Journal profile
International Journal for Religious Freedom
ISSN 2070-5484 · eISSN 2790-0762 · Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft · Germany
International Journal for Religious Freedom: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 15 weeks (community reports); 9 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal for Religious Freedom is published by Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Religious Freedom and Discrimination, Religion and Society Interactions and Christian Theology and Mission, together about 59.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Religious studies. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), founded in 2007, is dedicated to promoting religious freedom for all faiths from an academic perspective. The International Journal for Religious Freedom (IJRF) is the flagship publication of the IIRF, providing a platform for scholarly discourse on religious freedom and persecution. The IIRF is headquartered in Orlando, FL, United States. The IJRF aims to provide a platform for scholarly discourse on religious freedom and persecution. It is an interdisciplinary, international, peer reviewed journal, serving the dissemination of new research on religious freedom and contains research articles, documentation, book reviews, academic news and other relevant items. The IJRF is published twice a year and aims to provide a platform for scholarly discourse on religious freedom in general and the persecution of Christians in particular. It is an interdisciplinary, international, peer reviewed journal, serving the dissemination of new research on religious freedom and contains research articles, documentation, book reviews, academic news and other relevant items. The IJRF is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and has been listed on the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) “Approved list of South African journals” since 1 January 2012. It adheres to the Code of Best Practice in Scholarly Journal Publishing, Editing, and Peer Review of 2018, as well as the National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Peer Review for South African Scholarly Journals and the supplementary Guidelines for Best Practice of the Forum of Editors of Academic Law Journals in South Africa. In August 2023, the “Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers” recognized and accredited the IJRF as a scientific publication channel in the Norwegian publication system. Manuscripts submitted for publication are assessed by a panel of referees and the decision to publish is dependent on their reports. The IJRF subscribes to the National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Peer Review for South African Scholarly Journals. The IJRF is open access on this website, as well as via SABINET and EBSCO. It is also available in print. Kindly contact the Editors at ijrf@iirf.global if you are a library and wish to receive print versions. The International Journal for Religious Freedom (IJRF) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 6, South Africa 4, United States 3, Canada 3, United Kingdom 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religious Freedom and DiscriminationSocial Sciences33.9%
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences17.1%
- Christian Theology and MissionArts and Humanities8.9%
- Law, Rights, and FreedomsSocial Sciences5.9%
- Theology and Canon Law StudiesArts and Humanities4.8%
- Diverse Philosophical and Cultural StudiesArts and Humanities2.5%
- Freedom of Expression and DefamationSocial Sciences2.5%
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences2.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 5OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.27OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 275 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15 | 15 | 5 |
| 2025 | 9 | 9 | 29 |
| 2024 | 25 | 25 | 22 |
| 2023 | 63 | 63 | 22 |
| 2022 | 47 | 47 | 3 |
| 2021 | 48 | 48 | 27 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 15 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 100 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 4
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- editorialThe editors welcome the submission of any contribution to the journal. All manuscripts submitted for publication are assessed by a panel of referees and the dec…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Code availability, License & copyright, Plagiarism
- AI use The use of generative AI and AI-assisted tools in figures, images and artwork
The IJRF does not accept manuscripts that have been written or substantially using generative AI. Model summary
The IJRF allows the use of generative AI to create tables and figures. We also permit its use to create artwork but do not permit the use of Generative AI or AI-assisted tools to alter images. These uses should be indicated in a note, including the name of the tool and how it was used. Where applicable, authors may be asked to provide pre-AI-adjusted versions of images or the composite raw images …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Code availability
Code of Best Practice in Scholarly Journal Publishing, Editing and Peer Review of 2018; National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Peer Review for South African Scholarly Journals; supplementary Guidelines for Best Practice of the Forum of Editors of Academic Law Journals in South Af Model summary
The IJRF subscribes to the Code of Best Practice in Scholarly Journal Publishing, Editing and Peer Review of 2018 as well as the National Code of Best Practice in Editorial Discretion and Peer Review for South African Scholarly Journals and the supplementary Guidelines for Best Practice of the Forum of Editors of Academic Law Journals in South Africa.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Model summary
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is not acceptable in IJRF submissions. Plagiarized content will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is identified, we will follow COPE guidelines. Model summary
Plagiarism is not acceptable in IJRF submissions. Plagiarized content will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is identified, we will follow COPE guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft
- Country or region
- Germany
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2070-5484
- Electronic ISSN
- 2790-0762
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal for Religious Freedom
How long does peer review take at International Journal for Religious Freedom?
Authors report an average review time of about 15 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of International Journal for Religious Freedom?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 100 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Reference style: Harvard; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 4; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal for Religious Freedom based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (6), South Africa (4) and United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal for Religious Freedom?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal for Religious Freedom is indexed in DOAJ.
Is International Journal for Religious Freedom open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal for Religious Freedom is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .