Special Issues

Religions publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

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Myth, Violence, and Human Evolution
edited by Per Bjørnar Grande
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 625 | Submission Open
Keywords: myth; violence; evolution; protection; illness
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Religious Extremism in a Global Context: Analyzing the Rise and Impact of Movements
edited by Marcello Mollica and James Dingley
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 306 | Submission Open
Keywords: religion; violence; fundamentalism; security; terrorism
Buddhist Art Along the Silk Road and Its Cross-Cultural Interaction
edited by and Yinggang Sun
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 222 | Submission Open
Keywords: Buddhist art; Asian civilizations; the Silk Road; mutual learning through exchange; Sinicization of Buddhism; Gandhara
Anthropology and Religion: Rethinking Identity in a Fragmented Cultural Landscape
edited by Teresa Aizpun and Raúl Madrid
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 142 | Submission Open
Keywords: identity; anthropology; culture; philosophy; deconstruction; posthumanism; religion; selfhood; technology; subjectivity
Religion, Superstition, and Philosophy in Ancient Rome
edited by
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 50 | Submission Open
Keywords: gods; religion; superstition; Latin literature; philosophy; poetry; prose; Roman
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
16th Century Reformation and Worship Theology and Practice
edited by
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 40 | Submission Open
Keywords: reformation worship; 16th-century liturgy; theology of worship; Word and Sacrament; sacramental theology; liturgical reform; worship and ecclesiology; ritual and worship
Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific, and Beyond—Second Edition
edited by
submission deadline 31 Jan 2026 | Viewed by 32 | Submission Open
Keywords: afterlife; metempsychosis; past life memory; past lives; paranormal; rebirth; reincarnation
Healing the Earth: Spirituality and Planetary Health
edited by and
submission deadline 1 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 168 | Submission Open
Keywords: planetary health; existential concern; ecocentric worldview; ecological imagination; ecological distress; spiritual health; spiritual transformation
Intellectual Crossroads: Religion, Knowledge, and Science in the Early Modern World
edited by Andrew Keitt and Ismael del Olmo
submission deadline 2 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2969 | Submission Open
Keywords: knowledge; science and religion; preternatural; superstition; astrology; cosmology; physico-theology; scientific revolution
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
Religion, Spirituality, Well-Being and Positive Psychology
edited by Adam Anczyk, Halina Grzymała-Moszczyńska and Anna M. Maćkowiak
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 406 | Submission Open
Keywords: psychology of religion; spirituality; well-being; positive psychology; humanistic psychology; mindfulness; happiness and religion/spirituality; spirituality and mental health; religion and migration
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
History of Evangelization: Encounters and Disencounters During the Modern Age (16th–19th Centuries) submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 86 | Submission Open
Keywords: evangelization; Christianization; Papacy; Protestant reformation; Anglicanism; cultural adaptation; inculturation; cultural hybridization
The Theological Underpinnings of Ignatian Spirituality: From Historical Context to Contemporary Relevance submission deadline 25 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 357 | Submission Open
Keywords: Jesuit tradition; mystical theology; Society of Jesus; spiritual renewal; ecclesiastical reform; meditative practices; doctrinal development; faith and reason; ethical implications; cultural integration
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Religiosity and Psychopathology
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 11100 | Submission Open
Keywords: religious depression; demon possession; demon obsession; religious hysteria; magic
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Religion and Migration in the Middle Ages (c.1100–c.1500): From a Religious Perspective, Redefining the Boundaries of Community and Identity
edited by Martial Staub and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 118 | Submission Open
Keywords: migration; religion; pluralism; late Middle Ages; refuge; respectability; resource; social groups; identity
New Testament Studies—Current Trends and Criticisms—2nd Edition
edited by Susanne Luther, Clarissa Breu and Birke Siggelkow-Berner
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 67 | Submission Open
Keywords: theories; methods; hermeneutics; New Testament
The Teaching of Pope Francis on Marriage
edited by Grzegorz Pyźlak
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Submission Open
Keywords: pope  Francis; pastoral care of marriages; preparation for marriage; pastoral accompaniment; building the bonds; building the relation; psychological counselling; cultural and social background in the formation of marital love; education on values
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
Faith in Motion: Christian Education and Faith Formation in Contexts of Migration and Displacement
edited by
submission deadline 1 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 32 | Submission Open
Keywords: Christian education; faith formation; developmental theories; migration and displacement; intercultural theology; trauma-informed formation; postcolonial theology; border and belonging; diaspora churches; hospitality; resilience; theological pedagogy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Advances and Challenges in Pastoral Psychology submission deadline 10 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 54 | Submission Open
