Journal profile · RELIGION
Religion Brain & Behavior
ISSN 2153-599X · eISSN 2153-5981 · Taylor & Francis
Religion Brain & Behavior: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.7 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 177 days to acceptance (19 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 25% (journal website); 46 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Religion Brain & Behavior is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology, Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation and Religion and Society Interactions, together about 47.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Social Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The aim of Religion, Brain & Behavior ( RBB ) is to provide a vehicle for the advancement of current biological approaches to understanding religion at every level from brain to behavior. RBB unites multiple disciplinary perspectives that share these interests. The journal seeks empirical and theoretical studies that reflect rigorous scientific standards and a sophisticated appreciation of the academic study of religion. RBB welcomes contributions from a wide array of biological and related disciplines, including cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, social neuroscience, neurology, genetics, demography, bioeconomics, neuroeconomics, physiology, developmental psychology, psychology of religion, moral psychology, archaeology, mimetics, behavioral ecology, epidemiology, public health, cultural evolution, and religious studies. In summary, RBB considers high quality papers in any aspect of the brain-behavior nexus related to religion. All manuscript submissions are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts. Disclaimer
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): RELIGION
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial Sciences19.2%
- Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationSocial Sciences15.2%
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences13.3%
- Cultural Differences and ValuesPsychology8.5%
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentNeuroscience4.2%
- Paranormal Experiences and BeliefsPsychology3.8%
- Study and Philosophy of ReligionArts and Humanities3.6%
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorPsychology3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
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
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.96Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.81LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.81Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 46OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 165OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.29OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 14.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 36%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 13LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 115,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 768 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 2025 | 46 | 23 | 24 |
| 2024 | 38 | 23 | 94 |
| 2023 | 90 | 27 | 292 |
| 2022 | 95 | 32 | 689 |
| 2021 | 31 | 12 | 131 |
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
177 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 157 days – 243 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 60 days (19 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 240 days
- Sample
- 19 articles with submission and acceptance dates (74 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)
- 25%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Religion, Brain & Behavior is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial appraisal by Editor, then double anonymized peer review by independent expert referees; submission online via ScholarOne Manuscripts. Model summary
All manuscript submissions are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized and submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 2153-599X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2153-5981
- Society / sponsor
- Institute for the Biocultural Study of Religion
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 16, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Religion Brain & Behavior
What CAS zone is Religion Brain & Behavior in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Religion Brain & Behavior is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Religion. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Religion Brain & Behavior?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 4.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.3, h-index 46.
How long does peer review take at Religion Brain & Behavior?
Based on the dates recorded on 19 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 177 days (interquartile range 157–243 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 25%. 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 Religion Brain & Behavior?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Religion Brain & Behavior is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Religion Brain & Behavior open access, and what is the APC?
Religion Brain & Behavior is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .