This page contains examples of references formatted for religious and classical materials. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) offers some guidelines for referencing Biblical and Scriptural materials, but if significant scholarship in Theology is being conducted, CMOS recommends the use of The SBL Handbook of Style [14.238].
The relevant Chicago Manual of Style chapters are linked across some of the examples and notes below so that more information can be located easily in the online manual, where available.
Bible: [10.44, 14.239] In running text, books of the Bible are written in full:
... According to Genesis 1:27, God created man in his own image.
Abbreviations are appropriate within the text in parentheses, or where there are many references to list without parentheses:
... There are several instances where bread is used in a figurative context (Is 55:2; 1 Cor 10:17; 2 Cor 9:10)...
... Bread is used in a figurative context in Is 55:2; 1 Cor 10:17; 2 Cor 9:10...
Abbreviations are also used in footnotes:
5. Is 55:2; 1 Cor 10:17; 2 Cor 9:10.
Parenthetical or footnote references to the Bible should include book, chapter, and verse (never a page number).
Bibliography entries are not required.
See below for Biblical abbreviations and versions of the Bible.
Versions of the Bible: [14.240] Identify which version you are using in the first footnote. Use either the complete name or an accepted abbreviation, e.g.:
6. 2 Kgs 11:8 (New Revised Standard Version).
6.2 Kgs 11:8 (NRSV).
Bible commentary with unidentified authors
First footnote
4. [University of Navarre], The Psalms and the Song of Solomon, The Navarre Bible (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2003), 490.
Subsequent footnotes
12. The Psalms and the Song of Solomon, 493.
Bibliography
The Psalms and the Song of Solomon. The Navarre Bible. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2003.
Bible commentary with two authors
First footnote
7. John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina 2 (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 277.
Subsequent footnotes
13. Donahue and Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, 304.
Bibliography
Donahue, John R. and Daniel J. Harrington. The Gospel of Mark. Sacra Pagina 2. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.
Single volume Bible commentary with multiple authors (treat as chapter in an edited work)
First footnote
9. Raymond E. Brown and Thomas Aquinas Collins, “Church Pronouncements,” in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, eds. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1991), 1173.
Subsequent footnotes
16. Brown and Collins, “Church Pronouncements”, 1174.
Bibliography
Brown, Raymond E. and Thomas Aquinas Collins. “Church Pronouncements.” In The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, 1166-1174. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1991.
Other sacred works: [14.241] Sacred works of other religious traditions can be treated in a similar way to the Bible and should be cited in the running text and footnotes, but not in the bibliography.
...can be compared to the Qur'an verse (19:17-21) where it mentions that Mary gave birth to Jesus.
6. Qur'an 19:17-21.
First footnote
5. John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, encyclical letter, Vatican website, March 25, 1995, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html.
6. Francis, Laudato si’ (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2015), sec. 23.
Subsequent footnotes
9. John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, sec. 100.
10. Francis, Laudato si', sec. 34
Bibliography
Francis. Laudato si’. Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2015.
John Paul II. Evangelium vitae. Encyclical letter. Vatican website. March 25, 1995. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html.
Vatican II is an alternative and acceptable format for the author of these documents.
The complete Vatican II document page range can be included in the bibliography.
Abbreviations for frequently cited works: [14.59] A frequently mentioned work may be abbreviated in parentheses in text or in subsequent footnotes, with the full citation provided in the first footnote (see example below).
First footnote
3. Second Vatican Council, "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, 21 November, 1964," in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1975), sec. 14 (hereafter cited as LG).
Subsequent footnotes
4. LG, sec. 16.
Bibliography
Second Vatican Council. "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, 21 November, 1964." In Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, edited by Austin Flannery, 350-426. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1975.
Catechism - print
First footnote
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1997), 2184.
Subsequent footnotes
6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2184.
Bibliography
Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1997.
Catechism - online
First footnote
3. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1997), 2186, https://www.scborromeo2.org/catechism-of-the-catholic-church.
Subsequent footnotes
5. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2186.
Bibliography
Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1997. https://www.scborromeo2.org/catechism-of-the-catholic-church.
First footnote
2. The Code of Canon Law: in English Translation (London: Collins, 1983), 226.1.
Subsequent footnotes
5. The Code of Canon Law, 226.1.
Bibliography
The Code of Canon Law: in English Translation. London: Collins, 1983.
The Roman Missal
First footnote
12. "Prayer over the Offerings, Fourth Sunday of Lent," The Roman Missal, 3rd ed. (London: Catholic Truth Society, 2010), 269.
Subsequent footnotes
15. "Prayer over the Offerings, Fourth Sunday of Lent," 269.
Bibliography
The Roman Missal. 3rd ed. London: Catholic Truth Society, 2010.
General Instruction of the Roman Missal
First footnote
2. "General Instruction of the Roman Missal," in The Roman Missal, 3rd ed. (London: Catholic Truth Society, 2010), sec. 69 (hereafter cited as "GIRM").
Subsequent footnotes
6. "GIRM," sec. 69.
Bibliography
Not applicable as it is part of The Roman Missal.
The Rite of Penance
First footnote
2. The Rite of Penance (New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1975), sec. 47.
Subsequent footnotes
6. The Rite of Penance, sec. 47.
Bibliography
The Rite of Penance. New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1975.
| Parts (Latin) | Parts (English translation) | Parts numbered |
| Pars Prima | The First part | Ia (or I) |
| Prima Secundae | The First part of The Second part | Ia IIae (or I-II) |
| Secunda Secundae | The Second part of The Second part | IIa IIae (or II-II) |
| Pars Tertia | The Third part | IIIa (or III) |
| Supplementum | The Supplement | or IIIa Suppl. (or Suppl.) |
For example, Ia IIae, q. 66, a. 3 means, the first part of the second part, question 66, article 3. To cite more than one article at a time, use the abbreviation “arts” for articles, for example: Ia, q. 13, arts 5-6. Page numbers are not required when citing the Summa theologiae.
First footnote
2. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (New York: Benziger Brothers, 1911-1925), IIa-IIae, q. 145, arts 1-2.
Subsequent footnotes
5. Aquinas, Summa theologica, Ia, q. 28, a. 2.
Bibliography
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1911-1925.
First footnote
6. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. H. Rackman, Loeb Classical Library 73 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926), 59,
https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.aristotle-nicomachean_ethics.1926.
7. Aristotle, Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, ed. J. Barnes, vol. 2, Bollingen Series (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983), 2: 240.
Subsequent footnotes
19. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 61.
20. Aristotle, Complete Works, 2: 243.
Bibliography
Aristotle. Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. Edited by J. Barnes. 2 vols. Bollingen Series. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 73. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926. https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.aristotle-nicomachean_ethics.1926.
[14.162]
First footnote
3. Plato, The Republic, trans. Benjamin Jowett (1941; Project Gutenberg, 1998), bk. 4, https://archive.org/stream/therepublic00150gut/repub11.txt.
4. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. W. D. Ross (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925; Internet Classics Archive, n.d.), bk. 2, http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html.
Subsequent footnotes
6. Plato, Republic, bk. 6.
7. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, bk. 2.
Bibliography
Aristotle. Nichomachean Ethics. Translated by W. D. Ross. Oxford: Clarendon, 1926, Internet Classics Archive, n.d. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html.
Plato. The Republic. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. Reprint of the 1941 edition, Project Gutenberg, 1998. https://archive.org/stream/therepublic00150gut/repub11.txt.