Keywords: pastoral psychology; digital pastoral care/tele-chaplaincy; trauma-informed ministry; positive psychology constructs; practical theology; clergy burnout; eco-psychology/creation care
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Reframing Vodun: Imagery, Practice, and Performance
edited by Timothy R. Landry and
submission deadline 13 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 17 | Submission Open
Keywords: Vodú n; Vodou; Benin; Togo; Ghana; Haiti
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
Critical Issues in Christian Ethics
edited by , Richard Rose and Sandra Morgan
submission deadline 23 Mar 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 3931 | Submission Open
Keywords: Christian; conversion; discipleship; ethics; evil; faith; forgiveness; fruit of the spirit; God; gospel; good and bad; Heaven; Hell; holiness; justification; Jesus; judgment; justice; law; light; love; Paul; rebirth; religion; salvation; repentance; righteousness; right and wrong; Romans 12; sanctification; sin; the Ten Commandments; truth and lie; the Sermon on the Mount; works of the flesh
Religions and Society: Between Navigating Secularism and Lived Religion
edited by and Urszula Soler
submission deadline 30 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 558 | Submission Open
Keywords: spirituality; religions institutions and community; belief and technology; religions and IA; secularism and religion belonging
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Family Health and Its Threats in the Physical, Mental, Religious–Moral, and Social Dimensions
edited by and Piotr Guzdek
submission deadline 30 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 271 | Submission Open
Keywords: religions; marriage; family; moral norms; health; raising; Christianity; Judaism; Islam; Hinduism; Buddhism
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Meeting at the Crossroads: Understanding the Intersection of Rhetoric, Race, and Religion
edited by and Denise Burgher
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 870 | Submission Open
Keywords: rhetoric; race; religion; theology; rhetorical criticism; media; gender; religious communication; performance; social justice; social movements; political rhetoric
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
The History of the Arabian Peninsula in the Early Islamic Centuries
edited by Ida Zilio-Grandi
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 284 | Submission Open
Keywords: Arabian Peninsula; early Islam; Rashidun Caliphate; Umayyad dynasty; Abbasid dynasty; Islamic conquests; Islamic society; political history; religious transformation; Arab empire; early Islamic thought; historical roots of Islam
Divine Warfare, Heresy and Witchcraft: Connecting Witch Trials and Religious Persecutions in the Premodern World (to 1900)
edited by Gayle Brunelle
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 185 | Submission Open
Keywords: religious wars; divine warfare; witchcraft; witch trials; heresy; sorcery; state formation; confessionalization; traditional magic; traditional medicine; patriarchy; ethnic identity and magic; religious mysticism
Social Dimensions of Religion in the Age of De-Globalization submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 105 | Submission Open
Keywords: religious majorities and minorities; migration; nationalism; gender; media; religious identity and identification
Landscape (山水) as Transcendent Existence
edited by Jingdong Qu and
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 31 | Submission Open
Keywords: Shanshui; ritual sacrifice; sacred Grotto-Heavens; hermitism; folk religion; transcendence
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
Religion and Conflict, Religion and Peace: Demystyfing the Role of Religion in Conflict Dynamics
edited by
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 28 | Submission Open
Keywords: religion and conflict; religion and peacemaking; interfaith dialogue; interreligious contract; religious miltants; Countering Violent Extremism (CVE); conflict dynamics; values conflicts; belief/faith; peacebuilding
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Fasting, Renunciation, and Moderation in Early Christian Thought, Greco-Roman Culture, and the Abrahamic Traditions submission deadline 1 Apr 2026 | Viewed by 94 | Submission Open
Keywords: fasting; moderation; renunciation; Early Christianity; classical culture; Abrahamic traditions; antiquity; asceticism; abstinence; simplicity; modesty
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Magic, Religion, and Mysticism: Occult Traditions in Europe from Late Antiquity Through the Early Modern Period
edited by Martha Rampton
submission deadline 30 Apr 2026 | Viewed by 115 | Submission Open
Keywords: magic; magical mysticism; occultism; late antique magic; early medieval magic; high medieval magic; late medieval magic; early modern magic; Renassaince magic
Sacred Geographies and Pilgrimage
edited by Dino Bozonelos
submission deadline 30 Apr 2026 | Viewed by 85 | Submission Open
Keywords: religion; spirituality; pilgrimage; religious tourism; sacred sites; spiritual travel; religious travel
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Religion and the State: Secularism, Identity, and the Politics of Exclusion
edited by Alberto Spektorowski
submission deadline 30 Apr 2026 | Submission Open
Keywords: religion and state; secularism and exclusion; religious nationalism; post-secular critiques
Post-Secularism: Society, Politics, Theology
edited by and George Joseph Vellankal
submission deadline 4 May 2026 | Viewed by 1 | Submission Open
Keywords: post-secularism; pluralism; public religion; secularisation; public sphere and private sphere; sociology of religion
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Sacred Harmony: Music and Spiritual Transformation
edited by
submission deadline 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 201 | Submission Open
Keywords: music; spirituality; sacred sound; ritual; liturgy; philosophy of music; theology of music; religious studies; ethnomusicology; musicology of religion
