Interfaith Encounters: Religious Polemics From the Middle Ages to the Modern Period–2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Interreligious and interconfessional polemic, in its various oral and written forms, has existed since ancient times as a concomitant phenomenon of each religion. It employs a wide variety of theological, historical, philosophical and logical arguments, both in the written and spoken forms. This multifaceted phenomenon can be seen as a discursive conflict, or as a tool for searching and disseminating “the truth”, motivated by the sense of mission. Some of these polemics, especially in the modern age, have been conducted in the form of dialogue and the exchange of opinions.

This Special Issue poses a question: Is interfaith dialogue in religious encounters possible or is it employed rather as a tactical move? This issue is particularly ambiguous in the context of the ancient and medieval periods, at a time when the modern conception of tolerance for the “other” had not yet emerged. This ambiguity sometimes manifests in the anachronistic tendency of contemporary research to identify dialogue in cases, including those from the early historical periods, where such an intention did not yet exist. In the absence of dialogue, the question arises as to whether interaction and collaboration can occur in specific spheres of social and intellectual life.

This Special Issue aims to explore religious polemics as well as the possibility of dialogue and its limitations from a phenomenological standpoint, which deepen our comprehension of interfaith encounters in a wide cultural, historical and social context. The included articles will present a variety of religious encounters between monotheistic religions, sects and denominations, as well as polytheistic involvement in religious polemics, through discussion of a possibility of dialogue. The chronological frame of these papers is from the early Middle Ages until the early 20^th century. Articles presenting new methodical or comparative perspective are especially encouraged. 

Scholars are invited to submit essays on the following specific and general topics:

• Constructing the “religious other” through polemics or dialogue;
• Religious dialogue;
• The typology of the polemic argumentation (e.g., exegetical, philosophical or historical);
• Dynamics and changes in religious polemics in historical perspective;
• Research on religious polemic and dialogue—new perspectives and methodologies.

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, Associate Professor Golda Akhiezer, at agolda@ariel.ac.il, or to the Assistant Editor of Religions, Ms. Evelyn Zeng, at evelyn.zeng@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 double-blind peer review.

Deadline for abstract submission: October 30, 2025

Deadline for full manuscript submission: April 30, 2026

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Golda Akhiezer
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.

• dialogue
• religious polemics
• apologetics
• theology
• methodology
• typology