Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific, and Beyond—Second Edition
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 23
Special Issue Editor
Interests: Hinduism; Buddhism; Jainism; Vedanta; Indian philosophy; philosophy of religion; comparative theology; interfaith dialogue; science and religion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In 2019, a Special Issue of Religions, with the title Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, and Scientific, was published to great acclaim, tapping into the considerable interest on the topic of reincarnation that exists in both popular and scholarly discourse. The articles in this Special Issue took a range of stances and approaches to the topic, from theological or philosophical defenses and critiques of the idea of reincarnation, to textual and historical studies of specific articulations of this concept. As the title of the Special Issue indicated, the focus of these articles was primarily on Hindu, Christian, or scientific/empirical approaches to reincarnation. The intent of this sequel is both to deepen the work of the previous Special Issue, inviting further contributions tapping into Hindu, Christian, and scientific points of view, and to broaden it, inviting contributions that focus on the topic of reincarnation from Buddhist or Jain perspectives, Esoteric Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives, New Age perspectives, and perspectives drawn from the ancient or classical cultures of Europe: Graeco-Roman, Celtic, and so forth, as well as perspectives from the varied indigenous traditions across the globe. As in the earlier Special Issue, stances and approaches are invited from as diverse a range as possible: approaches favoring, critiquing, or simply questioning the concept of reincarnation, or elaborating upon variants of this concept (which is far from monolithic); examining the concept from philosophical, theological, empirical, sociological, historical, or literary perspectives, and so forth. The hope is that sufficient interest will be garnered in this Special Issue to enable it, as with its first edition, to be published as a freestanding volume. The deeper hope, of course, is that it will spark further discussion and investigation of this fascinating topic and advance reincarnation studies as a field of academic inquiry. Questions on this Special Issue should be directed to the Guest Editor, Dr. Jeffery D. Long (longjd@etown.edu).
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 this to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor 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.
Prof. Dr. Jeffery D. Long
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.
Keywords
- afterlife
- metempsychosis
- past life memory
- past lives
- paranormal
- rebirth
- reincarnation
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Related Special Issue
- Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, and Scientific in Religions (16 articles)
