Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume set

The encyclopedia offers a large number of biographical articles. Also here are entries on cultural and social issues, countries, institutions, movements, and theology as well as the expected coverage of denominations and "isms." According to the editor, there is something of a historical bias in the selection of topics and the way they are treated. This allows readers to see how the development of the various denominations and movements is tied closely to the social and political events surrounding their inception. Articles such as Abortion, Capital punishment, and Homosexuality, which present a balanced view of controversial areas, also have a historical dimension. These topics and others such as Civil rights movement and Homeschooling are enhanced by history's eye on what we might consider more exclusively "modern" concerns.

The first volume has a list of all the alphabetical entries as well as a thematic list of entries that broadly groups the topics. The fourth volume has an index, which includes the article titles as well as subsidiary topics. A list of contributors with their affiliations and the articles they wrote precedes the index, and an extremely useful and informative appendix containing statistical tables (which supplement a very nice article on statistics within the body) completes this work.

Overall, this is a very handsome set, well conceived and substantial looking. Its high price may make it a difficult choice, but it should have a place in any academic or large public collection. There are other encyclopedias that cover the subject of religion, but until now there has been nothing in English that can be said to concern itself exclusively with Protestantism.

RBB
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"This reference work has little competition in terms of authority and range... Excellent cross references, historic and contemporary statistical appendixes, and an analytical index make this an efficient reference tool... An excellent resource to engage in exploration of humanities policy issues, and concerns beyond the specifically religious while also providing deep analyses of theological matters." -- Library Journal (starred review)
"A comprehensive four-volume reference set... Its coverage is rich and complex... The Encyclopedia of Protestantism has all the features that you would expect from a set of this caliber: useful bibliographies, a thematic index of related articles, a list of contributors and a good general index... With the Encyclopedia of Protestantism, Mr. Hillerbrand and his contributors have created an impressive work of distinct quality... Reference librarians in both academic and larger public libraries will see it as a requisite part of a serious religious collection." -- Against the Grain
"A very handsome set, well-conceived and substantial looking... It should have a place in any academic orlarge public library collection." -- Booklist/RBB
"This comprehensive and unique reference describes important individuals, events, institutions, and teachings..." -- Reference & Research Book News
"We have long needed such a resource, and now we have it, and in splendid, accessible, and comprehensive form. This will become an indispensable tool for us all." -- Peter J. Gomes, Harvard University
"Comprehensive... Clear and objective... Highlyrecommended. Academic and theological libraries." -- Choice
"reflects the best in modern scholarship... A solidreference tool that fills a gap in recent theological reference works... Valuable in its in-depth introduction to many topics related to theology and religion... Will be well-used in most academic library reference collections." -- Reference & User Services Quarterly
"A substantial and worthy complement covering one of Christianity's major branches... This set belongs in most college and university libraries, many larger public libraries, and all seminary and other substantial theological libraries." -- American Reference BooksAnnual
"Hans Hillerbrand... has rendered another signal service to the theological community, for in these four volumes lies a vast amount of material not readily available elsewhere... The articles are uniformly excellent... Every theological library should own this Encyclopedia, and everyone interested in Protestant theology should consult it... The work is appropriate for students and scholars alike." -- Theological Studies
"Routledge has provided a great service to students and scholars in publishing a variety of encyclopedias of this sort... This is a rich resource of very fine scholarship on Protestantism and most things related to it... Every university, seminary, divinity school, and theological library should have a copy of this fine work." -- Journalof Church and State