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Theology

Theology

Published in Association with Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
Other Titles in:
Religion

eISSN: 20442696 | ISSN: 0040571X | Current volume: 127 | Current issue: 2 Frequency: Bi-monthly

'Issue after issue, Theology engages with the topics and thinkers that really matter to thoughtful Christians today. It is not only high quality, unpretentious and theologically nourishing but also manages to make significant connections between church, academy and society.' David Ford, Regius Professor of Divinity and Director, Cambridge Inter-faith Programme, University of Cambridge

Theology is the ideal journal for all who want to broaden their knowledge of contemporary theological studies. It includes peer-reviewed contributions from leading scholars and first-time authors from across the Christian tradition.

Theology is published six times a year and will:

  • keep you abreast of the latest developments in all fields of enquiry impinging on contemporary Christian thought and practice, including biblical studies, historical theology, systematic theology, pastoral theology, history, philosophy and ethics
  • ensure you are up to date with the latest books published in the field
  • help you to think further about key issues in ministry and theological education

Given its quality and its breadth, Theology is the best journal available for students in ministerial formation, for theological educators and recent ordinands, as well as for laity and clergy keen to keep in touch with developments in Christian thought and practice.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

Theology is the ideal journal for all who want to broaden their knowledge of contemporary theological studies. It includes peer-reviewed contributions from leading scholars and first-time authors from across the Christian tradition.

Theology is published six times a year and will:

  • keep you abreast of the latest developments in all fields of enquiry impinging on contemporary Christian thought and practice, including biblical studies, historical theology, systematic theology, pastoral theology, history, philosophy and ethics
  • ensure you are up to date with the latest books published in the field
  • help you to think further about key issues in ministry and theological education

Given its quality and its breadth, Theology is the best journal available for students in ministerial formation, for theological educators and recent ordinands, as well as for laity and clergy keen to keep in touch with developments in Christian thought and practice.

Editor
Professor Robin Gill University of Kent, UK
Assistant Editor
Judith Forshaw SPCK, UK
Editorial Board Member
Lisa Cahill Boston College, USA
Grace Davie University of Exeter, UK
Elaine Graham Chester University, UK
Jolyon Mitchell Edinburgh University, UK
Stephen Platten Bishop of Wakefield, UK
William F. Storrar Center of Theological Inquiry Princeton, USA
Frances Ward Dean of St Edmundsbury, UK
Jane Williams St Mellitus College, London, UK
N.T. Wright St Andrews University, UK
  • Academic Index
  • Academic Search Elite
  • Academic Search Premier
  • Advanced Placement Source (EBSCO)
  • Anthropological Index Online
  • Anthropological Literature
  • British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography
  • CD-ROM - International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • CD-ROM International Bibliography of Periodical Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Clarivate Analytics: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • Dietrich's Index Philosophicus
  • EBSCO: Humanities International Complete
  • EBSCOhost: Academic Search Complete
  • Expanded Academic Index
  • Historical Abstracts
  • History On-Line
  • Humanities Index
  • IBZ: International Bibliography of Periodical Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Index theologicus
  • International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
  • Middle East Abstracts & Index
  • OCLC Article First
  • Old Testament Abstacts
  • Online - International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Online - International Bibliography of Periodical Literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Peeters Online Bibliographies
  • Periodical Abstracts
  • Periodicals Index Online (1906-1995)
  • ProQuest Information & Learning
  • Religion Index One: Periodicals
  • Religious and Theological Abstracts
  • Research Alert
  • Scopus
  • Social Services Abstracts
  • Sociofile
  • Sociological Abstracts
  • The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
  • The Philosopher's Index
  • Theology Digest
  • Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Zeller Dietrich Bibliographische Verlage
  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Theology

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Theology will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available — see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

    Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Theology may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines). Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy.

    If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
      2.3 Acknowledgements
      2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. Preparing your manuscript
      4.1 Formatting
      4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
      4.3 Supplementary material
      4.4 Reference style
      4.5 English language editing services
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. On acceptance and publication
      6.1 SAGE Production
      6.2 Online First publication
      6.3 Access to your published article
      6.4 Promoting your article
    7. Further information

     

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to Theology, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article Types

    Theology is the ideal journal for all who want to broaden their knowledge of contemporary theological studies. It includes peer-reviewed contributions from leading scholars and first-time authors from across the Christian tradition.

    Given its quality and its breadth, Theology is the best journal available for students in ministerial formation, for theological educators and recent ordinands, as well as for laity and clergy keen to keep in touch with developments in Christian thought and practice.

    Theology welcomes submissions in all areas of enquiry impinging on contemporary Christian thought and practice including biblical studies, historical theology, systematic theology, practical theology, history, philosophy and ethics.

    Articles should not exceed 3,500 words. Reviews should not exceed 500 words. Articles should be sent as an email attachment to r.gill@kent.ac.uk and reviews to theology@spck.org.uk. Authors are asked to provide a short Abstract and five to seven Keywords that reflect the key themes of their paper and can be used to facilitate internet searches of the journal. Authors should also include contact details and a one-line depiction of themselves.

    Inclusive and accessible language should be used throughout, unnecessary jargon should be avoided, and Greek or Hebrew should be transliterated. Notes and references should be kept to a minimum and positioned at the end of the text, followed by a short note identifying the authors. Authors are asked to provide a word-count (including notes, abstract and references).

    Books for Review: Theology also publishes an extensive book reviews section. Review copies should be sent to, Theology , SPCK, 36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4ST.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The SAGE Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. SAGE Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    SAGE does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. 
    Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

    •  The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors
    •  The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper
    •  The author has recommended the reviewer
    •  The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution). 

    2.2 Authorship

    All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

     

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    2.3.1 Third party submissions

    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
    • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
    • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, SAGE reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests

    Theology encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    SAGE is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the SAGE Author Gateway.

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    Theology and SAGE take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a SAGE journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the SAGE Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor Professor Robin Gill at r.gill@kent.ac.uk.

    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

    Before publication, SAGE requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. SAGE’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants SAGE the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than SAGE. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the SAGE Author Gateway.

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    Theology offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit SAGE’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online but only in black and white in the printed version.

    4.3 Supplementary material

    Theology Today does not accept supplemental files.

    4.4 Reference style

    Theology normally adheres to the SAGE Harvard reference style. View the SAGE Harvard guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the SAGE Harvard EndNote output file.

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using SAGE Language Services. Visit SAGE Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    Manuscripts and illustrations should be submitted to the editor by e-mail attachment to: 
    Professor Robin Gill at r.gill@kent.ac.uk

    Books for Review should be sent to Theology, SPCK, 36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4ST.

    5.1 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.2 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the SAGE Author Gateway.

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 SAGE Production

    Your SAGE Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. 

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the SAGE Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    SAGE provides authors with online access to their final article.

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The SAGE Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Theology editorial office as follows:

    theology@spck.org.uk

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