Religious Ethics and Theology in Contemporary Human Life

Dear Colleagues,

Our contemporary world is faced with social agitations. Wars that fall under different categories are being fought around the world; the rise of xenophobia is being felt in many countries; and global systems intended to safeguard the peace are being ignored by the very nations that promoted their creation. The economic gap between the rich and the poor are no longer the reality unique to less affluent nations—even wealthier countries are experiencing this divide. Yet, the cry for hope can be heard in many regions of the world. Rather than giving in to cynicism about the current global trajectory, advocates of peace and justice are insisting on a different model—one that embodies an inclusive mindset grounded in an altruistic turn.

This Special Issue, Religious Ethics And Theology In Contemporary Human Life, seeks to highlight how social imagination can be facilitate meaningful engagement with themes in religious ethics that are in dialogue with theology and verse versa. It envisions the human person as a social being, shaped by and situated within diverse contexts. In doing so, it explores how religious praxes such as forgiveness, hospitality, justice, rights, kindness, interfaith encounters, and peacebuilding can be reimagined to address contemporary challenges.

Additionally, this Special Issue welcomes contributions that adopt interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to this reimagining. A fundamental question underpins the theme: How can theology be grounded in a religious ethical consciousness that also takes seriously contributions from other disciplines?

Some relevant areas that manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue may cover include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The ethical grounding of theological anthropologies relevant to the contemporary era.
• The theological grounding of artificial intelligence (AI) and its ethical implications.
• The theological basis for care of migrants and refugees in today’s world.
• Reimagining the ethics of foreign aid and humanitarian support in an era of climate crises.
• Interfaith praxes of love and their theological implications.
• The theology on human flourishing and its ethical significance across religious traditions.
• The interconnections between normative ethical theories and culture in the face of global diversity.
• Political systems and their grounding within religious ethics.
• How can religious ethics inform economic systems and practices today and how theology can guide this process?
• Religious ethics and the retrieval  of memory in shaping a better world, and theology’s role in this project.

Manuscripts are expected to engage with religious texts, doctrinal teachings, ritual practices, and cultural memories or artifacts. The Special Issue is intentionally ecumenical and interfaith in focus. It aims to make the case that a radical reimagination of the intersection between religious ethics and theology is needed to foster human flourishing in the contemporary era.

Submission Instructions:

Before submitting a manuscript, interested authors are requested to submit a proposed title and a 200–300 word abstract summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editor via both of the following email addresses: azegbeobor1973@gmail.com; aihiokha@up.edu. Also copy the Religions Editorial Office (religions@mdpi.com; Ms. Moira Li: moira.li@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor to ensure alignment with the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. SimonMary Asese A. Aihiokhai
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 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.

• culture and religious ethics
• diversity, ethics, and theology
• gender and sexuality
• humanism and human flourishing
• migration ethics and theology
• politics, identity, and the human person
• religious ethics
• sociology and theology
• technology, theology, and the common good
• theological anthropology