institutions, concepts, churches, and denominations to events, historical developments, and contemporary themes. The diversity of India is reflected in the entries on regions, each of the states, and several important cities. The entry on each country opens a window to the history, particularly the Christian component, of that country from the beginning up to the present.

Alphabetically arranged, the cross-references and short bibliographies following most entries offer suggestions for further research. With a detailed Bibliography, this first-of-its-kind encyclopaedia will be a helpful reference for students and researchers of religion, history, and cultural studies, Christian laity, church leaders, and missionaries.

Over 400 entries

The Encyclopedia provides in-depth coverage of the political dimensions of Islam and the Muslim world. Developments in Muslim societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have highlighted the need for a major reference work focusing primarily on these dimensions. The realization of internal decay and relentless quest for reform; the collapse of the Islamic caliphate; the fall of most parts of the Muslim world under western colonialism; the emergence of nation-states; the dominance of secular ideologies; the rise of Islamic revivalist movements and faith-based political, economic, and social alternatives; and the confrontation between Islamic movements and secular inspired regimes have constituted major turning points in the contemporary history of Muslim societies. At no time has the understanding of the nature and implications of these developments been needed more.

Based on the highly acclaimed 2009 publication, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, this work brings together new and updated entries, organized thematically around the major themes of political science: concepts, values, thought, ideologies, structures, institutions, and systems. It covers in-depth topics that are unique to the Muslim world, including basic beliefs; Muslim political history; Islam in specific geographic regions; thinkers and reformers; movements, society and economy; and international relations, to create a single, specialized reference source on this important topic.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women provides clear, current, comprehensive information on the major topics of scholarly interest within the study of Islam and women. With more than 450 articles written by leading international experts and with a concentration on contemporary issues, it is a single source for accurate overview articles covering all aspects of this flourishing area of research. Organized around the central conceptual themes in research on Islam and women including Self and Body, Immigration and Minorities, Culture and Expression, Politics and Polity, and Community and Society, as well as Science, Medicine and Education among others, this work examines the scholarship on Islam and women that has expanded exponentially over the past twenty years, as well as cross-pollination between other fields and disciplines.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women is based on the highly acclaimed Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World edited by John L. Esposito, and is one of four encyclopedias in the Islamic World series.

Over 100 entries

This encyclopedia brings together leading scholars to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource on politics and religion ever produced. Editors in Chief Paul A. Djupe, Mark J. Rozell, and Ted G. Jelen—joined by an editorial board of associate editors (Gizem Arikan, Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom, Taylor Boas, Steven Kettell, Amy Erica Smith, and Güneş Murat Tezcür)—have assembled over 100 peer-reviewed entries. In this extensive resource, readers will find authoritative overviews of the key topics, theories, and findings in religion and politics.

Social scientists have closely observed religion at multiple levels of analysis, across a long time span, and in diverse outlets. As a result, it can be difficult for new researchers and interested observers to understand the state of the field. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion addresses that need, and is therefore essential reading for all who seek to understand some of the most important issues and questions facing the world, including the role of regulation of religion by states, how religion is linked to civil war, whether religion is compatible with democracy, how religion structures political behavior and public opinion, how religious parties behave, and much more.

Over 160 entries

As the first major encyclopedia of its kind, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies is the go-to source for scholars and students undertaking original research in the field. Extending the work of nineteenth and twentieth century feminist scholarship and more recent queer studies, the Encyclopedia seeks to advance the scholarly conversation by systematically exploring the ways in which gender is constructed in the diverse texts, cultures, and readers that constitute “the world of the Bible.” With contributions from leading scholars in gender and biblical studies as well as contemporary gender theorists, classicists, archaeologists, and ancient historians, this comprehensive reference work reflects the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the field and traces both historical and modern conceptions of gender and sexuality in the Bible.

The Encyclopedia contains entries ranging in length from 1,000 to 10,000 words. Each entry includes bibliographic references and suggestions for further reading, and a topical outline of entries aids in research. The Encyclopedia builds upon the pioneering work of biblically focused gender theorists to help guide and encourage further gendered discussions of the Bible.

Publishing in print in February 2009, this encyclopedia presents students, researchers, political analysts, journalists, and common readers with accurate, comprehensive, and balanced scholarship on all aspects of the world's fastest-growing religion and the areas it affects: society, politics, economics, everyday life, culture, and thought. A six-volume print work now conveniently offered digitally, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World is a major revision and massive expansion of the 1995 Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. In addition to covering Islamic societies in the modern world from the eighteenth century to the present, as Modern Islamic World did, it adds a depth of historical background going back to the pre- Islamic era. It also covers the full geographical extent of Islam by focusing not only on the countries in which Islam is dominant, but also on regions in which Muslims live as minorities, such as Europe and the Americas. As with the original Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, the articles take a broad, comparative, and multidisciplinary approach in dealing with issues that span across a multitude of countries and centuries. And, with nearly 300 images and 40 maps, the Encyclopedia is visually stunning.