AFRICAJOURNALS

We wish all our readers, authors and reviewers and their loved ones a healthy and safe 2021

Call for Special Issue 2: 
Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Submissions will be considered up until 13 April 2021 and should be submitted to esthermavengano@gmail.com or  marevesat@gmail.com
Papers will be published by 15 May 2021

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a number of challenges in the areas of religio-socio-political and economic activities globally. Notably, Africa was not spared from this crisis. In light of these challenges brought by the coronavirus disease in contemporary period, the main goal of this Special Issue is to cast critical theoretical, conceptual and methodological reflections on the intersections of religion, ethics and communication in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. In so doing, the Special Issue underscores the importance of an interdisciplinary study of religion ethics and communication and their implications in the era of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. The call invites researchers to interrogate behaviours, attitudes, values, lifestyles, expressive modes and practices of people in relations to the religious, ethical and communication patterns in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The complex nature of religion provides what Appleby (2000) refers to as the ‘ambivalence of the sacred.’ Put differently, religion is an avenue for good morals but at the same time it has been fingered in atrocious activities. It is imperative to evaluate the ambiguous function of religion in light of the responses to COVID-19 pandemic. Religion and ethics become handy to assess the level of tolerance to the affected and infected as well as the dissemination of information where there is mis/information in light of coronavirus in Africa.
 
This Special Issue invites scholars in the fields of religion, ethics and communication to reflect on these issues mentioned and create academic conversations that can shape the post-COVID-19 future. Contributors should grapple with the questions like: What conceptual, theoretical, methodological and epistemological questions does COVID-19 pandemic invoke in 21 first century African societies? How can we progressively understand and dialogue about the interactions of religion, ethics and communication in light of COVID-19 without reifying and essentialising them? Thus, contributions deriving from and reflecting such an interdisciplinary orientation are welcome. Abstracts are invited from, but not limited to, the following thematic categories:
 
Biblical studies, politics and COVID-19 pandemic
Religion, communication and COVID-19 pandemic
Biblical studies, ethics and COVID-19 pandemic
Linguistics/communication, ethics and COVID-19 pandemic
Indigenous communication and African indigenous religions
Biblical studies, Gender dynamics and COVID-19 pandemic

Contributors may suggest other titles within the broad theme of religion, ethics and communication in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Interested contributors should submit 250 words abstract to the addresses below. The correct journal format and style of referencing are essential for any submission to be considered. There are also the usual processing fees to be paid if articles are accepted after double blind-peer reviewing.
Word count -5000 to 6000

Editor of Special Issue 2
Prof Dr M. Masoga - Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand, South Africa

Special Issue 2 Assistant  Editors:
Dr T. Marevesa - Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe   marevesat@gmail.com
Dr E. Mavengano - Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe  esthermavengano@gmail.com

Volume 102 (2021) is also open for new submissions 

All article(s) should be submitted to our Editorial Office as e-mail attachment to africajournals@hotmail.com
We will consider original and significant contributions that meet the general criteria of significance and  scientific excellence. Articles submitted must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere.
It is recommended that authors provide their once-off ORCID iD in each of their submission details.
This is however not mandatory. Authors must however provide full contact details including email and institutional addresses.

A warm welcome to our new 2021 appointed Editorial Board members from all the corners of the Earth, we thank you for your passion for education and willingness to guide the Pharos Journal of Theology to new heights!

The Pharos Journal of Theology, formerly known as the Ekklesiastikos Pharos was originally published in Alexandria (Egypt) directly by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate as a theological review at the beginning of the 20th Century. Consequently it is one of the oldest scholarly periodicals in Africa.

The Journal is an international, progressive, double blind reviewed  journal of scholarship reflecting the history and philosophy of religious thought in all traditions and periods, including:

Systematic Theology, Biblical Studies, New Testament, Old Testament, Christianity, Spirituality, Church History, Jewish Studies, Theology, Pastoral Theology, Christian Ethics, Biblical Archaeology, Missiology, Pneumatology, Gospel and Culture, Religiousness, Religion and Comparative Religious Studies, Religious Education, Religious tourism, Inter-faith Studies, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam.

The Pharos Journal of Theology provides a forum for discussing theological issues in cross-cultural perspectives and features relevant articles and in-depth reviews on the latest publications in the field of Theology and is of great interest to academics and lay people as well as professional theologians.


The Pharos Journal of Theology is Indexed on ERIH PLUS  - Norwegian Social Science Data Services LEVEL 1, DHET list, DOAJ - DIRECTORY OF OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS
we are also indexed in BIBP - Bibliographic Information Base in Patristics (Université Laval) ​​and  EZB Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (EZB - electronic journals database) as well as in AcademicKeys

Special Editions: Two/Three are called for annually: A ‘Special Issue’ is a collection of papers focused on a specific topic. It may also be a collection of papers from a Conference associated with the journal.

Publication info
Our publication model has been carefully thought-out to allows minimal publishing costs. We are of the view that academic publishing is a not-for-profit enterprise undertaken for the good of universal dissemination, and it should not be determined by any exclusionary pay barriers. The authors of each accepted paper after a double blind peer reviewing  are asked to pay nominal processing fees.

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​We have an electronic backup system in place to maintain  access to the content of the journal in the event that we  no longer publish. All articles are kept in no less than three electronic places and also archived with the National Library of South Africa (NLSA Legal Deposit).

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When an article is published in the Pharos Journal of Theology, the author(s) of the article retain the copyright of article. Author(s) may republish the article as part of any book or other materials. When reusing an published article, author(s) should always cite that the article was originally published in the Pharos Journal of Theology and include the article DOI. The author should also accept that the article remains published by the Pharos Journal of Theology  (except in occasion of a retraction of the article)

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Articles are published and made freely available for all via open access online, this form of copyright agreement allows the owners of intellectual property (authors) to maintain copyright in their journal articles.  The statements and opinions contained in the publications in volumes are solely those of the individual author/s and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or the publisher. Although efforts are made to ensure that the contents of the articles are correct, PHAROS will not be responsible for any errors made or damages suffered as a result of reliance being placed on information obtained from the Journal.  Furthermore, opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not reflect the opinion or viewpoint of
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AFRICAJOURNALS  Processing  Fee Waiver Policy

We have a waiver policy in place for deserving authors. The provision for either a complete or partial fee waiver depends entirely on a case-by-case assessment. The waiver may allow for a 3/4 processing fee to be paid.  A request for a waiver as stated, can only be considered if the request for a waiver has been sent to the related journal before submission of the manuscript. The Managing Editor will decide on the merits of each request. There is also a limit to waiver grants per year, so once reached, no further waivers are possible.
Please note that the journal does not charge any submission fee only a processing fee.