Religion and Economy in a Global Era: New Articulation After Secularization
edited by Raquel Lázaro-Cantero and
submission deadline 17 May 2026 | Viewed by 142 | Submission Open
Keywords: work and transformation; modes of time and health and pathologies; social relationships and human figures; world and natural and social; worship and work; religion and capitalism; economy and Christianity; common good and different goods; human life; work; and meaning; globalization and identities
Muslim Da ’Wah and Christian Mission. New Perspectives in the Global Interfaith Context
edited by and Joseph Victor Edwin
submission deadline 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 145 | Submission Open
Keywords: mission in Christianity; Da ‘ wah in Islam; Muslim– Christian relations; interfaith dialogue
Outworking the “Birds of the Air”: Early Christians’ Attitudes Toward Labor and Work
edited by and Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 76 | Submission Open
Keywords: early Christianity; labor and work; eschatological expectations; apocalypticism; delay of the eschaton; early Christ groups; early Christians and ethics; attitudes toward the environment
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Social Justice in Theological Education: Challenges and Opportunities submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 34 | Submission Open
Keywords: social justice; human rights; world religions; public theology; contextual theologies; theological education; epistemic justice
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Preserving the Master’s Word: Rituals and Protective Accessories for Sacred Scriptures in the Himalayan Culture
edited by Michela Clemente
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 31 | Submission Open
Keywords: consecration rituals; book rituals; Himalayan book culture; Buddhist studies; bon studies; materiality of the books; codicology; book conservation; Himalayan art history
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
The Implications of Spirituality for Mental Well-Being and Public Health
edited by
submission deadline 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 10 | Submission Open
Keywords: ethics; ethical practice; social seterminants of health; negative spiritual coping; positive spiritual coping; spiritually integrated healthcare; spiritual practices in healthcare; well-being of caregivers  
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Languages and Buddhist Texts: Translation, Transmission, and Interpretation Across Traditions
edited by , and
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | Viewed by 380 | Submission Open
Keywords: Buddhist texts; multilingualism; translation studies; Buddhist philology; languages of Buddhist scriptures; linguistic philosophy; corpus linguistics; natural language processing (NLP); digital humanities; comparative Buddhist studies; Chinese Buddhist translations
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
Perspectives in Contemporary Catholic Philosophy: Ethics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, and Metaphysics
edited by
submission deadline 1 Jun 2026 | Viewed by 82 | Submission Open
Keywords: Catholic philosophy; realism in epistemology; moral realism; natural theology; theology; religion and philosophy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
New Perspectives on East Asian Buddhist Architecture
edited by Puay Peng Ho
submission deadline 30 Jun 2026 | Viewed by 69 | Submission Open
Keywords: Buddhist architecture; East Asia; places of worship; Buddhist monuments; religious and cultural functions
Evolving and Flourishing in an Age of Disruption: The Role of Spirituality in Rea-Lignment and Transformation
edited by , Indrani Margolin and
submission deadline 30 Jun 2026 | Viewed by 35 | Submission Open
Keywords: spirituality; religion; evolving; flourishing; transformation; transdisciplinary; spiritually sensitive practice
Constructive Interdisciplinary Approaches to Pauline Theology
edited by
submission deadline 1 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 702 | Submission Open
Keywords: pauline theology; interdisciplinary theology; transhumanism; artificial intelligence; medical ethics; political theology; eco-theology; cognitive linguistics; theology and race; theology and gender
Creating a Robust Spirituality in Family and Relational Life in a Challenging World
edited by Suzanne Coyle
submission deadline 1 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 90 | Submission Open
Keywords: family; relationship; spirituality
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Sanctity in the Medieval Muslim West: Questions of Genre, Cultural and Religious Identity
edited by and Manuela Marín
submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 41 | Submission Open
Keywords: sufism; hagiographies; male and female saints; gender; Maghreb and Al-Andalus; medieval period
Religious Ethics and Theology in Contemporary Human Life submission deadline 30 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 6 | Submission Open
Keywords: culture and religious ethics; diversity; ethics; and theology; gender and sexuality; humanism and human flourishing; migration ethics and theology; politics; identity; and the human person; religious ethics; sociology and theology; technology; theology; and the common good; theological anthropology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Intersections of Religion and Law: Freedom, Social Change, and Human Rights
edited by Nadirsyah Hosen
submission deadline 1 Aug 2026 | Viewed by 194 | Submission Open
Keywords: religious freedom; legal pluralism; human rights; secularism; constitutional law; social change; religion and gender; religious minorities; law and theology; health and religion; religious activism
(This special issue belongs to the Section Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences)
Wisdom Traditions, Religion, and the Global Era
edited by
submission deadline 1 Aug 2026 | Viewed by 133 | Submission Open
Keywords: wisdom traditions; religion; spirituality; health; culture; community
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