CFP: The Journal of the Oxford Graduate Theological Society

CALL FOR PAPERS

About the journal

The Journal of the Oxford Graduate Theological Society (JOGTS) is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes scholarly articles in the field of theology and religion (www.jogts.org).

Each issue divides contributions into two categories: i) those which respond to the special theme of that issue, invited in each edition's Call for Papers; ii) those which come under the general scope of the journal. As an affiliate of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, the scope of the journal is defined by the breadth of research undertaken by fellows and postgraduate students of the faculty. As such, articles address questions pertinent to the critical study of theology and religion from a variety of disciplines and methodologies, including (but not limited to): biblical criticism, modern systematic theology, philosophy of religion, patristics studies, ecclesiastical history, anthropology and sociology of religion.

The journal also publishes critical book reviews, media reviews, and featured articles.

Special Section: Religious life

According to the Pew Research Center, more than 80% of people in the world profess to living a religious life. For its inaugural issue, to be published in Summer 2020, The Journal of the Oxford Graduate Theological Society therefore invites papers exploring what it means to live a religious life from a variety of (inter)disciplinary perspectives.


The questions that may be asked in relation to the religious life include, but are not limited to:

• How has the concept and reception of religious life changed throughout history, and does it manifest differently across various religious traditions?
• What is the relation between worship attendance and living a religious life, between religious practice and religious belief?
• Is it possible to live a religious life in conformity to religious laws but in the absence of belief, and is correct belief possible in the absence of a religious life? In what sense is religion to be lived and not just believed? Can belief and practice be separated conceptually?
• What are contemporary challenges to or opportunities for living a religious life?
• What might it mean to live a sensitive and fulfilled religious life in the context of the present ecological crisis?
• Is religious life a means for redemption or redemption in itself?

Questions such as these can be tackled from a variety of (inter)disciplinary perspectives: e.g., the phenomenological analysis of the intentionality of religious life; the practical and liturgical structure of religious life; the relationship between theological thought and praxis, particularly with regard to theologies of liberation; the history, theology and philosophy of religious orders, within Christianity as well as Judaism, Islam and beyond; the sources and treatments of religious life in scripture and biblical literature; the evolutionary aspects of religion, and the meaning of categories such as ‘religion’ and ‘life’ in relation to human beings as well as animals, especially in the context of wider ecological considerations; and constructive proposals for what constitutes a religious life today.

Possible approach therefore include, but are not limited to:

• Systematic theology
• Church history
• Sociology of religion
• Psychology of religion
• Anthropology of religion
• Philosophy of religion
• Phenomenology of religion
• Intellectual history
• Comparative religion
• Patristic perspectives
• Medieval perspectives
• Modern and post-modern perspectives

General section

Papers of exceptional quality in the above mentioned disciplines that do not address the topic of the special section will also be considered.

Invited contribution

Emmanuel Falque, ‘For a Phenomenology of Religious Life’

Submission

The deadline for submissions is 15 May 2020. Publication is scheduled for Summer 2020.   
     
Submissions can be made through the online platform, accessible here: http://jogts.org/index.php/jogts/about/submissions

Authors are advised to consult the Author Guidelines, accessible here: http://jogts.org/index.php/jogts/about/submissions