Body, Healing, and Religion in a Secular Age
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 135
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioethics; moral theology of human life; pastoral care in health; ethics of the beginning and the end of human life; ethics of love and sexuality
Interests: bioethics; moral theology of human life; human sexuality; marriage and family; psychology and spiritual life
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to submit scholarly contributions to this Special Issue, “Body, Healing, and Religion in a Secular Age”. Throughout history, across all cultures and societies, religion has served as a fundamental framework for interpreting what appeared incomprehensible: health and illness, life and death. Religion has also offered healing hope to those without prospects of recovery and, in many cases, soteriological hope to those who no longer find meaning in earthly life.
Today, science and technology fill certain explanatory gaps, yet they often fail to provide frameworks of hope and meaning. In the secular societies of the twenty‑first century, the body is frequently understood as a possession to be autonomously and arbitrarily managed; healing is pursued alongside youth and beauty; and religion is often treated as one more means to attain the only broadly desirable form of salvation—happiness in the here and now. Nevertheless, religions continue to address deeper questions that remain unresolved in this secular age: questions concerning the body and its limits, health, illness, healing, hope, and the meaning of pain and suffering.
This Special Issue aims to offer an updated reflection on the role that religions play in relation to two major conceptual areas: first, the body—its interpretation, care, and availability in relation to the individual, the world, and God—and second, healing—its relationship to cure, salvation, hope, and meaning.
We welcome original research articles and review papers on any topic arising from these premises, including theological, philosophical, psychological, biomedical, sociological, anthropological, and other academic approaches.
We are confident that this Special Issue will contribute to the rigorous academic reflection sought by many who wish to deepen their understanding of these two fundamental anthropological dimensions, corporeality and spirituality, viewed through the lens of health and interpreted through the insights of religion.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Carmen Massé García
Prof. Dr. José María Pardo
Prof. Dr. Roberto Noriega Fernandez
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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, Prof. Carmen Massé García (mcmasse@comillas.edu), Prof. Roberto Noriega Fernández (roberto.noriega@deusto.es), and Prof. José María Pardo Sáenz (jmpardo@unav.es), and cc the Assistant Editor of Religion, 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 this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
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.
Keywords
- body
- healing
- salvation
- religion
- corporeality
- autonomy
- hope
- transhumanism
- holistic care
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
