Second, it helps the user to appreciate the role and effect of religion in the historical experience of those people. They incorporate information which can be construed to be pertinent to religion from many fields, including history, politics, anthropology, archaeology, law, economics, education, literature, painting, music, architecture, philosophy, and theology. It contains sufficient information to give the seriously curious nonspecialist a substantial acquaintance with topics discussed and to point the specialist to additional sources by means of bibliographic comments as aids in teaching and research. Length of entries may vary from a vew lines to eight to ten pages. Names of authors and editors appear with entries of more than 500 words.
Some articles summarize existing scholarship respecting their subject.
Others are original scholarship in their own right. While still others represent primary sources. Some entries are short, for identification purposes only. Others, of medium length, are intended to cover a topic more thoroughly yet succinctly. Overview entries treat a large topic in a general way and refer readers to specialized entries on particular aspects.