Call for Submissions: Practical Matters
Issue 14: Exclusion, Belonging, and Becoming in Religious Communities
Call for Submissions: practicalmattersjournal.org/submissions
Deadline: October 1, 2020
Many religious traditions uphold values of justice, community, and belonging, yet many also occupy ambivalent positions vis-à-vis systems and acts of exclusionary violence. Sometimes religion is the target and other times the perpetrator. The study of religious practices has much to offer to conversations on the complex entanglement of religion and exclusion. Similarly, studying religious practices can help us understand how religious communities nurture belonging and work toward personal and collective becoming in more capacious ways. In this issue, we engage critical analysis of the role of exclusionary violence both within and against various religious communities. We also seek dialogue about how communities respond to and resist exclusion with creative processes of becoming and transformation.
Practical Matters is now accepting submissions on religious practices and practical theology for Issue 14. The journal will feature articles on the theme of “Exclusion, Belonging, and Becoming in Religious Communities.” Potential topics may include but are not limited to
- The role of religion in forms of cultural, structural, direct, and epistemic violence
- The response of religious institutions to global crises (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic, the refugee crisis, the ongoing impact of colonialism, climate change, the prison-industrial complex, etc.)
- Cultivating a community of belonging in the context of COVID-19 and social distancing
- Religious practices created or practiced by marginalized individuals and communities
- Religion as a resource for resistance and social justice struggles
- How religious identity generates political stance and action
- Spirituality as a source of identity formation and development
- Understanding exclusion, belonging, and becoming in religious texts and practices
- The politics and practices of interfaith coalition-building and action
- Multiple-religious belonging and becoming across religious divides and boundaries
- Theological responses to specific forms of exclusions and belongings
- LGBTQ issues, identity politics, and religious institutions
- Religion’s undergirding of, and/or resistance to, white supremacy and coloniality
- The function of power and authority in religious communities
- The experience of symbolic and physical exclusion, as well as belonging
In all submissions, we are particularly interested in works that perform what they analyze—i.e. compelling use of theories, methods, and conversations that help flesh-out meta-commentary. We invite contributions on and from any religious or spiritual tradition as well as from any theoretical position or discipline. The journal includes both peer-reviewed articles (Features and Analyzing Matters) as well as non-peer reviewed content that presents the thoughtful reflections of teachers and practitioners (Practicing Matters and Teaching Matters). Practical Matters accepts submissions that incorporate a variety of media and genres.
Submissions are accepted and published on a rolling basis throughout the year. For more information, see http://practicalmattersjounral.org/submissions or contact the issue editor at pm.issue.editor@emory.edu. Submissions must be received by October 1, 2020 for consideration in Issue 14: Exclusion, Belonging, and Becoming in Religious Communities.