Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality

Manuscripts should follow the endnote system specified in the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. All text must be double-spaced in a clear, easy-to-read twelve-point typeface on 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages. Text should be left justified with all margins at least one inch. Submissions should use endnotes. You may cite your own work, but do not use wording that identifies you as the author. Essays are generally not to exceed 7,500 words, including endnotes and other printed matter. Spiritus will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript, but will not return it after review. Prospective contributors are encouraged to correspond with the editors prior to submitting manuscripts.

Submit manuscripts electronically to:

Glen G. Scorgie, PhD 
Professor Emeritus of Theology, Bethel Seminary of Bethel University 
email: g-scorgie@bethel.edu

Inquiries concerning book reviews should be made to:

Amanda Avila Kaminski, PhD 
Texas Lutheran University 
email: akaminski@tlu.edu

For poetry submissions: submit up to five previously unpublished poems, together with a brief author's bio (in a single .doc/.docx document) to: 

Mark Burrows, PhD  
University of Applied Sciences, Bochum (Germany) 
email: mark.s.burrows@gmail.com

Please supply an abstract of 100 or fewer words with your paper.

Information for Authors

Spiritus will consider for publication essays written on topics that pertain to the discipline of Christian spirituality. The journal is committed to creative engagement with Christian tradition and to critical reflection on the relationship of Christian spirituality with non-Christian religious traditions. We encourage interdisciplinary inquiry into the subject of spirituality that includes literature and the arts, philosophy, science and politics. We encourage authors to submit essays that focus on the contemporary situation and speak to current issues and debates.

On these pages you will find instructions for submitting and formatting an article or poem, a style sheet for articles, and special guidelines for book reviews.

All essays submitted to Spiritus are subjected to a blind, peer-review process. Therefore please omit any information that would identify you as author.

Style Sheet for Essays

References to the Bible may be included within the text of the article, in parentheses, before the final punctuation of the sentence. Use the abbreviations of biblical books in the Chicago Manual. Separate chapter from verse with a colon. The version you are quoting should be mentioned in the first citation only.

(a) General rule for endnotes

The general rule is simple. Your first citation of a published work should give all the relevant information. Every reference thereafter should use only the original author's last name and a short title for the book or article, followed by a page number.

This general rule has two negative corollaries, both noted above. Spiritus does not use ibid. or loc. cit. or op. cit., and we do not use bibliographies or lists of works consulted. Bibliographical information for any work consulted will appear in the first endnote that refers to that work.

(b) First endnote - books

In the first endnote for a book, give the author's name, the title, and (in parentheses) the place of publication, publisher, and date; the page number follows, as in this example.¹

1 Cristina Mazzoni, The Women in God's Kitchen: Cooking, Eating, and Spiritual Writing (New York: Continuum, 2005), 33-37.

(c) First endnote - articles

For an article, the order is: author's name, title of the article, name of the journal, volume number, year (in parentheses), and after a colon and a space, the page number. It is helpful, though not absolutely necessary, to provide the range of pages for the whole article, as well as the page or pages you are referring to, as in the example.²

2 Belden C. Lane, "Merton's Hermitage: Bachelard, Domestic Space, and Spiritual Transformation," Spiritus 4 (2004): 123-150, at 128.

(d) First endnote - chapters in an edited book

The form for a chapter in an edited book combines (b) and (c), like this.³

3 Constance FitzGerald, "Impasse and the Dark Night," in Joann Wolski Conn, ed., Women's Spirituality: Resources for Christian Development, 2nd ed. (New York: Paulist Press, 1996), 410-450.

(e) Subsequent endnotes

Once complete information has been given, use a short title (which you should determine) in each subsequent endnote, whether of a book⁴ or an article or chapter.⁵

4 Mazzoni, The Women in God's Kitchen, 131.

5 FitzGerald, "Impasse and Dark Night," 415.

(f) Some additional instructions

1. Format
   • Use one-inch margins on all four sides of the page.
   • Use a 12-point font (Times New Roman is preferred), with 24-point (double line) spacing for all text, including endnotes.
   • Number the pages, but do not include any other information in headers or footers.
   • Do not include a bibliography. For instructions about citation, see point 6 on endnotes below. Endnotes should also have a first-line indent at the beginning of every endnote, including the number.
2. Spelling and editing
   • Unless this style sheet has different instructions, follow The Chicago Manual of Style on general editing questions.
   • Use U.S. spellings.
   • Use the final "series comma" in lists of three or more items.
   • Use italics for emphasis, book and journal titles, and foreign words. Do not use underlining or bolding at all.
   • Do not use page, section, or endnote numbers that refer, within your article, to the article itself.
   • When there is any question as to capitalization, do not capitalize words.
   • As stated in the Chicago Manual, omit hyphens wherever possible.
   • Greek and Hebrew words, which should be used sparingly, must be transliterated and italicized.
   • Use only one space to separate sentences.
3. Biblical citations
4. Abbreviations
5. Spiritus does not use any Latin abbreviations. Use English phrases instead of i.e., etc., and e.g. Instructions for avoiding cf., ibid., and op. cit. in endnotes are in point 6 below.
6. General matters of style
   • Spiritus is read not only by scholars, but also by an educated but general audience. When technical or specialized terminology is necessary, explain it.
   • Wherever possible, use gender-inclusive language.
   • Write in the active, not the passive voice. Avoid the "editorial we." First-person singular pronouns are quite acceptable.
   • In longer articles, include headings and, if necessary, subheadings. In general, these should not be numbered.
7. Endnotes
   • References to classical works that have been published in many editions and translations should be numbered according to the original scheme.⁶ It is for the author to decide whether to include, as well, information about the modern edition consulted. If you do include this, it should follow the usual format for books as outlined above.

