The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion was introduced to the Oxford Journals collection in early 2012. The first issue appeared in print on 1 April 2012, followed by the second issue on 1 October. These issues, along with advance access to the third issue, are available free of charge on the Journal’s website. Subsequent issues are available by subscription.

The new journal was developed “in response to the recent proliferation of research and writing on the interaction of law and religion cutting across many disciplines.” The launch of the Journal was marked by Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Colloquium, hosted by the Religion and International Relations Programme of the Centre for Christianity and Culture and held 19 April 2012 at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, UK.

The following day, the first of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Seminars was held in the Old Common Room of Balliol College, Oxford. The event was co-sponsored by the Oxford Society for Law and Religion; FORBFocus; the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS, Milan); Brunel Law and Religion Research Group; Centre for the Study of Religion in Public Life, Kellogg College, Oxford; Religion, Law and International Relations Program, Regents Park College, Oxford; the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), Brigham Young University, United States; and the Strasbourg Consortium. 

Wrote Rhodri Jackson, OUP Publisher, Law: “The journal aims to redefine the interdependence of law, humanities, and social sciences within the widening parameters of the study of law and religion, whilst seeking to make the distinctive area of law and religion more comprehensible from both a legal and a religious viewpoint. It will capture the complex dynamics of law and religion from different legal as well as religious research perspectives worldwide. … The quality of the editorial team behind the OJLR, comprising top names from the UK, Europe, and the US, stands the journal in great stead to become the pre-eminent title in the field.” 

Representing the Editors-in-Chief, Malcolm Evans, University of Bristol (UK), explained, “We have become increasingly aware of the high volume and quality of scholarship in many aspects of the law-religion interface. There is much pioneering work being done around the world of global interest and significance. We are conscious of the proliferation of relevant work in a range of disciplines, including not only law, human rights, and comparative constitutional law, but also theology, political science, and sociology, to name a few. We are also aware of the pressing practical need for this work in the context of a steady rise of religion-related litigation in domestic and international jurisdictions. We are delighted to be working with OUP to develop this new journal for the encouragement and dissemination of the best peer-reviewed work in the field.”

In addition to Professor Evans, four other internationally renowned scholars serve as Editors-in-Chief of the Journal: W. Cole Durham, Brigham Young University (USA); Silvio Ferrari, Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy); Julian Rivers, University of Bristol (UK); and Gerhard Robbers, Universität Trier (Germany). Managing Editor is Peter Petkoff, of Brunel Law School, London, and Regent’s Park College.

Case Note Editors for the Journal include Jessica Giles (Open University, UK), Donlu Thayer (Brigham Young University, USA), and Cristiana Cianitto (Università degli Studi di Milano), assisted by Samantha Knights (Matrix Chambers, London) and Javier Oliva (Manchester Law School). The Journal is served by an outstanding international advisory board. In 2015, Thayer and Giles were named Associate Editors of the Journal.

The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion presents a range of articles treating social, legal, and political issues involving the relationship between law and religion in society. Expert contributors offer comparative law perspectives on the relationship between religion and state institutions, track developments regarding human and constitutional rights to freedom of religion or belief, and explore the relationship between religious and secular legal systems. The Journal also provides a forum for empirical work on the place of religion in society and other salient areas where law and religion interact, such as theology, legal and political theory, legal history, and philosophy. 

Queries about submitting to the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion may be directed to the Managing Editor at [email protected].