History and format
The journal was established in 1985 as ''Religion Today'' by the Centre for New Religions at King's College London. Its founding editor-in-chief, editor was Peter B. Clarke (later at Wolfson College, Oxford).Clarke, Peter Bernard. ''New Religions in Global Perspective: A Study of Religious Change in the Modern World'', Routledge 2006, p. 46, The journal, which changed its name to the current title in 1995, is published by Routledge. Its current editor is Elisabeth Arweck (University of Warwick); Peter B. Clarke, who died in June 2011, remained listed as co-editor until the end of that year out of respect for his contributions to the field.Julius J. Lipner, Lipner, Julius (1997-10-17)Reception
The ''Times Higher Education'' stated in a 1997 review of the journal that "The contributors are invariably academics, mainly from North America and Europe. The style ranges from the homely, almost chatty at times, to the more formal. The articles, however, are on the whole scholarly and, as advertised, treat of a wide range of subjects, from the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Brahma Kumaris to Sahaja Yoga, from the 'Toronto Blessing' to the nature of fundamentalism, from 'The Protestant eruption into modern Brazilian politics' to 'Deconfessionalisation in the Netherlands' (in the last three decades or so). There are fieldwork reports, ethnographic accounts, and historical and conceptual studies. The standard of research and analysis is what one would expect from a good academic journal." The review criticised the small number and seemingly arbitrary selection of book reviews, but concluded by stating that "On the whole, then, the journal is a valuable research tool and source of new knowledge for scholars, teachers and others interested in studying the phenomenon of contemporary religion. With nothing really comparable available in the field, it is highly recommended."Abstracting and indexing
The ''Journal of Contemporary Religion'' is abstracted and indexed in Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts, British Humanities Index, CSA (database company), Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, EBSCO Publishing, EBSCOhost, Educational Research Abstracts Online, Multicultural Education Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts, Religious & Theological Abstracts, CSA (database company)#CSA Sociological Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, and Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts.References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Journal Of Contemporary Religion Religious studies journals Publications established in 1985 Triannual journals Taylor & Francis academic journals English-language journals 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom