Editor Interview: Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory

Critical religious theory

CrossCurrents
Journal for the Study of Religion
Journal of the Council for Research on Religion
Religion and Development
Journal of Religion and Society
Critical Research on Religion
Method and Theory for the study of religion
Perspectives in Religious Studies
Political Theology Journal

Martha Nussbaum, Zizek, David Chalmers, Noam Chomsky, Charles Taylor, Mark Taylor, Cornel West, Namsoon Kang, Teresa Smallwood, Emilie Townes,

JCRT stands apart by publishing interdisciplinary work at the intersection of religion, culture, critical theory, politics, philosophy, theology, and public life. Rather than treating religion as an isolated field, JCRT foregrounds how religious ideas, practices, symbols, and institutions shape and are shaped by contemporary cultural and political formations. The journal is especially committed to rigorous theoretical engagement, critical inquiry, and scholarship that crosses disciplinary boundaries. This makes JCRT a distinctive venue for work that may not fit comfortably within conventional religious studies, theology, philosophy, or cultural studies journals, but that contributes meaningfully to each of those conversations.

Prospective contributors should send work that is clearly situated within JCRT’s interdisciplinary mission and that makes a strong critical or theoretical contribution. The best submissions do more than address religion, culture, or theory as separate topics; they show how these fields illuminate one another. Authors should make the article’s argument, stakes, and scholarly intervention clear from the beginning, engage relevant conversations carefully, and write for an audience that may include scholars from multiple disciplines. We especially encourage submissions that are intellectually ambitious, theoretically rigorous, and attentive to contemporary questions in religion, politics, culture, philosophy, theology, and public life.

The ideal submission to JCRT is a rigorously argued, peer-reviewed article that clearly fits the journal’s mission and makes a distinct intervention in cultural theory, religious theory, or both. Strong submissions are interdisciplinary, theoretically ambitious, and methodologically precise. They should engage religion and culture as complex fields of inquiry rather than as isolated topics, and they should contribute meaningfully to conversations in areas such as philosophy, theology, religious studies, critical theory, postcolonial and globalization theory, literary theory, cultural studies, media studies, gender studies, ethnic and area studies, semiotics, linguistics, or related fields. The strongest articles do not simply apply theory to a topic; they advance a clear theoretical, methodological, or philosophical argument that helps reshape how scholars understand religion, culture, power, meaning, or public life.

Submitters most often go wrong when the relationship between theory, method, and example is unclear. Because JCRT values ambitious theoretical work, some submissions remain too abstract and do not give readers a concrete case study, archive, text, event, practice, or cultural object through which the argument can be tested and developed. Others offer a compelling topic but do not make clear what method is being used, what theoretical conversation is being advanced, or what the article contributes beyond description. The strongest submissions clearly identify their theoretical framework, explain their method, and use a focused example or case study to show why the argument matters for cultural theory, religious theory, or both.

We do want a concise sense of who is submitting, but the focus should remain on the quality, fit, and contribution of the work itself. A strong submission should include a brief cover letter, a 1–2 page CV, and an abstract. The cover letter should identify the article’s title, explain how it fits JCRT’s interdisciplinary focus, and briefly state the article’s theoretical, methodological, or philosophical intervention. Prior publication credits can be useful context, but they are not the deciding factor. We are more interested in whether the submission makes a clear and rigorous contribution to cultural theory, religious theory, or related fields. The CV should be selective rather than exhaustive, and the abstract should clearly state the argument, method, case study or object of analysis, and scholarly stakes.

Question 9 of 15: (Do not include any HTML or other formatting in your answer.)
If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
Do you read every piece to the end, or can you generally tell if the piece isn't right for you within the first few paragraphs or pages?

After an initial editorial review for fit, clarity, and scholarly contribution, submissions that move forward are sent through anonymous double-blind peer review. Reviewers evaluate the article’s argument, theoretical and methodological rigor, engagement with relevant scholarship, use of evidence or case material, originality, and contribution to cultural theory, religious theory, or related fields. Acceptance depends not only on editorial interest but also on the outcome of peer review and the author’s ability to respond carefully to any requested revisions.

A day in the life of an editor is a balance of careful reading, correspondence, judgment, and coordination. Behind the scenes, we begin by looking at the submission materials as a whole: the abstract, keywords, cover letter, CV, and manuscript. The abstract and keywords help us understand how the author frames the piece, while the manuscript shows whether the argument, method, and theoretical intervention are actually sustained. We read for fit with JCRT’s mission, but also for clarity, originality, scholarly rigor, and whether the submission has a concrete object of analysis, case study, archive, text, practice, or cultural problem that grounds the theoretical work. We also pay close attention to footnotes and citations, since they reveal the article’s scholarly conversation and the care with which the author engages it. This reading process is supported by regular correspondence with authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team, as well as weekly editorial board meetings where we discuss submissions, review progress, special issues, peer review status, and the broader direction of the journal. Much of the work is deliberative: deciding whether a piece is ready for peer review, needs clearer framing, or is not the right fit for the journal. Editing is therefore not only about accepting or rejecting work; it is about stewarding a serious intellectual conversation.

Accepted authors should expect to take primary responsibility for revising and preparing their work for publication. Once a piece has gone through peer review, the author is expected to address the reviewers’ comments carefully, make any required substantive revisions, conform the manuscript to JCRT’s style guide, and use the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. The editorial process may include additional guidance, clarification requests, and basic review for consistency, but JCRT does not treat acceptance as a full substantive rewrite or extensive line-editing process carried out by the editors. Authors should submit polished, publication-ready revisions that meet scholarly and stylistic expectations. Final edits are generally reviewed with the author as part of the publication process, especially where changes affect meaning, argument, or citation.

Occasionally. When we receive announcements from national or international awards programs seeking nominations, we review recently published work and consider whether particular articles are a strong fit. While award nomination is not guaranteed for every published piece, we are glad to recognize and support excellent scholarship when appropriate opportunities arise.

JCRT is an all-volunteer project supported by the labor, care, and scholarly commitment of its editors, reviewers, and contributors. We are sustained by small, generous donations from individuals who believe in public, diamond open-access academic writing and scholarship. Those donations help us cover basic operating costs, especially web hosting, so that we can continue making rigorous scholarship freely available to readers and authors without subscription fees or article processing charges.

We promote JCRT and our published authors through our website and social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Mastodon. When new work is published, we share it with our readers and networks to help extend the conversation beyond the journal itself. Our goal is to make published scholarship visible, accessible, and easy to circulate among scholars, students, and wider publics interested in religion, culture, critical theory, philosophy, theology, and public life.