About the Journal
African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society
(Formerly: Calabar Journal of Religious Studies, ISSN 1595-1340)
The African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society (AJRCS) is the official publication of the Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria. The journal provides a scholarly platform for critical engagement with issues at the intersection of religion, culture, society, and ethics, with particular emphasis on African contexts in dialogue with global discourses.
Since its inception as the Calabar Journal of Religious Studies from 1999-2004, the journal has maintained its commitment to fostering rigorous academic debate and advancing knowledge in the fields of religious studies, philosophy, ethics, African culture, interfaith relations, peace studies, and social transformation. The renaming to African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society reflects its broadened scope and renewed mission to serve as a continental and international outlet for interdisciplinary research.
The journal publishes original research articles, theoretical essays, critical reviews, and case studies that address contemporary and historical issues in religion and society. Contributions are welcomed from scholars across the humanities, social sciences, and cognate fields who are interested in exploring how religion and culture shape values, identity, social structures, conflict, peacebuilding, and sustainable development.
Scope and Coverage:
• Religion and culture in Africa and the diaspora
• Comparative religion and interfaith relations
• African philosophy and ethics
• Religion, politics, and governance
• Culture, identity, and social transformation
• Religion, peace, and conflict studies
• Religion and science/technology
• Applied ethics and professional practice
The journal is peer-reviewed and committed to maintaining high academic standards. It seeks to stimulate dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, and to contribute to the promotion of knowledge that fosters mutual understanding, peaceful coexistence, and social development within Africa and beyond.
AIMS
African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, open access, research journal, fully dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge. It is an academic platform for scholars to share the fruits of their research findings. The journal publishes high-quality research papers with proven evidence of outstanding contribution to scholarship. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies are endorsed. It publishes innovative, conceptual, and theoretical articles. Full-length research reports, short research notes, and literature reviews are accepted for publication.
MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
Manuscripts must be submitted in English, in full compliance with the latest editions of the Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) styles in documentation. Manuscripts must include an abstract of 150 – 200 words in English. Authors are expected to list five keywords for indexing purposes. Manuscripts up to 8000 words in length are accepted for publication. Manuscripts should be prepared in MS Word format. Authors should provide full contact information, covering institutional affiliation, e-mail address, postal address, and phone number. All articles should be sent through email attachment to editorajrcsunical@gmail.com
FEES: The journal Charges Assessment fee of N10,000 and Publication fee of N30,000 only. Every submission must go with the assessment fee paid into this account: Department of Religious & Cultural Studies. Bank: Unical MicroFinance Bank. Acct. No. 0110429874 and evidence sent to editorajrcsunical@gmail.com
ETHICS POLICY
Authors must ensure that all research submitted to the African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society adheres to accepted ethical standards. The journal endorses and applies the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which promotes integrity:
• Human Research: Studies involving human participants must include a statement confirming informed consent and approval from an institutional review board, research ethics committee, or equivalent authority. Where no formal ethics body exists, authors must demonstrate that research was conducted responsibly and ethically.
• Animal Research: Manuscripts involving animals must state that appropriate care was taken to minimize pain or discomfort, and details of animal welfare should be provided.
• Editorial Oversight: Editors and reviewers will evaluate the ethical integrity of manuscripts. Additional information may be requested where necessary, and manuscripts may be rejected if ethical standards are not met. In exceptional cases where no ethics review body exists, editors will exercise discretion, and a statement will be included in the publication to explain the circumstances.
• Plagiarism and AI Use: Each manuscript is pre-screened by plagiarism detection software both before and after review and requires maximum of 5% similarity index. The journal does not accept the wholesale use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate manuscripts. Such manuscripts will be rejected.
• Disclaimer: The opinions and statements published do not necessarily represent the policies or views of the editor and the editorial team.
RETRACTION AND FABRICATION POLICY
The African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. To safeguard the credibility of the scholarly record, the following policies apply:
• Grounds for Retraction: Articles may be retracted if there is clear evidence of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, redundant publication, unethical research practices, or major errors that invalidate the findings or conclusions.
• Correction vs. Retraction: Where errors do not undermine the overall validity of the work, a correction (erratum or corrigendum) will be issued instead of a retraction. Retractions are reserved for serious breaches of integrity or misconduct.
• Fabrication, Falsification, and AI Misuse: Any evidence of manipulated, fabricated, or falsified data (including text, images, or references) will result in rejection during review or retraction if already published. Similarly, manuscripts found to contain wholesale use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate false data, fabricated references, or misleading content will be retracted. The corresponding author and their institution will be notified.
• Procedure: Retraction decisions are made by the editorial board, sometimes in consultation with peer reviewers or external experts. Authors will be informed of concerns and given an opportunity to respond before final decisions are taken.
• Transparency: Retracted articles will remain in the public record but will be clearly marked as “Retracted” with an accompanying notice explaining the reason for retraction.
• Sanctions: In cases of proven fabrication, falsification, AI misuse, or deliberate misconduct, the journal may ban the author(s) from future submissions for a specified period and notify relevant institutions or funding bodies.