Reference materials such as a encyclopedias are great places to start your research. Encyclopedia articles will give an overview and background information on a topic, which you can use to give context are to spark ideas to narrow your topic. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources such as atlases and chronologies are great for looking up facts, historical information, and data.
For longer overviews of representative religions, see Books on Major World Religions.
Search Tip: look for specialized encyclopedias in the library catalog and reference databases by adding the word "encyclopedia" to a keyword search.