Initial Conditions for Article Acceptance
Dear Authors, please carefully read the following points. You may find the answer to your questions among them.
Submitted articles to the Journal of Rational Theology must not have been previously presented or published (in full or in part, in Persian or English), nor simultaneously submitted for publication in other journals.
Note: If the journal, even after acceptance or publication, discovers intentional or unintentional violations by the authors regarding the above or any breach of ethical duties, it may act according to regulations, withdraw the article, and publish a notice in the current issue to inform the academic community. Moreover, no further articles from the author will be accepted.
The journal does not accept articles in which the author excessively cites their own previous works (self-citation).
The journal does not accept articles with invalid references or those that, despite the availability of up-to-date valid sources, rely heavily on outdated or secondary references.
If the submitted article significantly overlaps with previously published works of the author(s), the author must clearly refer to the earlier article and explain the novelty of the new work. Otherwise, the article will be rejected.
The journal does not accept articles that reproduce a chapter of a published book or a section of the author’s thesis.
The journal does not accept articles from individuals whose degree is unrelated to rational theology.
The journal does not accept articles from students (Master’s or PhD). At least one of the authors must be a faculty member or hold a PhD.
If the author already has an article under review or accepted in the journal (but not yet published, or recently published), they may not submit a new article, even with a different team of co-authors.
Authors must not submit two articles simultaneously for review. In such cases, the journal reserves the right not to send either article for review.
The journal welcomes interdisciplinary articles with new issues, provided they are primarily and directly related to rational theology.
Submitted articles will first be reviewed by the Editorial Board, and if deemed suitable, will be sent to two expert reviewers.
The Journal of Rational Theology reserves the right to accept, reject, or make editorial changes to articles.
Conditions for Articles Extracted from Other Works
If the article is extracted from:
A thesis (full title, supervisor, defense date, university),
A research project (full title, implementation date, collaborators, institution),
the author must provide complete information about the original work.
Article Submission Process
Authors must submit articles only through the journal’s article submission system. Submissions via email or printed copies will not be processed.
To submit an article, the corresponding author must first register in the journal system via the article submission section.
Authors must track the entire review process solely through their personal page in the journal’s system.
The journal will correspond only with the corresponding author regarding the status of the article and will not respond to other co-authors.
The journal’s official communication channel with authors is only its email address, and no other communication channel will be used.
Format and Subject of Accepted Articles
The journal accepts only original research articles written using an analytical method. Therefore, purely review, compilation, report-based, or translated articles will not be accepted.
The journal welcomes analytical articles that compare the views of Muslim and Western philosophers or reinterpret Muslim philosophers’ perspectives in light of contemporary thought.
Files Required for Submission
The corresponding author must upload the following files at the time of registration:
Main article file (without author information)
Author information file
Commitment and conflict-of-interest form (must be completed using the journal’s template; any other format will not be accepted).
Article Length
Word count: 6,500–8,000 words
Keywords: 5–10
Persian abstract: 150–200 words (must include purpose, problem statement, methodology, and key findings)
Extended English abstract: 1,000–1,200 words
Author Information
The number of authors must not exceed three.
Author names must be entered accurately in the system. Only the names entered in the system are recognized as official authors. Adding names after submission or acceptance, either in the system or in the author information file, is not permitted.
Before the review result is finalized, names can only be removed with the approval of all authors.
Articles derived from theses must list the student as the first author and the supervisor as the corresponding author.
ORCID ID is mandatory for all authors (register at: orcid.org/register).
Authors’ affiliations must follow the formats below:
For Faculty Members: Academic rank (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor), Department, Faculty, University, City, Country, Email
For Students: PhD Candidate in …, Department, Faculty, University, City, Country, Email
For Independent Researchers: Degree (PhD), Field of Study, Institution, City, Country, Email
Note: A university email address is mandatory for students and faculty members.
Article Structure
The article body must include the following sections in order:
Extended Abstract (if the article is accepted, the author must provide this following journal guidelines)
Title
Persian Abstract (problem/topic/question, purpose, method, results)
Introduction (problem definition, literature review in Persian and English, significance, and novelty of research)
Note: Literature review is mandatory. The article must clearly demonstrate the novelty and difference from previous works.
Main Body (discussion and analysis)
Conclusion
Acknowledgments (mention collaborating institutions, funding agencies, individuals who assisted in research or manuscript preparation; permission must be obtained from acknowledged persons or organizations)
References (non-English sources must be translated into English and listed under References after the Persian reference list).
Citation Style: APA (7th Edition).
In-text citation format: (Author’s last name, Year, p. …)
Avoid direct/indirect references to the authors of the submitted article.
Proper nouns, Latin terms, and explanatory notes must appear in footnotes.
Avoid lengthy direct quotations (short quotations under 40 words must be in quotation marks; longer quotations must be indented).
Reference List Format:
Articles: Author’s last name, first name (initial in English references). (Year). Article title. Journal Name (Italicized), Volume, Page numbers.
DOI must be provided where available.
Books: Author’s last name, first name. (Year). Book Title (Italicized). Publisher.