Armacost Library: RELIGIOUS STUDIES: Primary Sources

A primary source is a document or record containing firsthand information or original data on a topic. Primary sources are created contemporaneously with the topic they describe. Examples of primary sources include:

Original manuscripts
Diaries
Memoirs
Letters
Journals
Photographs
Drawings
Interviews
Government documents
Public records
Eyewitness accounts
Artifacts

Summary of characteristics:

Original, first-hand account of an event or time period
Usually written or made during or close to the event or time period
Original, creative writing or works of art
Factual, not interpretive

A secondary source is a work that is one step removed from the original source. Secondary sources are created after the fact, and describe, summarize, analyze, or evaluate primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include:

Books and scholarly articles
Reviews
Critical analyses
Biographical studies
Historical studies

Summary of characteristics:

Analyzes and interprets primary sources
Second-hand account of an historical event
Interprets creative work

If you are unsure of what would be considered a primary source for your particular project, ask your professor for examples. The following is an incomplete list of things that might be considered primary sources by different academic disciplines.

Anthropology
artifact, field notes, fossil, photograph

Art
architectural model or drawing, building or structure, letter, motion picture, organizational records, painting, personal account, photograph, print, sculpture, sketch book

Biology
field notes, plant specimen, research report

Economics
company statistics, consumer survey, data series

Engineering
building or structure, map, geological survey, patent, schematic drawing, technical report

Government
government report, interview, letter, news report, personal account, press release, public opinion survey, speech, treaty or international agreement

History
artifact, diary, government report, interview, letter, map, news report, oral history, organizational records, photograph, speech, work of art

Law
code, statute, court opinion, legislative report

Literature
contemporary review, interview, letter, manuscript, personal account, published work

Music
contemporary review, letter, personal account, score, sound recording

Psychology
case study, clinical case report, experimental replication, follow-up study, longitudinal study, treatment outcome study

Religious Studies
sacred texts, religious writings (sermons, hymns, prayers), historical documents and relics, oral traditions (stories, songs, rituals), artifacts and religious sites

Sociology
cultural artifact, interview, oral history, organizational records, statistical data, survey

Source: "Primary Sources: What are they?" Lafayette College Library.

Religious Studies Primary Sources

Africa Online Digital Library
"AODL provides free universal access to cultural heritage materials from and about African countries and communities. It brings together tens of thousands of digitized photographs, videos, archival documents, maps, interviews and oral histories in numerous African languages, many of which are contained in curated thematic galleries and teaching resources." Including numerous resources on religious experience and practice
Ancient World Digital Library
The Ancient World Digital Library (AWDL) is an initiative of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) at New York University. AWDL will identify, collect, curate, and provide access to a broad range of scholarly materials relevant to the study of the ancient world.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,400 archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The mission of the CCEL is to build up the church by making classic Christian writings available and promoting their use.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Digital collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
HathiTrust
Digital library of books and journals containing full text access to over one million copyright free items and many government publications.
The Jewish Museum
The Louvre
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Monastic Matrix
A scholarly resource for the study of women's religious communities from 400 to 1600 ce.
National Museum of the American Indian
The North American Patristics Society Internet Resources
A portal to primary and secondary Internet resources related to Early Christianity.
Parker Library on the Web
Parker Library on the Web is a multi-year undertaking of Corpus Christi College, the Stanford University Libraries and Cambridge University Library, to produce a high-resolution digital copy of every imageable page of most manuscripts in the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Subjects represented in the Parker collection are theology, music, medieval travelogues and maps, apocalypses, bestiaries, royal ceremonies, historical chronicles and Bibles.
Perseus Digital Library
Primary and secondary sources for the study of ancient Greece and Rome.
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
Encompassing over 200 objects including early American books, manuscripts, letters, prints, paintings, artifacts, and music from the Library's collections and complemented by loans from other institutions, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic explores the role religion played in the founding of the American colonies, in the shaping of early American life and politics, and in forming the American Republic.
Theological Commons
A digital library of over 80,000 resources on theology and religion. It consists mainly of public domain books but also includes periodicals, audio recordings, and other formats.