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Primary Sources: Religion

A collection of items containing primary sources.

Intro

The following are primary documents in religious history.

Other collections of books with primary sources on religions

Also search the IRC Catalog for:

  • Islam Sources
  • Christianity Sources
  • Jainism Sources
  • and other religions

Links to boxes below:

 

Anthologies of Religions

Sacred Texts Anthologies

Buddhism

Christianity

Confucianism

Daoism/Taoism

Greek/Roman

Hinduism

The revealed texts constitute the Veda, divided into four sections: the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda.  The Vedas are hymns that are also accompanied in the total Veda by Brahmanas (ritual texts) Aranyakas (“forest” or “wilderness” texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts).  The Upanishads are also called the Vedanta and come at the end of the total Veda.  Though less studied than later texts, the Veda is the central scripture of Hinduism.

The remembered texts consist of post-Vedic texts.  Among the most important are two epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the Bhagavad Gita, a text inserted into the Mahabharata that focuses on the god Krishna; and the Dharamasastras; consisting of the manuals concerning dharma and aphorism on dharma. 

Incas

Islam

Jainism

Judaism

Shinto

Sikhism

Zoroastrianism