Focus and Scope

FOCUS

The Journal of Philosophy and Theology (JPT) focuses on the critical and constructive dialogue between philosophical inquiry and theological reflection. The journal aims to advance understanding of how philosophical frameworks inform, challenge, and enrich theological concepts, and conversely, how theological traditions contribute to philosophical debates on fundamental questions of existence, knowledge, ethics, and the divine.

JPT emphasizes both historical and contemporary studies that bridge these two disciplines. It investigates the philosophical underpinnings of theological doctrines, explores theological implications within philosophical systems, and examines their combined relevance to human experience and society. The journal welcomes a diversity of philosophical and theological traditions, fostering a rigorous academic space for both analytic and continental approaches, and encourages engagement with global philosophical thought alongside Western, Eastern, and Indigenous theological perspectives.

SCOPE

The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Philosophical Theology
Examines theological claims through the lens of philosophical reasoning. Topics include arguments for and against the existence of God, the nature of the divine, the problem of evil, religious language, and the coherence of theological doctrines.

Theological Anthropology
Focuses on philosophical and theological conceptions of the human person. Topics include the nature of consciousness, free will, the soul, sin and grace, human dignity, and the relationship between humanity and the divine.

Comparative Philosophy and Theology
Explores the intersection of different philosophical and theological traditions. Topics include comparative analyses of concepts of ultimate reality, salvation/liberation, ethics, and mystical experience across traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Indigenous spiritualities.

Religion and Science
Investigates the relationship between theological understandings and scientific discoveries. Topics include models of interaction (dialogue, integration, independence), philosophical issues in cosmology and biology, and the ethical implications of technology from philosophical and theological viewpoints.

Hermeneutics and Religious Texts
Analyzes the philosophical theories and theological methods used in interpreting sacred texts. Topics include phenomenological approaches, narrative theology, and the role of tradition, reason, and experience in interpretation.

Moral Philosophy and Theological Ethics
Explores the foundations of ethical reasoning from philosophical and theological perspectives. Topics include virtue ethics, divine command theory, natural law, comparative religious ethics, and the application of ethical principles to contemporary social issues.

Metaphysics and Ontology
Focuses on fundamental questions of being and reality as addressed in philosophy and theology. Topics include the nature of time and eternity, universals and particulars, substance, and the metaphysics of creation.

Phenomenology of Religion
Examines religious experience, consciousness, and the sacred from a first-person perspective. Topics include the work of key phenomenologists, the structure of religious intentionality, and the appearance of the holy.

Political Philosophy and Public Theology
Analyzes the role of religious and philosophical values in the public sphere. Topics include religious pluralism, secularism, political theology, human rights, and the contribution of theological ethics to justice and the common good.

History of Philosophy and Theology
Traces the historical development and interaction of philosophical and theological ideas. Topics include studies of key figures (e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Kierkegaard), and the influence of specific philosophical movements (e.g., Platonism, Existentialism, Process Philosophy) on theological discourse.

Through these areas, the Journal of Philosophy and Theology (JPT) encourages interdisciplinary dialogue among philosophers, theologians, ethicists, and historians to foster a deeper understanding of the perennial questions at the intersection of faith and reason.