Journal profile · Multiple
Social Compass
ISSN 0037-7686 · eISSN 1461-7404 · SAGE
Social Compass: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.05; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 227 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 13.3% (journal website); 36 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social Compass is published by SAGE 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, Religion, Society, and Development and Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender, together about 53.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Social Compass is a fully peer reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles on the sociology of religion. It aims to reflect the wide variety of research being carried out by sociologists of religion in all countries. Part of each issue consists of invited articles on a particular theme; for the unthemed part of the journal, articles will be considered … | View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Belgium 5, United Kingdom 1, Germany 1, Italy 1, Spain 1 (11 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences25.2%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences14.6%
- Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, GenderSocial Sciences14%
- Religious Tourism and SpacesSocial Sciences6.9%
- Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial Sciences4.4%
- Religion and Society in Latin AmericaSocial Sciences3%
- French Urban and Social StudiesSocial Sciences2.9%
- Religious Education and SchoolsSocial Sciences2.7%
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 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Religion | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
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
- 1.05LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.47LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 56OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 459OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.45%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 37LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,851 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 36 | 25 | 39 |
| 2024 | 33 | 16 | 46 |
| 2023 | 39 | 18 | 109 |
| 2022 | 31 | 12 | 156 |
| 2021 | 34 | 9 | 290 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
227 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 13.3%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 227 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 114 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 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 150 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- editorialMost issues, with some exceptions, consist of invited articles on a particular theme. For the unthemed part, articles will be considered on any topic that bears…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Data sharing is not applicable to this journal as the subject matter covered by the aims & scope does not necessitate the need for the use of empirical data, softwa…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. If you wish to have color figures in the printed version, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice program, and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish op…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
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
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0037-7686
- Electronic ISSN
- 1461-7404
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social Compass
What CAS zone is Social Compass in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social Compass is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Religion / Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Social Compass?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.05; CiteScore 1.6, h-index 56.
How long does peer review take at Social Compass?
The publisher reports about 227 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 13.3%. 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 Social Compass?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 words; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; 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 Social Compass based?
Of the 11 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Belgium (5), United Kingdom (1) and Germany (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Social Compass?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social Compass is indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Is Social Compass open access, and what is the APC?
Social Compass is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
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: .