Submissions

Author Guidelines

The Journal of Bahá’í Studies welcomes the submission of articles that are relevant to Bahá’í Studies, as defined in the widest sense, by authors of any religious, academic, or professional background.

The article should demonstrate original thinking, present new information, open up new avenues of thought, or throw new light on a problem. The language should be clear and understandable by a general interdisciplinary audience, and technical terms should be used only when necessary and with sufficient explanation. The article should demonstrate coherence, adequate development of the topic, a proper balance of depth and breadth according to the length, and organization appropriate to the subject. It should likewise be fair-minded, evidence sound reasoning, and engage with literature in the field where relevant (as opposed to displaying erudition for its own sake). To ensure these standards are met, a process of peer review will be applied whereby submissions are evaluated by scholars in the field.

We also invite Bahá'í authors to reflect on the following guidance from the Universal House of Justice:

“Bahá’ís who are involved in various disciplines—economics, education, history, social science, philosophy, and many others—are obviously conversant and fully engaged with the methods employed in their fields. It is they who have the responsibility to earnestly strive to reflect on the implications that the truths found in the Revelation may hold for their work. The principle of the harmony of science and religion, faithfully upheld, will ensure that religious belief does not succumb to superstition and that scientific findings are not appropriated by materialism.”

-Letter dated 24 July 2013, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada

All submissions must be in the author's own words. Writing produced using AI tools will not be considered for publication.

Figures

Figures or images for publication in the document must be submitted in high-resolution (at least 300 ppi) grayscale TIFF or EPS format. Bitmaps and layered TIFF files are not acceptable. Ideally, the maximum width of the figure should be 4.5”. Each figure needs to be submitted as a separate file and clearly named. Embedding pictures in the manuscript is acceptable only as a general indication of their position within the text.

Footnotes

The Journal employs footnotes; it is preferable for footnotes to be few and very concise.

Works Cited Page

The “Works Cited” page should follow the MLA guidelines and include every work (and only those works) referred to in the text, in alphabetical order by author. The author is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of quotations and for all publication information. Therefore it is important to check all such information carefully. For examples of citation format and format for Works Cited, authors are urged to examine the exemplar article (see below) for JBS house style. Further information on how to prepare a manuscript in MLA style can be found in the MLA Style Manual and in various online sites, such as the OWL at Purdue Resources.

Biographical Note

Include an autobiographical note of no more than 100 words as part of creating your profile on this website. This information generally includes the author’s field of expertise and academic credentials.

House Style

For matters of style, punctuation, spelling, formatting, citations, and Works Cited, authors are urged to examine the current issue of the Journal and the MLA Style Manual.