Journal profile · RELIGION
Religion Compass
ISSN 1749-8171 · Wiley-Blackwell
Religion Compass: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.8 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,900; median 188 days to acceptance (58 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 51% (journal website); 43 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Religion Compass is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 and Society Interactions, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 25.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
What is Religion Compass? Religion Compass offers the quality and rigour of a scholarly journal, combined with a commitment to examining developing scholarly directions, as well as the speed and functionality of electronic publishing. Commissioned from leading researchers, Religion Compass articles are distinguished from those of traditional journals by combining original research and analysis with a broader expertise and understanding of how that fits—as both contribution and intervention—in the authors’ fields or sub-fields. Because the journal publishes peer-reviewed, state-of-the-field articles on a continual, monthly basis, it is unencumbered by rigid publishing timelines, ensuring that topical and significant research reaches the public effectively and efficiently. Religion Compass adheres to the same quality control procedures as for any Wiley journal, both in terms of editorial and production standards. Religion Compass articles allow established as well as junior scholars and advanced students to: keep up with the newest developments and trends in research teach in new and unfamiliar areas outside of their research specialty find high-quality, peer-reviewed online content quickly and accessibly Author Benefits Benefits for authors include: Article published within 4-6 weeks after acceptance A citable, peer-reviewed article, with a permanent DOI International exposure / broad readership PDF offprint The Religion Compass Audience The Religion Compass audience covers a wide range, from research and teaching faculty, graduate students to advanced undergraduates – from potentially any area of the discipline. This is a distinguishing feature of the journal, and a benefit to authors in terms of enhanced and breadth of exposure. You are writing for your peers, but also for researchers and students from unrelated areas. It is therefore crucial that Religion Compass articles always remain accessible to non-specialists. The writing should be authoritative and lively. Article Length and Scope In general, articles should run between 3000-5000 words (excluding references). Longer articles can be considered at the Section Editor’s discretion. The Section Editor will agree the topic of your article with you before you begin to write your piece. The writing style should be crisp, concise and informative, while adhering to the quality and standard of an expert research paper. Remember: you are writing for non-specialists from many different areas. Your article will
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): RELIGION
Editor-in-chief Anne BlankenshipPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 123, United Kingdom 14, Canada 6, Germany 5, Japan 2 (163 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences9.3%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.1%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering8.1%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science8.1%
- Indian and Buddhist StudiesArts and Humanities5.2%
- Biblical Studies and InterpretationArts and Humanities5.2%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences4.6%
- Anthropological Studies and InsightsSocial Sciences4.3%
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 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: EBSCO
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 (publisher)
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 30OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 146OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.25%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 23LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 23Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 102,461Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,112 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 38 | 16 | 1 |
| 2025 | 43 | 27 | 8 |
| 2024 | 50 | 25 | 67 |
| 2023 | 36 | 22 | 10 |
| 2022 | 38 | 10 | 43 |
| 2021 | 52 | 6 | 123 |
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
188 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 126 days – 321 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (58 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 220 days
- Sample
- 58 articles with submission and acceptance dates (75 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)
- 51%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 51%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 58 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 58 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 286 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 13 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 2,900 / EUR 2,400 / GBP 1,930 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal encourages data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Wiley's Preprints Policy statement for subscription/hybrid open access journals
Religion Compass will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. You are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
Authors should kindly note that submission implies that the content has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium. Please note that submissions are only accepted on an on-commission basis. Should you feel you have a manuscript suitable for publication in Religion Compass then please refer to the edit…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Wiley's Preprints Policy statement for subscription/hybrid open access journals
Religion Compass will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. You are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
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
- 1749-8171
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20, Issue 5 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Religion Compass
What CAS zone is Religion Compass in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Religion Compass 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 Compass?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.8 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.9, h-index 30.
How long does peer review take at Religion Compass?
Based on the dates recorded on 58 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 188 days (interquartile range 126–321 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 51% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Religion Compass?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Religion Compass based?
Of the 163 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (123), United Kingdom (14) and Canada (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Religion Compass?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Religion Compass is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Religion Compass open access, and what is the APC?
Religion Compass is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,900.
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: .