The Review of Religious Research (RRR) journal publishes empirical social-science research and provides a forum for research across multiple disciplines and approaches. The topics, religious groups, disciplinary approaches, methods, and types of analysis are detailed further in the Aims & Scope. The RRR welcomes manuscripts of the following types.
Original Research Articles
Original research articles present scholarly and methodologically rigorous empirical analysis. Sections: Introduction, Literature Review (typically labeled by topical headings), Data and Methods, Results, Discussion (including limitations, implications, conclusions). Before submitting a manuscript, authors should read the journal’s Aims & Scope for more information. Maximum 10,000 words, 40 double-spaced manuscript pages, including references.
Research Notes
Research notes are similar to original research articles in presenting scholarly and methodologically rigorous empirical analysis. Notes are briefer than articles and typically provide less theoretical framing and literature reviewing than articles. The focus is on the study design and results. Sections: Introduction, Data and Methods, Results, Discussion (including limitations). Maximum 7,500 words, 30 double-spaced pages, including references.
Review Articles
Review articles provide a comprehensive summary of relevant existing studies, including a synthesis of their relevant theory, methods, and findings on topic(s) of interest to the journal (see Aims & Scope). Sections: Introduction, Background, Data and Methods (describe sources, inclusion and exclusion criteria), Results, Discussion (limitations, implications, conclusions). Maximum 10,000 words, 40 double-spaced pages, including references.
Applied Research Abstracts
Applied research abstracts briefly present the results of an applied study. Sections: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Implications. Applied abstracts are 350-550 words and should include a footnote explaining to readers how to access the report, data, or additional information on the study.
Contexts of Religious Research
Contexts include award announcements, memoriams, commentaries about the process of conducting research (e.g., applications of research methods to topics relevant to the journal), profiles of denominational research organizations, or invited addresses from the Religious Research Association. It is rare that a manuscript of this type would be unsolicited; authors should consult the editor before submitting this type of manuscript. Max 1,000 words.
Book Reviews
Book reviews provide a summary of a scholarly book that identifies the purpose and central themes, highlights important claims or contributions, and offers critical evaluation of the theories, methods, approach, or limitations (about 800 words). If you would like to review a book for the journal, contact the Book Review Editor, David Eagle, PhD david.eagle@duke.edu.
The Review of Religious Research is willing to consider special issue ideas on a case-by-case basis. To inquire about interest in a special issue, email the Editor-In-Chief at relig@iu.edu
Editorial Process
Review of Religious Research is a refereed journal with an anonymized peer review policy. Review of Religious Research adheres to a double-blind, anonymized peer review process in which the authors are de-identified from the manuscript, and the reviewers names are in turn anonymized. The Editor-In-Chief will review manuscripts to assess whether they are relevant to the Aims & Scope of the journal. Authors are advised to carefully review the Aims & Scope prior to submitting and to directly address goodness-of-fit within manuscript cover letters. If a manuscript is relevant to the journal, it will be sent to qualified reviewers who are experts in their fields. Thoughtful keyword selection during the submission process will aid manuscripts in being reviewed by scholars that are most aligned with the topic, approach, and country of data collection in the study. Authors are advised to review the Editorial Board members to gain a sense of the types of expertise most readily available within the journal reviewers.
Manuscript Submission and Processing Fee
Manuscripts should be submitted via the Sage ScholarOne system. After logging in to ScholarOne and selecting “New Manuscript Submission,” authors will need to select the type of article, identify relevant keywords from the Aims & Scope, and follow the rest of the directions embedded in the submission system.
Authors who are not members of the Religious Research Association (RRA) are required to pay a $35 manuscript processing fee before their manuscript undergoes peer-review. The submission fee includes a year of free membership to the RRA.
Authors must submit a cover letter with their submission that includes the following information:
- A statement confirming that all the authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agreed to submit it to Review of Religious Research. (Do not submit your manuscript unless this is true.)
- A statement confirming that the manuscript has not been published previously and that it is not currently being reviewed for publication by another journal. (Do not submit your manuscript unless this is true.)
- A statement explaining how the manuscript fits into one or more of the topical areas listed in the journal’s Aims & Scope. This statement should also briefly identify at least one of the empirical research methods and analysis listed in the Aims & Scope, or specify an additional empirical method or analysis that is not listed.
- The full name, institution, and email address of at least one author of the manuscript who is currently a member of the Religious Research Association, OR; A statement acknowledging the authors agree to pay the $35 fee for the manuscript to be peer-reviewed (if it is initially assessed to be potentially suitable for publication), if no author of the manuscript is a member of the Religious Research Association. See the Fee section below for more details. The waiver of the $35 fee only applies to manuscripts that are authored or co-authored by a member of the Religious Research Association. The fee will not be waived for any other reason.
Sample Letter 1
Dear Editor:
All the authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agreed to submit it to Review of Religious Research. The manuscript has not been published previously, and it is not currently being reviewed for publication by another journal.
The authors think the manuscript fits within the topical areas of Religious Leaders and Religion & Civics because it investigates the ways that people in faith-based organizations draw upon religious language in volunteer recruitment efforts. This is an empirical research study that utilized surveys to collect data for the quantitative analysis and in-depth interviews to inform the qualitative analysis.
[Name of Corresponding Author] of the [Affiliated University or Organization] (email@university.edu) is the corresponding author of the manuscript and a current member of the Religious Research Association.Sincerely,
[Name of Corresponding Author]Sample Letter 2
Dear Editor:
All the authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agreed to submit it to Review of Religious Research. The manuscript has not been published previously, and it is not currently being reviewed for publication by another journal.
The authors think the manuscript fits within the topic area of Religious Beliefs because it reviews how scholars attend to Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religious texts in published research. Although the manuscript does not appear to fit into any of the methods listed in the Aims & Scope, the authors think the manuscript is consistent with the Aims & Scope because the study employs bibliometric techniques to inform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing publications.
As none of the authors currently belong to the Religious Research Association, [Name of Corresponding Author] agrees to pay the $35 fee for the manuscript to be peer-reviewed if it is initially assessed to be potentially suitable for publication via the Religious Research Association website (payment will be confirmed with the RRA before proceeding with peer review).
Sincerely,
[Name of Corresponding Author]