Submissions

Author Guidelines

[NOTE: This website is a proposal awaiting formal approval. We are not yet accepting articles for submission.]

The journal welcomes submissions that broadly fall within the disciplines of biblical studies, systematic theology, church history, missiology, and practical theology. Submissions may represent a diversity of perspectives, methods, and theological traditions. Studies of specific churches in Ethiopia are welcome, but authors must be able to relate such studies to the scholarly discussion outside Ethiopia.

The journal accepts submissions written in English, Amharic, and Oromo. Articles written in Amharic or Oromo need to offer an extended abstract in English to aid international accessibility.

All submissions must be accompanied by an abstract in English (200 to 300 words for articles in English, 500 to 600 words for articles in Amharic or Oromo) and up to five keywords as well as a declaration that the work is not simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere, that it does not contain plagiarism, and that any references to the author’s previous works have been anonymized (see Review Process below). Submissions found to contain plagiarism or text generated by Artificial Intelligence will be rejected.

Articles should be written in Times New Roman, 12 point font and be double-spaced. The article should employ a suitable number of subheadings with no more than three levels. The length of the article should normally not be more than 12,000 words. Footnotes, rather than endnotes, should be used. In-text citations should be avoided. For more detailed instructions, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style and the SBL Handbook of Style. No bibliography should be included at the end of the article.

Articles should be submitted through the online site for the journal at https://ethiopianjournaloftheology.com

As the journal follows a practice of double-blind peer review, authors should make sure to anonymize their submissions. Do not make first-person references to your own work, and do not mention if the article is based on a paper presented at a conference or in any other context.

The Editors-in-Chief will assign submitted articles to at least one qualified peer-reviewer. The number of peer reviewers assigned to each article is determined by the Editors-in-Chief based on the contents of the article. To ensure international interest, articles focusing on case studies of Ethiopian churches will be reviewed by at least one scholar who is not from Ethiopia. In some cases, the Editors-in-Chief may assign the article to another peer reviewer after receipt of the report(s) from the initial reviewer(s), in order to secure a second opinion.

To ensure equity in the evaluation of scholars from diverse backgrounds with respect to theological traditions, ethnicity, gender, etc., the journal follows a strict practice of double-blind peer review, which means that contributors will remain anonymous to their reviewers, and the reviewers will remain anonymous to the contributors.

Based on the recommendation(s) of the reviewer(s), the Editors-in-Chief place the submission in one of three categories: 1) accepted for publication, 2) revisions requested, 3) rejected. Submissions that fall in the first category may be forwarded to the Copy Editor for editing and proofreading before publication. Submissions that fall in the second category may be revised by the author and resubmitted for a second, blind peer review. It is expected that most submissions that are placed in category 1) will initially be placed in category 2). Submissions that fall in the third category will not be published and will not be reviewed a second time. If a submission obviously does not fit with the journal’s publication strategy, it may be rejected without going through peer review.

Contributors will be informed of the Editors’ decision regarding their submission by e-mail. The notification may be accompanied by an account of the reviewer(s)’s evaluation. It is not the policy of the journal to offer further comments or to engage in further conversation regarding the decision process of individual submissions.