Journal profile · Multiple
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
ISSN 0021-8294 · eISSN 1468-5906 · Wiley-Blackwell
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion: CAS Zone 1 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.27; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,240; median 347 days to acceptance (85 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 11% (journal website); 44 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Religion and Society Interactions, Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology and Religion, Society, and Development, together about 60.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR) is the leading multidisciplinary, international journal that publishes original social scientific research on religion. JSSR brings together scholars who study religion empirically and theoretically across the social sciences, including sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, economics, health sciences, geography, religious studies, and related fields. No single discipline is positioned as the journal’s default. Submissions are evaluated on the rigor and significance of their contribution to the social scientific study of religion rather than on disciplinary identity. Methodologically, JSSR publishes quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, computational, experimental, comparative, and historical research, and gives priority to manuscripts that handle their methods with care and report their results transparently. JSSR welcomes work at every level of analysis, from individual belief, practice, and experience to the dynamics of congregations and religious organizations, religious markets and movements, national and cross-national patterns of religious change, and the historical trajectories of religious traditions and institutions. The journal publishes work in any substantive area within the field. The journal publishes several types of contributions. Original research articles (10,000 word limit, exclusive of appendices, supplements, and tables and figures) report empirical work that makes a substantive contribution to the social scientific study of religion. JSSR occasionally publishes theory-driven papers without empirical content when those papers advance social scientific understandings of religion in ways that empirical work alone cannot. Research notes (5,000 word limit) report focused empirical contributions that do not require the scope of a full research article, such as new findings on a narrower question, a methodological refinement, or a replication. Systematic reviews (10,000 word limit), including meta-analyses and scoping reviews, are welcome when they use an established review methodology and address questions of broad interest to the field. JSSR also publishes book reviews and curated special issues. While book reviews are regularly published in JSSR, we do not accept unsolicited reviews. Please contact the editorial office if you have specific recommendations for books to be reviewed. JSSR does not publish theological arguments, devotional or pastoral writing, or oth
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief David EaglePublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences28.1%
- Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial Sciences17.1%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences15.6%
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences8.5%
- Religious Tourism and SpacesSocial Sciences4.1%
- Religious Studies and Spiritual PracticesArts and Humanities3.4%
- Mormonism, Religion, and HistoryArts and Humanities2.5%
- Religious Education and SchoolsSocial Sciences1.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- Impact factor
- 2.27LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 207OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,743OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.31OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 47.14%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 35Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 161,056Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,208 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 90 | 54 | 35 |
| 2025 | 44 | 25 | 42 |
| 2024 | 49 | 28 | 162 |
| 2023 | 86 | 54 | 589 |
| 2022 | 48 | 12 | 405 |
| 2021 | 74 | 14 | 726 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
347 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 214 days – 440 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (85 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 374 days
- Sample
- 85 articles with submission and acceptance dates (134 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 11%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 49 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 396 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,240 / EUR 2,730 / GBP 2,160 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- original researchManuscripts reporting original research should be no longer than 10000 words. Review articles should be no longer than 10000 words. Research notes should not ex…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- research notesResearch notes should not exceed 5000 words.Length not stated
- review articleManuscripts reporting original research should be no longer than 10000 words. Review articles should be no longer than 10000 words. Research notes should not ex…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- review articlesReview articles should be no longer than 10000 words.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Disclosing the use of artificial intelligence (AI)
AI use must be disclosed in Methods Model summary
If you or your co-authors have used Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs) to develop any portion of a manuscript, their use must be described transparently and in detail in the Methods section. Find more details on Wiley's AI guidelines for researchers and Wiley's AI policy in full in the Best Practices Guidelines on…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship Changes
ORCID required for all authors Model summary
In accordance with Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance, JSSR will allow authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published article if a valid reason exists to do so. All authors – including those to be added or removed – must agree to any proposed change. To request a change to the author l…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
COI statement required for each author Model summary
All manuscripts must include a conflict of interest statement for each author on the title page, even if the author(s) have no conflicts of interest to report.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
5-year ban for scientific misconduct Model summary
JSSR will not consider publication of any papers by offending authors for a period of 5 years.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright For authors signing the copyright transfer agreement
If the OnlineOpen option is not selected, the corresponding author will be presented with the copyright transfer agreement (CTA) to sign. The terms and conditions of the CTA can be previewed in the samples associated with the Copyright FAQs below: CTA Terms and Conditions http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/faqs_copyright.asp
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access For authors choosing Open Access
If the Open Access option is selected, the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA): Creative Commons Attribution License OAA Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License OAA Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial -NoDervis Licence OAA To preview the terms and conditions of these open access agreements, please visit …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Original work only; not under consideration elsewhere Model summary
JSSR considers only original work not under consideration for publication in any other venue. Submissions cannot not contain any material found in other publications (forthcoming or current) or be under consideration at other journals or publishers. JSSR is committed to a transparent review process. All new manuscripts received by JSSR are screened by the Managing Editor to ensure they are in scop…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint servers
Preprints on non-commercial servers allowed Model summary
This journal will review articles previously available as preprints on non-commercial servers such as ArXiv, bioRxiv, psyArXiv, SocArXiv, etc. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to non-commercial servers at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article. JSSR is not responsible for cases where author pre-pr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
Prospective clinical trial registration required Model summary
The journal requires that clinical trials are prospectively registered in a publicly accessible database and clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report their results. Authors are asked to include the name of the trial register and the clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract. If the trial is not registered, or was registered retrospectivel…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0021-8294
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-5906
- Society / sponsor
- Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 65, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
What CAS zone is Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is in Zone 1 of Philosophy, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Religion / Sociology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.27; CiteScore 4.2, h-index 207.
How long does peer review take at Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion?
Based on the dates recorded on 85 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 347 days (interquartile range 214–440 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 11% (2025). 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.
Which databases index Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion open access, and what is the APC?
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,240.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .