Bonafide: Journal of Theology and Christian Religious Education

Bonafide: Journal of Theology and Christian Religious Education is committed to upholding the highest standards of scholarly publication. Every manuscript submitted to the journal undergoes a rigorous, objective, and confidential peer review process to ensure its quality, originality, significance, and contribution to the fields of theology and Christian religious education.

Core Principles of the Review Process

Our review process is guided by the following principles:

1. Objectivity: Manuscripts are evaluated solely based on their academic content, relevance, methodology, and clarity of argument, without regard to the background, affiliation, or personal views of the author(s) or reviewers.

2. Confidentiality: All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. The editorial board and reviewers will not disclose any information about a manuscript to anyone other than the author and the editorial team.

3. Academic Integrity: We strive to prevent all forms of plagiarism, data fabrication, and other breaches of publication ethics.

4. Constructive Feedback: The primary goal of the peer review process is to provide constructive feedback to authors to help improve the quality of their manuscripts.

5. Timeliness: The editorial team and reviewers are committed to completing the review process within a reasonable timeframe.

Type of Review

Bonafide employs a Double-Blind Peer Review system. This means that the identities of both the authors and the reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review process. This system is chosen to guarantee a fair and unbiased evaluation.

The Peer Review Process Stages

The following outlines the workflow for every manuscript submitted to Bonafide:

1. Manuscript Submission: The author submits the manuscript through the Bonafide's Open Journal Systems (OJS) portal.

2. Initial Editorial Screening: The editorial board conducts a preliminary check to ensure the manuscript meets basic criteria, including:

   • Alignment with the journal's focus and scope.

   • Adherence to the author guidelines and formatting style.

   • A similarity check using anti-plagiarism software (e.g., Turnitin) against a set threshold. Manuscripts that do not meet these initial criteria may be rejected without external review (desk rejection).

3. Reviewer Assignment: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent to at least two (2) reviewers who possess relevant expertise in the specific area of theology or Christian religious education. Reviewers are selected based on their publication record and expertise, and care is taken to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

4. The Review Stage: Reviewers evaluate the manuscript based on several key criteria:

   • Originality and Novelty: Does the article offer new ideas, data, or interpretations?

   • Significance and Contribution: How significant is the article's contribution to the advancement of theology and Christian religious education?

   • Methodology: Is the research method appropriate, valid, and well-described?

   • Strength of Argument and Analysis: Are the arguments logical, coherent, and supported by in-depth analysis?

   • Quality of Literature Review: Does the manuscript demonstrate a command of current and relevant literature?

   • Clarity and Quality of Writing: Is the language clear, academic, and free of grammatical errors?

5. Reviewer Recommendations: Based on their evaluation, reviewers will provide one of the following four recommendations to the editor:

   • Accept Submission (Accept without any changes)

   • Revisions Required (Accept with minor revisions)

   • Resubmit for Review (Requires major revisions and a second round of review)

   • Decline Submission (The manuscript is rejected)

6. Editorial Decision: The Editor-in-Chief considers the recommendations from all reviewers to make a final decision. In cases of conflicting recommendations, the editor may invite a third reviewer. The final decision rests solely with the editorial board.

7. Author Revision: If the decision is to request revisions, the author is given time to improve the manuscript based on the comments from the reviewers and editors. Authors are also asked to submit a response letter detailing the changes made.

8. Publication: Once a manuscript has been revised and formally accepted, it will undergo final copyediting, layout, and proofreading before being published online.

Estimated Timeline

The entire peer review process, from submission to the final decision, is estimated to take between 8 to 12 weeks. This timeline may vary depending on reviewer availability and the author's response time for revisions.