Religion, Gender, and Health: Lived Experiences in Contemporary Communities

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decades, scholarly interest in the relationships between religion, gender and health has intensified, reflecting broader social transformations and the growing recognition of health as a deeply embedded social and moral phenomenon. Religious traditions continue to shape gender norms, caregiving roles, ethical obligations and understanding of the body, while gendered experiences influence how religious teachings are interpreted and enacted in everyday health-related practices. This Special Issue brings these domains together by focusing on lived experiences at the intersection of religion, gender and health in contemporary communities. Examining this intersection is essential for understanding how multiple social frameworks jointly inform perceptions of responsibility, vulnerability and well-being. Health practices and outcomes are not only structured by formal medical systems but are closely entwined with religious meanings, gendered expectations and community norms. The Special Issue highlights how religious beliefs and gender relations shape everyday decisions related to care, communication, environmental responsibility and collective well-being across diverse cultural and social contexts. The primary aim of this Special Issue is to advance interdisciplinary scholarship that explores how religion and gender interact to shape health experiences, practices and inequalities. In alignment with the scope of Religions, the issue emphasizes empirical and theoretical contributions that treat religion not merely as background context but as an active force in shaping moral reasoning, social roles and embodied health practices. Contributions are invited from sociology, anthropology, public health, gender studies and religious studies, employing qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. Topics addressed in the Special Issue include, but are not limited to, gendered experiences of caring for aging parents within religious families and communities; religiously informed communication about illness, risk and caregiving responsibilities and the ways faith-based norms shape access to and the navigation of health systems.

The issue also encourages innovative contributions that link religion, gender and health to contemporary global challenges, such as environmental responsibility, sustainability, recycling practices and ecological ethics. These studies illuminate how religious worldviews and gendered moral labor contribute to community-level health and environmental well-being. Additional themes may include mental health, digital religious communication, reproductive health, migration and health and inequalities in care and support. By foregrounding non-trivial, everyday experiences and adopting a relational and intersectional perspective, this Special Issue seeks to enrich ongoing debates within the study of religion regarding ethics, care and social responsibility. It offers nuanced insights into how religion and gender together shape health realities in diverse contemporary settings, contributing both theoretically and empirically to the journal’s broader intellectual agenda.

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 Editors, Dr. Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar (rivka.nbs@gmail.com) and Professor Fany Yuval (fanyuval@bgu.ac.il), and cc the Assistant Editor of Religions, Clare Chai (clare.chai@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar
Dr. Fany Yuval
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 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-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.

• religion
• gender
• health
• lived experiences
• caregiving
• communication
• environmental responsibility
• community well-being