The editors of Arc: Journal of the School of Religious Studies are pleased to announce a call for papers and book reviews for our forthcoming volume (Vol. 48). Throughout the history of religions, the experience of cultural and religious plurality – that is to say, the experience of multiple coexisting traditions as well as the experience of internal plurality within one’s own tradition – has had a profound impact on the formation, shaping, and continual re-shaping of religious traditions, perspectives, and identities, both individual and communal. This impact has been so profound that, for many scholars, “it is epistemologically incoherent to ‘understand’ a religious singularity […] All religion susceptible of our study is in a situation of contact. There is no religion in the singular […] interrelational complexity constitutes our subject” (Steven M. Wasserstrom, “Nine Theses on the Study of Religion,” 10).  

Arc is thus interested in submissions which explore this interrelational complexity, and we identify the following themes as being of particular interest:

·      Pluralism;
·      Explorations of intra- /inter-religious dialogue and/or conflict;
·      Works of comparative religion, theology, and philosophy;
·      Studies examining how considerations of intersectionality bear on intra- /inter- religious relations.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and we welcome submissions that broadly address the interrelational complexity of religion from any area within the study of religion, including: Theology; Comparative Religions; Theory and Method; Philosophy of Religion; History of Religions; Sociology of Religion; Anthropology of Religion; Psychology of Religion; Religious Ethics; Critical Race Theory; Religion and Literature; Religion and Art; Religion and Linguistics; Religion and Health; Textual Studies. We welcome submissions that focus on traditions from any time period or geographic area.

The submission deadline for Vol. 48 is August 30,^th 2020. Submissions received after this date may be considered for subsequent volumes. Articles should fall between 6,000 and 10,000 words in length, including footnotes. Longer items may be considered, but should be discussed with the journal editors prior to submission. Book reviews should not exceed 1,500 words. For detailed submission guidelines, please consult the Guidelines for Contributors (PDF) on our website (https://www.mcgill.ca/religiousstudies/about/publication/arc). All electronic correspondence should be sent to the editors at the following email address: arc.relgstud@mcgill.ca

Arc is an interdisciplinary, refereed journal published annually by the School of Religious Studies, McGill University. The journal combines the talents of professors and graduate students in offering space for scholarly discussions on various aspects of the academic study of religion.