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Overview
ISSN
not available (PRINT)
3079-0328 (ONLINE)
Focus and scope
Purpose of the journal
The main purpose of Integrated Biblical and Theological Studies (IBTS) is to revitalise and enhance the study of the biblical text through a comprehensive and holistic approach. It aims to bridge the gap between intra-disciplinary and inter/multidisciplinary approaches, fostering discussions that integrate various disciplines involved in the study of the Bible and its theological impact. It seeks to engage with both academia and the public, while promoting critical thinking within and beyond scholarly circles. IBTS revolves around the exploration of inter-/intra-disciplinarity in the study of the Bible. IBTS emphasises the importance of both inter- and intra-disciplinary approaches to comprehensively understand and engage with the Bible’s theological significance.
Focus of the journal
Themes or focus areas:
- Systematic-Historical Theology;
- Practical/Pastoral Theology;
- Counselling, Ministry, and Mission;
- Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics;
- Biblical Studies and Exegesis;
- History, Archaeology, and Linguistics in Biblical Studies;
- Literature, Art, and Humanities in Biblical Interpretation;
- Social Sciences;
- Bible and Performative Arts (Cinema; Documentary Film; Biblical Fiction; Works of Art; Music); and
- and Theological Engagements.
Methodological and paradigmatic approach
Interdisciplinary Approach:
The journal highlights the relevance of interdisciplinarity, which involves integrating insights and methodologies from various disciplines beyond the traditional domains of biblical studies. By engaging with fields such as history, archaeology, linguistics, literature, art, social sciences, and humanities studies more broadly, among others, it seeks to enrich biblical scholarship through diverse perspectives. This approach acknowledges that the Bible’s impact extends beyond the confines of specific disciplines and can be better understood when studied in conjunction with other academic areas.
Intradisciplinary Approach:
The journal recognises the value of intradisciplinary approaches, which focus on exploring the interconnections and diverse sub-disciplines within biblical/theological studies. It identifies disciplines such as systematic-historical theology, practical/pastoral theology, counselling, ministry, mission, biblical theology, and biblical studies as integral components in understanding the Bible’s multifaceted implications. By promoting the relevance of intra-disciplinarity, it acknowledges that individual disciplines within biblical studies can offer profound insights into the biblical text’s interpretation, theological significance, and contextual applications. This includes also all forms of intertextual readings of the Bible.
Synchronic Research:
The journal further asserts the need for synchronic research, which involves studying the received text of the Bible in all its forms, the experiences it produces, and the life-changing influences it has on individuals. This perspective aims to go beyond isolated or fragmentary readings of the Bible and encourages scholars to explore the interconnectedness and coherence of the Biblical text across different contexts and traditions. This holistic approach to the Bible’s examination aligns with the journal’s focus on integrated and comprehensive research.
Geographic or regional coverage
The journal aims to be internationally inclusive, accepting contributions from scholars worldwide. It seeks to explore the relevance and impact of the biblical text on diverse cultural contexts, both Christian and non-Christian.
Disciplinary perspectives
Relevance and Integration: IBTS emphasises that journals often underestimate the significance of an intra-disciplinary focus, choosing to prioritise inter- and multidisciplinary engagements instead. However, the journal seeks to bridge this gap by creating a forum that allows scholars to engage with the biblical text from multiple disciplinary angles while also recognising the value of individual disciplines in understanding the text’s nuances.
Overall, IBTS emphasises the significance of inter-/intra-disciplinarity in biblical and theological studies, advocating for an inclusive and integrated approach that promotes collaboration between diverse academic fields while recognising the unique insights offered by individual disciplines. The journal aspires to be a unicum in the scholarly theological and biblical panorama by fostering research that encompasses various disciplinary perspectives and encourages synchronic examinations of the biblical text.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The journal, in terms of its focus and scope, and, by extension, by the articles that are published in it, aims to respond to the following SDGs:
- Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
- Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
- Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
- Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Historic data
Over the past decades, academic scholarship in biblical and theological studies has seen an increasing move towards specialised or narrowly focused journals. Many prominent journals either concentrate on specific subfields or prioritize interdisciplinary collaboration without fully addressing the importance of intra-disciplinary depth. This trend has created a gap in the academic landscape, particularly in platforms that comprehensively integrate the wide-ranging fields of biblical and theological studies. The existing journals that emphasize interdisciplinary approaches have made significant contributions. However, these journals often focus on particular religious traditions or socio-cultural contexts, leaving a need for a broader, more inclusive approach to biblical scholarship. As a result, scholars seeking to explore the interconnectedness of various theological and biblical subfields often face limitations in terms of platforms that support this comprehensive integration.
