''The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies'' is a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

covering the field of

Pagan studies Pagan studies is the multidisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of modern paganism, a broad assortment of modern religious movements, which are typically influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of premodern ...

including historical, sociological, and anthropological studies dealing with

contemporary Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

and other forms of

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

religion. Since 2004 the journal has been published by Equinox Publishing and the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

is Chas S. Clifton (

Colorado State University–Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

). The journal was established as a scholarly but not fully peer-reviewed publication in 1996 by Fritz Muntean and Diana Tracy with the subtitle ''A New Journal of Neopagan Thought''. In 2001 the production of the journal was put on hiatus, as Muntean stepped down as editor, to be replaced by Clifton when it resumed publication, this time as a fully peer-reviewed academic publication and with its current subtitle.

History

The idea for ''The Pomegranate'' was initially developed by Fritz Muntean, a graduate student in religious studies at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in Canada, who started the venture with his friend Diana Tracy, who was then living in Oregon in the United States. Clifton 2004. p. 5. Initially naming their work ''The Pomegranate: A New Journal of Neopagan Thought'', the stated intention of the publication was to "provide a scholarly venue for the forthright and critical examination of Neopagan beliefs and practices". From 1996 to 2001, Muntean published 18 issues of ''The Pomegranate'' on a quarterly basis, gaining a growing readership as time went on, particularly after Muntean and Tracy introduced the journal to the assembled members at the third Nature Religions Scholars Network (NRSN), a group which met in conjunction with the annual San Francisco meeting of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profes ...

. Muntean eventually decided to move on from his work as editor of ''The Pomegranate'', leaving that position to be occupied by Clifton. Together, Muntean and Clifton searched for a new publisher, in 2003 eventually signing an agreement with Equinox Publishing. Under Clifton's control, the journal's subtitle was changed to ''The International Journal of Pagan Studies'' and it adopted a peer review structure for the papers which it published. Clifton 2004. p. 6.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in

Religious and Theological Abstracts Religious and Theological Abstracts is a database that indexes many religious and theological journals and other literature. In 2005, one ''Guide to Research'' described it as a "popular reference" , covering more than 600 periodicals in most ma ...

Arts & Humanities Citation Index The ''Arts & Humanities Citation Index'' (A&HCI), also known as ''Arts & Humanities Search'', is a citation index, with abstracting and indexing for more than 1,700 arts and humanities journals, and coverage of disciplines that includes social an ...

Current Contents ''Current Contents'' is a rapid alerting service database from Clarivate Analytics, formerly the Institute for Scientific Information and Thomson Reuters. It is published online and in several different printed subject sections. History ''Cur ...

/Arts & Humanities, and

Academic Search Premier Academic Search is a monthly indexing service. It was first published in 1997 by EBSCO Publishing in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Its academic focus is international universities, covering social science, education, psychology, and other subjects. Pu ...

and other EBSCO databases.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links