The subject librarian at the University of Warwick Library and staff in the Modern Records Centre, have put together some helpful guidance on collections of primary sources you can access for the study of religious cultures. There is a mixture of online databases and physical manuscript copies.

They have advised that they are happy to support any student who wants to find out more about or use these collections.

Available through the Warwick Library Special Collections

Contact the subject library Andrew Calvert for more information: andrew.calvert@warwick.ac.uk 

• Special collections material dating from 1560 to the 20^th century on a variety of religious topics. See the search results here.Link opens in a new window
• A number of archive databases that contain material on the theme of religion or religion and culture. Some examples:

China : Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 (includes missionary reports)

Church Missionary Society Periodicals: Modules I and IILink opens in a new window

Cecil PapersLink opens in a new window

Empire OnlineLink opens in a new window

Perdita ManuscriptsLink opens in a new window

Mass Observation Online 1937-1972Link opens in a new window

Race Relations in AmericaLink opens in a new window 

• ArtStor will have many examples of religious art and iconography from across the world.
• The Library's Ethnicity and Migration Collection Link opens in a new windowcontains both material published by religious organisations on the theme of race relations, equality, immigration, community activism in the UK, and civil rights, liberation and anti-apartheid movements across the world, along with critiques of stances taken by such organisations. This collection covers the mid-1960s to the early 2000s.

Available through the Modern Records Centre

Contacts: Liz Wood and Melissa Prior: mrc_archive@warwick.ac.uk 

The majority of material held at the MRC looks at aspects of Christianity, relating in particular to activism / social engagement. There is also some material relating to Judaism, but relatively little relating to other major world religions. Collections include:

• The archives of the Young Women’s Christian Association
• Material relating to the Labour Church, including documents relating to Rev. John Trevor
• Material relating to Christian Socialism, including Rev Conrad Noel and the Thaxted Movement, in the archives of Reg Groves
• The archives of the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
• The Rev. Brooke Lambert collection of Victorian pamphlets
• Papers of Rev Silas Hocking, including (difficult to read) manuscript sermons
• Papers of Aaron Rapoport Rollin, trade unionist and Jewish activist

There are also a range of individual files and items within other collections. Digitised versions of the the holdings of the YWCA journals between 1884-1920 and the Labour Church journal The Labour Prophet, 1892-1897, might help to give a general idea of the tone and content of other material within related archive collections. This digitised Victorian satirical take on the policies of the Charity Organisation Committees / Society might also be relevant.