8. 6 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III q. 2 a. 1 reply; see also Augustine, De Trinitate VIII 4 (6).

   • The ban on Latin abbreviations includes cf. Write "see" or "see also" or "compare" or "consult," depending on what you mean.
   • Longer, explanatory endnotes that include bibliographical information should include it in the format prescribed here.⁷ For example, the endnote may itself include a quotation.

   7 According to Sedgwick, "Of these articles, only Rachel Hosmer provides a view of the field" (Sedgwick, "Accounting," 177).

The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice page.

Peer Review Policy

Submission Policy 

Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality (SCS) accepts solicited and unsolicited manuscripts. They must be:

• Original work
• Non-simultaneous submission
• Translations accepted with permissions from author or author estate, unless translation in public domain
• Photos and other images are chosen by editorial staff and permissions procured by editorial staff with aid of artist or artist’s estate if needed, unless in public domain
• Reprints generally not permitted

Preliminary Review

• Is conducted by the Editor, Managing Editor, and/or Assistant Editor for weak or unsuitable submissions

Peer Review

• SCS does double blind reviewing for all papers not rejected in preliminary review.

Criteria for Review

What is main aim of the paper?
Does the paper succeed in its aim?
Do you think it is a worthwhile project?
Do you recommend (please pick one):

Review Results and Revisions Required

a) Unconditional acceptance
b) Acceptance subject to small revisions
c) Acceptance subject to substantial revisions
d) Rejection but a positive encouragement to revise and resubmit
e) Rejection but a non-committal invitation to resubmit a substantially revised edition
f) Rejection
    If you recommend f) Is this due to
     a) The poor quality of the paper?
     b) The paper being inappropriate for the journal?

Timetable

4-6 weeks for review process

From submission to publication great variation: 4 to 10 (on occasion, 12) months

Informal Pieces 

Occasional “Perspectives” essays; determined as “Perspectives” by Editor, same review (double blind) process.

Interim Editor

Glen G. Scorgie, Bethel University

Book Review Editor

Amanda Avila Kaminski, Texas Lutheran University

Poetry Editor

Mark Burrows, The University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

Managing Editor

Mary Beth Bowen, Oblate School of Theology

Editorial Assistant

Melody Escobar, Oblate School of Theology

Editorial Board

J. Matthew Ashley, University of Notre Dame 
Michael Battle, PeaceBattle Institute 
Lisa E. Dahill, California Lutheran University 
Pieter G.R. de Villiers, University of the Free State 
Rebecca G. Giselbrecht, University of Zurich, Theological Faculty 
Bo Karen Lee, Princeton Theological Seminary 
John McGuckin, Union Theological Seminary/Columbia University 
Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of Iowa 
Pan Yi Jung, China Graduate School of Theology 
Michael O’Sullivan, SJ, Spirituality Institute for Research and Education, Dublin 
Annemarie Paulin-Campbell, The Jesuit Institute of South Africa 
Philip Sheldrake, Cambridge Theological Federation 
Claire E. Wolfteich, Boston University School of Theology 
Wendy M. Wright, Creighton University 
Simeon Zahl, University of Oxford

Advisory Editors

John Chryssavgis, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 
Sarah Coakley, Cambridge University 
Joann Wolski Conn, Neumann College 
Georgia Frank, Colgate University 
Amy Hollywood, Harvard Divinity School 
Kwok Pui-lan, Episcopal Divinity School 
Belden C. Lane, St. Louis University 
Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago Divinity School 
Barbara Newman, Northwestern University 
Hugh Page, University of Notre Dame 
William Reiser, SJ, College of Holy Cross 
Janet K. Ruffing, RSM, Yale Divinity School 
Don E. Saliers, Candler School of Theology, Emory University 
Sandra M. Schneiders, Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University 
Columba Stewart, OSB, Saint John’s University 
Rowan Williams, Magdalene College, Cambridge University 
Philip Zaleski, Smith College

Send books for review to:

Amanda Avila Kaminski, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theology
Texas Lutheran University
1000 West Court Street
Seguin, Texas 78155

email: akaminski@tlu.edu

Please send book review copies to the contact above. Review copies received by the Johns Hopkins University Press office will be discarded.

Abstracting & Indexing Databases

• Clarivate Analytics
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  • Web of Science
• De Gruyter Saur
  • Dietrich's Index Philosophicus
  • IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur
  • Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur
• EBSCOhost
  • Academic Search Complete
  • ATLA Religion Database (American Theological Library Association), 2001-2016
  • Christian Periodical Index, 2006-2012
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
• Elsevier BV
  • Scopus, 2009-
• Gale
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
• National Periodical Library
  • Guide to Social Work, Social Science and Religion in Periodical Literature (Online)
• OCLC
  • ArticleFirst, vol.1, no.1, 2001-vol.10, no.2, 2010
  • Electronic Collections Online, vol.1, no.1, 2001-vol.10, no.2, 2010
• ProQuest
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • ProQuest 5000
  • ProQuest Central, 04/01/2017-
  • Religion Database, 04/01/2017-
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)

Source: Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.

0.4 (2022)
0.3 (Five-Year Impact Factor)
0.00051 (Eigenfactor™ Score)

Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):
Note: While journals indexed in AHCI and ESCI are receiving a JIF for the first time in June 2023, they will not receive ranks, quartiles, or percentiles until the release of 2023 data in June 2024.
 

© Clarivate Analytics 2023

Published twice a year

Readers include: Scholars and students of Christian spirituality, biblical literature, theology, and religion; clergy, educators, and interested laypersons

Print circulation: 400

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