Integrated Biblical and Theological Studies (IBTS) was conceived in 2022 to fill this gap, emerging as a unique platform that bridges both intra- and interdisciplinary approaches. The journal emphasizes collaboration between disciplines such as biblical studies, theology, exegesis, practical theology, history, archaeology, and the social sciences. Its broad scope allows for a fuller exploration of the Bible’s theological significance, addressing both academic and real-world applications of biblical principles. Furthermore, IBTS responds to a growing demand for research that speaks to contemporary challenges and offers practical insights. The inclusion of case studies, opinion pieces, and articles on practical theology ensures that the journal remains relevant not only to academics but also to religious practitioners and the public. In this way, IBTS provides a crucial contribution to the scholarly field, creating a forum where diverse academic perspectives can converge to enrich biblical scholarship and deepen theological understanding.
Publication frequency
The journal publishes one issue each year. Articles are published online when ready for publication and then printed in an end-of-year compilation. Additional issues may be published for special events (e.g. conferences) and when special themes are addressed.
Open access
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access. Learn more about the journal copyright, licensing and publishing rights.
Review process
The journal has a double-blinded peer review process. Manuscripts are initially examined by the editorial staff and are sent by the Editor-in-Chief to two expert independent reviewers, either directly or by a Section Editor. Read our full peer review process.
Membership
AOSIS is a member and/or subscribes to the standards and code of practices of several leading industry organisations. This includes the Directory of Open Access Journals, Ithenticate, Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, CrossRef, Portico and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Learn more here.
DHET Accreditation
We are working closely with the DHET Accreditation services to ensure that articles published in the journal will be available and accredited when appropriate.
Indexing Services
We are working closely with relevant indexing services to ensure that articles published in the journal will be available in their databases when appropriate.
Archiving
The full text of the journal articles is deposited in the following archives to guarantee long-term preservation:
- AOSIS Library
- Portico
- SA ePublications,Sabinet
- South African Government Libraries
AOSIS is also a participant in the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) initiative. LOCKSS will enable any library to maintain their own archive of content from AOSIS and other publishers, with minimal technical effort and using cheaply available hardware. The URL to the LOCKSS Publisher Manifest for the journal is, https://ibtsjournal.org/index.php/ibts/gateway/lockss. Please inform us if you are using our manifest as we would like to add your name to the list above.
Journal Impact
A journal's Impact Factor was originally designed in 1963 as a tool for libraries to compare journals, and identify the most popular ones to subscribe to. It was never intended to measure the quality of journals, and definitely not the quality of individual articles.
The Impact Factor is a journal-level measurement reflecting the yearly average number of citations of recent articles published in that journal. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field; journals with higher Impact Factors are often deemed to be more important than those with lower ones. Therefore, the more often articles in the journal are cited, the higher its Impact Factor.
The Impact Factor is highly discipline-dependent due to the speed with which articles get cited in each field and the related citation practices. The percentage of total citations occurring in the first two years after publication varies highly amongst disciplines. Accordingly, one cannot compare journals across disciplines based on their relative Impact Factors.
We provide several citation-based measurements for each of our journals, if available. We caution our authors, readers and researchers that they should assess the quality of the content of individual articles, and not judge the quality of articles by the reputation of the journal in which they are published.
Citation-based measurement |
2023* |
Journal Impact Factor, based on Web of Science (formerly ISI) |
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Source-Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), based on SCOPUS, Elsevier |
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