About This Journal
Call for Papers: Faith Communities: A Wider Expression.
Consensus is excited to announce a special issue entitled Faith Communities: A Wider Expression. (v46iss 1, Jan 2025). The concept of community and expression of differing forms of spirituality has become increasingly important in our world. The concept of “faith or spiritual community” has shifted and grown wider over the years in many contexts. Spiritual Communities have grown to encompass more than traditional rites celebrated on a particular day by a gathered community.
Consensus is interested in exploring themes including discussion on the changing nature of ways of gathering as a faith/spiritual community, a wider understanding of who is welcome or included in this community and how communities operate within this changing landscape. Some of the questions we hope to address include:
- How do communities gather today? What is the context, the "where" of faith/spiritual community, and who and what is understood as community?
- What does faith/spiritual leadership look like? Who is leading faith/spiritual communities today?
- Why are people seeking to gather as community around spirituality and faith traditions today?
- How have changing technology and world issues such as post-pandemic life shifted what is considered faith/spiritual community and how it is expressed?
Consensus seeks perspectives or practices from various religions that cultivate a wider understanding of faith/spiritual community. We seek contributions from scholars from around the world on any topic related to the theme, including but not limited to:
- Theological and philosophical perspectives on changing expressions of spiritual community
- Spirituality and leadership
- The nexus between change, gathering as community, and context
- Religious education and wider expressions of spiritual community
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion perspectives
- Gender and sexuality perspectives
- Various wisdom traditions on spiritual community and change
- Culture and the arts
The deadline for submission is October 28, 2024. Please send your submissions or your questions to the guest editor Anne Anderson, ananderson@luther.wlu.ca. Submissions should be between 3000 and 4000 words, as an MS Word attachment (see additional requirements), and formatted in either APA or Chicago style.
---Consensus (ISSN 2369-2685) is the theological journal published since 1985 by Martin Luther University College and Lutheran Theological Seminary, two institutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Prior to that it was a forum of the Canadian Lutheran Merger Commission of the late 1970s which led to the formation of the ELCIC.
- ISSN: 2369-2685 (Online)
- ISSN: 0317-1493 (Print)
Indexed in Atla Religion Database (Atla RDB).