Exploring Anthropology in the History of the Church

Dear Colleagues,

What is humankind? Indeed, what is a person? What is the constitution of humankind? Are they, for example, composed of three elements (i.e., soul, spirit and body), two elements (soul/spirit and body, often refered to as the “immaterial” and “material” aspects), or just one aspect (monism)? What does it mean to speak of human beings as having been created imago Dei (Gen 1:27)? Since the beginning of Christianity, thinkers have wrestled with these and other related questions. Before the emergence of modernity’s obsession with the material and the denigration of the immateral aspect of humankind, earlier thinkers engaged with these issues under the assumed belief that humanity is composed of both aspects. In the earliest times, one issue that was debated was about the nature, origin and fate of the soul. For example, in contrast to the Platonic view of the soul as immortal by nature, some Christian apologists such as Tatian (ca. 110–180) insisted that the soul is neither innately or naturally immortal. Rather, immortality is a gift from God (Tatian, ad Graecos, 13). Others like Origen held that although souls are pre-temporal, those who fell became embodied with the reuslt that human beings are comprised of these fallen souls and a material body. As time progressed, these questions multiplied and the implications of their answers were continually discussed. These and other related questions are the subect of this Special Issue of Religions: “Exploring Anthropology in the History of the Church.”

In light of this, we are pleased to invite you to submit a manuscript for the possible inclusion in this Special Issue. This Special Issue aims to address these questions by drawing from Church History with the goal of helping people in the current settings successfully navigate these issues. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Successful submissions (5000–7000 words) may draw from any era of the history of Christianity and may demonstrate ways in which people in the chosen era conceived the nature and composiiton of mankind. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

• How did the writers of the Apostolic period understand that constitution of humankind?
• How should one evaluate Origen’s resolution of the question of the constitution of humankind on Platonic terms?
• The impact of dualistic anthropology on medieval Christian life (asceticism, sexual relations, celibacy, etc.)
• How did Luther see the Fall of humanity as having affected the imago Dei?

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, Prof. Dr. Jeremiah Mutie (jeremiah.mutie@socalsem.edu), and CC the Assistant Editor, Katarina Antonic (katarina.antonic@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Deadline for abstract submission: 31 July 2026
Deadline for full manuscript submission: 31 December 2026.

Prof. Dr. Jeremiah Mutie
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.

• humanity
• humankind
• anthropology
• soul
• nature of humankind
• composition of humankind
• early church
• medieval church
• reformation
• modernity