Peer Review Process

Journal of Religious Studies is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research in the fields of theology, philosophy of religion, spirituality, interfaith dialogue, cultural-religious studies, and the broader academic discourse on religion and human values. The peer review process is essential to evaluate the relevance, originality, and contribution of each manuscript to the field of Religious Studies.

To ensure impartiality and quality, the journal uses a double-blind peer review system, meaning that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process. The review procedure involves the following nine steps:

1. Paper Submission: The corresponding author submits the manuscript through our online submission system (OJS). For convenience, temporary email submission is also accepted.
2. Editorial Office Assessment: The editor evaluates whether the paper aligns with the journal’s focus and scope, checks adherence to author guidelines, and conducts plagiarism screening using Turnitin.
3. Editor-in-Chief Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief ensures the paper’s originality, significance, and relevance to Religious Studies. Manuscripts that fail to meet these criteria may be rejected at this stage.
4. Invitation to Reviewers: The handling editor invites experts in theology, philosophy, spirituality, or religious studies to review the paper, ensuring no conflicts of interest.
5. Response to Invitation: Invited reviewers confirm their availability and appropriateness for the topic. If declining, they may suggest alternative qualified reviewers.
6. Review Conducted: Reviewers thoroughly assess the manuscript, providing detailed, constructive comments and recommending acceptance, revision, or rejection.
7. Journal Evaluates Reviews: The editor and Editor-in-Chief consider all reviews. In cases of conflicting opinions, additional reviewers may be consulted to ensure balance and fairness.
8. Decision Communicated: The editor sends the decision and anonymized reviewer feedback to the author. Authors are expected to revise the manuscript accordingly.
9. Final Steps: Revised manuscripts undergo further review if needed. Once revisions are satisfactory, the article proceeds to editing and is scheduled for publication. Accepted articles are published online and freely available as open-access PDFs.

This rigorous peer review process safeguards the integrity, quality, and academic contribution of the research published in the Journal of Religious Studies, ensuring that every article enriches the global discourse on religion, spirituality, and human values.

Journal of Religious Studies operates under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .