Religious Communication in Times of Crisis, Conflict, and Transformation

Dear Colleagues,

In moments of crisis, conflict, and transformation, religious communities and institutions do not fall silent. Rather, they speak, and what they say matters profoundly. Whether through pastoral care in disaster zones, interfaith dialogue across lines of simmering resentment or violent division, or the patient work of building intercultural coalitions that can sustain communities through upheaval, religious communication shapes how people understand suffering, negotiate difference, and imagine a path forward. Yet this communicative dimension of religious life in extremis remains undertheorized, empirically underexplored, and methodologically fragmented across disciplines. This Special Issue invites scholars and practitioners to address that gap together.

This Special Issue aims to advance interdisciplinary understanding of how religious actors, institutions, and communities communicate in contexts of acute crisis, sustained conflict, and long-term social transformation. "Religious communication" is understood broadly: it encompasses official institutional messaging, pastoral and spiritual care, ritual and liturgical practice, interfaith and intercultural dialogue, digital and media communication, and the informal networks through which religious communities share meaning, coordinate action, and foster resilience. Contributions are welcome from psychology, sociology, public health, communications, political science, theology, and related fields, and we particularly encourage submissions that bridge scholarly analysis and practitioner experience.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Religious and spiritual communication in humanitarian response and disaster contexts.
• Interfaith and intercultural dialogue as a resource in conflict prevention, management, and reconciliation.
• Pastoral care, chaplaincy, and spiritual accompaniment in clinical, military, and refugee settings.
• Religious communication and public health, including faith-sensitive messaging around women's health, mental health, and community well-being.
• Coalition-based and grassroots models of religious communication across cultural and national boundaries.
• Digital media, social networks, and the transformation of religious communication in crisis.
• Historical and comparative studies of religious rhetoric in times of war, pandemic, or political upheaval.
• The role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations as communicative actors in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new research at the intersection of religion, communication, and human well-being, as well as foster productive dialogue between those who study these dynamics and those who live and work within them. The Editorial Team is especially committed to assembling a geographically and institutionally diverse set of voices, including scholars from the Global South and practitioner-contributors from civil society, healthcare, and faith-based, faith-affirming, or interfaith organizations.

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 to the Guest Editor or the Assistant Editor, Dr. Ana Vujkovic Sakanovic, at vujkovic.sakanovic@mdpi.com. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Dr. Brian Muzás
Dr. Matthew Emile Vaughan
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.

• religious communication
• crisis
• conflict
• interfaith dialogue
• pastoral care
• spiritual care
• public health
• peacebuilding
• faith-based organizations
• transformation