COVID-19, Mental Health, and Religious Treatment Research

Dear Colleagues,

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been linked to a host of negative mental health outcomes, including trauma symptoms, anxiety, depression, substance use and suicidal thoughts (Czeisler et al., 2020). It follows that COVID-19 deeply impacts the well-being of faith communities around the globe as well (Xiong, Isgandarova, Panton, 2020). To date, however, a dearth of knowledge exists concerning how:

• Religious and Spiritual (R/S) dispositions (e.g., character strengths, virtues, attachment to God, spiritual struggles, God concepts);
• R/S practices (e.g., religious coping, spiritual practices such as prayer and engagement with sacred texts, forgiveness);
• R/S-oriented interventions (e.g., positive psychology interventions, spiritually oriented interventions, and other interventions involving religious communities)

might be predictive/interrelated with mental health and general well-being outcomes (inclusive of spiritual well-being and relational well-being) during this season of COVID-19.

Accordingly, we would like to invite global contributors to shed light on these issues to help develop a robust literature base on the topic that could inform directions for future research and provide practical/clinical insights and implications for practitioners. Empirical papers are preferred, though conceptual papers and literature reviews are welcomed as well.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution before 15 September 2022 (abstract deadline). Please send it to the Religions Editorial Office (religions@mdpi.com) or to the Guest Editors (david.wang@biola.edu and eu.gene.chin@biola.edu). 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.

Tentative completion schedule:

• Abstract submission deadline: 15th January 2022
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 15th February 2022
• Full manuscript deadline: 25th April 2022

References

Czeisler M. É. , Lane R. I., Petrosky E., et al. (2020). Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69, 1049–1057. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1

Xiong, J., Isgandarova, N., & Panton, A. E. (2020). COVID-19 demands theological reflection: Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian perspectives on the present pandemic. International Journal of Practical Theology, 24(1), 5 – 28. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijpt-2020-0039   

Dr. David Wang
Dr. Eu Gene Chin
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.