Scholarly Sources
Academic references and primary sources informing this taxonomy
Ninian Smart
Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the World's Beliefs
University of California Press, 1996
Seven-dimensional model for analyzing religious traditions (experiential, mythic, doctrinal, ethical, ritual, social, material).
Jonathan Z. Smith
Relating Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion
University of Chicago Press, 2004
Taxonomic comparative method — systematic categorization rather than impressionistic comparison.
Mircea Eliade
The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion
Harcourt, 1959
Cosmogonic analysis framework — origin myths as the foundation for understanding a tradition's worldview.
Maoz & Henderson
World Religion Dataset
Correlates of War Project, 2013
Quantitative data on religious demographics and geographic distribution.
E.B. Idowu
Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief
Longmans, 1962
Primary source for Yoruba cosmology and theological structure.
Clifford Geertz
The Religion of Java
University of Chicago Press, 1960
Foundational ethnography of Javanese syncretic religious practices (Kejawen).