Journal Policies

Editorial Oversight

The Editor-in-Chief, or the joint Editors-in-Chief, are selected and appointed by the Board of Directors (‘Joint Publication Board’) of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science NFP, a not-for-profit scholarly corporation. The appointment term is five years (renewable). The Editor-in-Chief can appoint Editors (including a Book Symposium Editor, Assistant Editors and Editorial Assistants). The Joint Publication Board appoints members to the Editorial Advisory Board; the appointment term is five years (renewable) and appointments are made (or renewed) with a view to diversity in the composition. Guest editors of thematic sections are consulted on editorial matters by the Editor-in-Chief, but the responsibility for making editorial decisions lies solely with the Editor-in-Chief (see under ‘Thematic Sections’). Every manuscript is first evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief on whether it can be selected for peer review, which is subsequently organised by the Editor-in-Chief. Following peer review, decisions about manuscripts are made by the Editor-in-Chief, except for manuscripts for Book Symposia, which are handled by the Book Symposia Editor. The journal cultivates a broad and experienced Editorial Advisory Board that contains members from across different nations, academic institutions, genders and demographics. Potential advisory board members are approached by the Editor-in-Chief on behalf of, and after decision by, the Joint Publication Board, which keeps this diversity in mind.

Peer Review Process

Every manuscript is first evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief on whether it can be selected for peer review, which is subsequently organised by the Editor-in-Chief. Editorials, book symposia, and introductions to thematic sections do not need to pass through peer review. The journal uses double-anonymous peer review. Reviewers are selected by the Editor-in-Chief on the basis of their expertise and objectivity. The journal does not invite authors to suggest potential peer reviewers for their articles. Peer reviewers are provided with only title and abstract prior to their acceptance to review an article. Upon acceptance to review, the entire manuscript, including abstract and figures are made available to peer reviewers. Peer reviewers are asked for their judgements on the subject matter of the article, its particular contribution to the topic, its organisation, the adequacy of reasoning and/or evidence and the writing style. According to its double-anonymous peer review policy, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science does not publish peer review reports or the names of the peer reviewers alongside articles. Anonymised peer review data is held securely and privately in the journal’s publishing platform for the author to access whenever they choose to.

Organization and Governance

Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science is owned and managed by Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science NFP, a not-for-profit scholarly corporation established in Chicago in 2019, which succeeds a joint venture established in 1965 and has as its members: IRAS, the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (1954), CASIRAS, the Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (1972), and ISSR, the International Society for Science and Religion (2002). Over the history of the journal, funding has come from a variety of sources: an endowment has been built up from contributions from individuals, while operating costs of the corporation had been met from a share in publication revenue. With the disappearance of publication revenue after shifting to diamond open access in 2024, the main sources of income are now contributions (if any) from member organisations and individuals, as well as investment income and unrealised gains on investments. The corporation is dedicated entirely to publishing the journal. The corporation’s Board of Directors (‘Joint Publication Board’) has nine members; each member organization appoints three directors. The selection and appointment of the Editor-in-Chief, or the joint Editors-in-Chief, is done by the Joint Publication Board. The appointment term is five years (renewable). The Editor-in-Chief can appoint Editors, Assistant Editors and Editorial Assistants. The Joint Publication Board appoints members to the Editorial Advisory Board; the appointment term is five years (renewable) and appointments are made (or renewed) with a view to diversity in the composition. The journal was formerly published by The University of Chicago Press (1966–1978), Wilfrid Laurier University Press (1979–1989) and Blackwell/Wiley (1990–2023), and from 2024 the journal is published by the Open Library of Humanities (OLH).

Advertising and Direct Marketing

This journal does not permit any advertising on the journal’s website and will never consider requests of any kind from other parties wishing to advertise in the journal or on its webpages. This journal does not engage in any direct marketing practices. The publisher, OLH, employs a Marketing Officer who undertakes general marketing activities for the publisher including the promotion of its journals. The Marketing Officer does not, however, engage in direct marketing for any OLH journals and this does not affect the editorial decisions of OLH journals in any way.

Other Revenue

This journal is funded by OLH’s Library Partnership Subsidy Model. Other revenue, that is, revenue of the not-for-profit corporation owning and managing the journal, consists of contributions from member organizations and individuals, as well as investment income and unrealised gains on investments (as outlined in ‘Organization and Governance’). These streams of revenue do not in any way affect the editorial decisions of the journal.

Thematic Sections

Anyone can propose thematic sections to the Editor-in-Chief via e-mail, with an indication of the theme, authors, article titles, abstracts, timeline and (where applicable) prior peer review (e.g., in relation to a workshop or conference). Proposals can be submitted on a rolling basis; the Editor-in-Chief makes a selection from the proposals received, including offering the possibility for revision and resubmission of unsuccessful proposals that are interesting but require further development. At least one double-anonymous peer review will be organized by the Editor-in-Chief for each article in a thematic section. Organizers of thematic sections (which can be labelled ‘guest editors’) are consulted on editorial matters by the Editor-in-Chief, but the responsibility for making editorial decisions lies solely with the Editor-in-Chief.