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Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Aims & Scope

The Religious Educator is published three times annually and solicits articles on nearly all topics related to the history, doctrine, practice, and beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The journal was founded with the intent to create a means of communication between teachers and research professionals who study the history, doctrine, and practice of the Church. As originally conceived, the journal publishes only well researched, academically documented studies. The journal also publishes interviews relating to the current direction of the journal and are decided upon by the editorial staff at the journal.

The aims of the journal are to engage teachers in a variety of pedagogical settings. Initially the journal intentionally targeted professional religious educators, those who were employed by one of the LDS Church owned schools or who were otherwise employed to teach by the Church. Since its beginnings, the journal has expanded to include religious educators in a variety of settings, and now specifically targets both professionals, non-professionals, and increasingly academics who engage in scholarly conversations on religious topics.

The topics covered by the journal include but are not limited to scripture, doctrine, history, practice, policy, pedagogy, faith experiences, and pioneers. The journal is inclined to publish those articles that present these topics in a new light, using a fresh approach, applying a rigorous methodology, and drawing upon new documents. Articles are not solicited, and submissions are accepted from professionals and nonprofessionals.

The third edition of the journal, published each year in September-October, is aimed specifically at seminary and institute teachers of the LDS Church. That issue typically contains one-half to two-thirds of its content from seminary and institute teachers as well as instruction and training that they have been given during their annual meetings. Publication of those materials is coordinated through the Salt Lake offices of S&I, and submissions are not made directly to the journal.

Most manuscripts submitted are between ten and thirty double-spaced pages. To view recent published articles, visit Religious Educator - Past Volumes.

All articles that are submitted to the journal are read by the publications director at the RSC to determine if they should be sent our for peer review or returned to the author for further work. Articles that pass this initial review are then submitted for review by at least two peer reviewers. All reviews are anonymous, and the review process typically takes up to six months. At times reviews can take longer given the volume of submissions that we receive. The content of reviews are communicated directly to authors, and the publications director communicates with authors on the RSC's intent to publish or not publish.

Typically, articles accepted for publication will appear in print within one year of the time that an intent to publish is communicated to the author.