Communication in Abrahamic Religions

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute an article to a Special Issue of Religions addressing Communication in Abrahamic Religions. Religious traditions are primary social contexts and drivers for communication and social engagement across humanity’s full moral range, ranging from care to violence. The Abrahamic traditions have been especially inspirational and influential. Counted together, adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam comprise more than half of the global population. Each faith is both ancient and alive, situating secular modernists as newcomers who necessarily engage religious principles even in personal attempts to profess “no religion.” At the social level, efforts to maintain and change degrees of separation between Church and State affirm the scale and power of religious rhetoric. Worldwide, religious movements continuously organize human relations. According to Pew, “projections anticipate that the vast majority of the world’s people will continue to identify with a religion, including about six-in-ten who will be either Christian (31%) or Muslim (30%) in 2050. Just 13% are projected to have no religion”. Thus, ancient religious traditions that link themselves to the family of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar remain enormously influential and will continue to build meaning and value in the 21^st century. Studying the communication patterns within and between Abrahamic movements can explain how some of humanity’s most powerful spiritual values work to advance cultural flow. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are simultaneously similar and different. The “Peoples of the Book” all bring monotheism in related yet divergent modes. By studying their testimony together, we hope to enable understanding and move toward peace.

This Special Issue honors the memory of Maribel Landrau, M.A.T., our beloved colleague who made significant contributions to launching the Communication in Abrahamic Religions project.

This Special Issue will explore Abrahamic communication dynamics. Research in this area might ask questions such as “How do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam figure and structure God<––>Human and Human<––>Human relations?”, “How and where do contact, speech, and media fit in?”, “What communicative modes and relational cycles are central, and which are discouraged?”, or “What principles and systems govern meaning?” Related questions are welcome. Our scope highlights the intersection between Religion and the Humanities, including the fields of Communication, Rhetoric, Inter-Religious Studies, Inter-Faith Dialogue, the Philosophy of Religion, the Sociology of Religion, Religious Ethics, Theology, Scriptural Studies, Hermeneutics, and Religious Peace Studies. Scholars working within specific traditions such as Hebrew Studies, Catholic Studies, and Islamic Studies are all welcome to contribute. Limiting our scope to Abraham’s influence is intended to provide focus, not to exclude or dismiss the rest of the world’s spiritual traditions. Authors interested in studying religious communication patterns from additional global traditions are encouraged to contact the editors to discuss potential future work.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas that we are especially interested in may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Communication patterns in scripture, e.g. Torah, Gospels, and Quran. Both comparative and internal approaches are welcome.
• Abrahamic conceptions of communication, contact, speech, symbolism, and media.
• Communication dynamics advanced by leaders, e.g. Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Moses, Paul, Mohammed, etc.
• Divine communication principles, systems, and patterns, e.g. Yahweh, Jesus, and Allah.
• Communication cycles and patterns in Abrahamic communities. The role of communication in inter-religious and inter-faith dialogue.
• How communication functions in inter-faith peace and conflict cycles.
• Comparison of applied communication practices within and between Abrahamic traditions.
• The role of communication in the flow of ideas/concepts between and among Abrahamic traditions.
• Religious togetherness or unity as achieved through communicative actions.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new research and inform scholars seeking to understand how Abrahamic communication patterns generate meaning and perform value. Contemporary geopolitics often highlights division between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and secular media often dismiss or under-interpret the spiritual dimensions of inter-religious relations. Studying shared ancestral patterns can build up bonds and foster peace. In addition, identifying, respecting, and appreciating communicative differences can honor cultural specificity and creative freedom.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to an Assistant Editor Sandee Pan (sandee.pan@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jon Radwan
Dr. Ruth Tsuria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Abrahamic religion
• inter-religious communication
• spiritual meaning
• communicative action
• interfaith unity
• textual comparisons