color: rgb(0, 41, 102);">Preparing Your Manuscript

Please ensure your manuscript is complete, original, and not under review elsewhere.

File Format:

Submit as .doc or .docx. PDF files are not accepted.
All text, acknowledgments, references, appendices, figures, and tables must be included in the main file.

Manuscript Structure:

Title (clear and descriptive)
Authors’ names, affiliation, and country
Abstract (150–250 words)
Keywords (five to ten terms)
Main text (organized appropriately for the method or argument developed)
Figures and tables (embedded in the text)
Acknowledgments (if applicable), AI Acknowledgment, Informed Consent, and Conflict of Interest statements
Reference list (alphabetized)
Appendices (if applicable / up to four pages)
About the Authors

Technical Requirements

Word Count: Manuscripts must be between 4,000 and 8,000 words. From the total word count, the title, abstract, and keywords are excluded, as well as the Acknowledgments, AI Acknowledgment, Informed Consent, Conflict of Interest, References, Appendices (maximum of four pages), and About the Authors sections.
Author Names: All author names need to be on the original submission document. Our editorial team will anonymize the manuscript as necessary. Additional authors cannot be added once the manuscript has been approved for peer review.
AI Acknowledgment: All submissions need to include an AI Acknowledgment regardless of whether AI tools were used or not. Authors must refer to the article template and include the relevant statement in their submission.
Informed Consent and Conflict of Interests: Statements on informed consent and conflict of interests should be included in the submission if applicable. Authors should refer to the article template and include the relevant statement in their submission.
CGScholar Profile: All submitting authors must have a completed CGScholar Profile. The Micro-Bio, Affiliation, and Interests sections need to be filled out.
References: References should be alphabetized. All references should have matching in-text citations and vice versa. References in languages other than English must include a translation in [square brackets] following the original. All entries for journal articles should include a DOI, beginning with https://doi.org/10... If a DOI is not available, another stable URL must be used.

We prefer submissions in the article template, but this is not a requirement.

Content Review

Scope and Concerns: To ensure your submission is a strong thematic fit, please review the scope and concerns of the Religion and Spirituality in Society Research Network. The Common Ground Journal Publishing team may recommend transferring your article to a different journal if it offers a better alignment with your topic and approach.
Fluency: Manuscripts must read fluently in English. They should be clear, concise, and accessible, and word choice should not reflect a conversational or relaxed dialogue.
Scholarly Sources: References should contain an appropriate number of recent scholarly sources.

Author Requirements

Publication Ethics: Authors should review all statements in our Publication Ethics & Policy. Submissions must be original works that are not being considered for publication nor published elsewhere. No multiple, redundant, or concurrent submissions are allowed. Studies must comply with the Informed Consent for Human and Animal Rights statement.
Use of AI/AI Authorship: Studies must comply with the Policy on the Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies. AI tools may be used for language editing only; they may not generate data, analysis, or conceptual content without explicit disclosure.
Eligibility: Authors must be currently enrolled in a graduate-level program (Master's degree or higher) or have equivalent academic or professional experience.
Reference Verification: Ensure that every source in your reference list is accurate, up to date, and verifiable (e.g., correct author names, title, publication details, and active DOIs/URLs) to maintain the integrity and credibility of your manuscript. We strongly recommend that you exercise caution if using AI tools for references, as this can result in errors or fabricated details. It is the author's responsibility to cross-check references/citations against the original source material prior to submission. Manuscripts with unverifiable references will be withdrawn from consideration.

Membership Model and Publication Fees

After completing the Peer Review phase, you will receive a notification that your manuscript has entered the Rights Agreement phase. This journal operates under a Hybrid Open Access model, meaning that it offers three publication options:

All Rights Reserved (+ Green Open Access)
Open Access (CC-NC-BY-ND)
Gold Open Access (CC-BY)

For more information, please refer to our guide to the Author Pathways and the Journal Author Rights and Permissions page, where you will find all the information to help you decide on the publication option that best suits your needs.

To proceed to the next phase of the process, it will be necessary to sign the Rights Agreement and pay the applicable APC. If you hold a membership (automatically included when registering as a presenter at our conferences), you may use the points included with your membership to complete this phase under the All Rights Reserved (+ Green Open Access) option at no additional cost. Alternatively, the APC may be paid by credit card or via bank transfer.

Please note that membership points do not cover the full cost of the Open Access and Gold Open Access options for our English-language journals. However, if you have accumulated a sufficient number of points, these may substantially reduce the cost or, in some cases, cover it in full.

Membership, in addition to providing points that may be used toward the publication of an article, offers a range of additional benefits associated with participation in a Research Network.

Membership supports the collective infrastructure through which research is shared and developed. Membership offers the following benefits:

Access to the Knowledge Community for Members in CGScholar (KX): Built by and for members, this shared space connects the full cycle of our work—and your work: preparation, presentation, reflection, and publication. Community is a living commons for reciprocity, rigor, and continuity, where members can access everything in one place—conference updates and media, calls for papers, programs, archives, and journal and book content —and share their ideas and current activities.
Publication Pathways: Members are granted points to publish a manuscript in one of our journals, provided that the article is accepted through a double-blind peer-review process.
Access to content: One year of personal electronic access to all journal and book content published in both English and Spanish.
Conference Discounts: Discounted registration for the annual conference.
Newsletter and information: A subscription to the Research Network’s digital newsletter, featuring updates on upcoming events, new publications, and network-related topics.

Discounts are available for authors from countries with low and middle per capita income via the Common Ground Author Fund. The Network also recognizes outstanding contributions through the annual International Award for Excellence, selected from top-ranked peer-reviewed articles, with recipients invited to serve as featured speakers at subsequent conferences.

After Submission

The Publishing Team will provide you with an update when your manuscript has completed the initial evaluation. You may be asked to make revisions if specific requirements have not been met, and your manuscript may be moved for consideration in a different Research Network or journal. Manuscripts that do not meet the needs or requirements of the journal will be withdrawn.

Phase Guide: Information about all publication phases can be found here.

Review Community Approach

Authors who contribute to the journal are included in the peer-reviewer pool. This strengthens a cycle in which scholars support one another’s work: distributing expertise across disciplines and geographies, ensuring that review remains independent and scholar-driven, and fostering a culture of supportive, constructive feedback.

Reviewers are asked to declare any conflicts of interest and to use a structured rubric-based review form that supports consistent, transparent assessment. The editorial team makes final decisions informed by reviewer reports and in line with international ethical standards, including COPE guidelines. In this way, peer review becomes a collaborative scholarly commitment—an act of participation in the ongoing renewal of independent, scholar-led research and the intellectual commons through which new knowledge is refined, debated, and shared.

For more information, see our Peer Review Policy

The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society