Toward a Greater Discourse: Issues in Religious Archives

The topic of religious archives, a catalyst of much discussion in archival literature, has traditionally been overlooked within the discourse of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). This essay provides a survey analysis of three pertinent issues in religious archives with the intention of generating a wider discussion on religious archives within ATLA. These issues include the role of graduate archival education, the effects of religious faith on both the archival record and the individual archivist, and the idea of a theology of archives. An extended review of the contributions of James O’Toole to the discussion of religious archives is utilized.