### Menu - [Home](/) - [About](/about/) [Contact](/contact/) - [Open Access](/open-access/) - [Peer Review](/peer-review/) - [Editorial Board](/editors/) - [Journal Archive](/archives/) - [News](/blog/) - [Religious Theory](/religioustheory/) - [Search](/search/) - [Submissions](/submissions/) ### The New Polis ![The New Polis is an online publication dedicated to critical theory, social analysis, and political philosophy and theology.](https://files.jcrt.org/images/tnp.webp) The New Polis is an online publication dedicated to critical theory, social analysis, and political philosophy and theology. ![The New Polis Journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing cutting-edge work in political philosophy, social theory, and related fields.](https://files.jcrt.org/images/tnpj.webp) The New Polis Journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing cutting-edge work in political philosophy, social theory, and related fields. Whitestone Foundation ### Get in touch The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory (JCRT) is a publication of The Whitestone Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered in the state of Colorado. [Contact Us](/contact/) --- [Built with Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/) | Design: [HTML5 UP](https://html5up.net/) | Maintained by [Adam DJ Brett](https://adamdjbrett.com) | [Credits](/credits/) [Listed at Duotrope](https://duotrope.com/magazine/journal-cultural-religious-theory-20464?ref=lst-7vbKB-7r3u0g8&pc=L-7VBKB) JCRT The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory JCRT The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 11 August 2026 # Book Review Section Relaunched JCRT Relaunches Its Book Review Section, Inviting Graduate Students, Independent Scholars, and Faculty to Contribute ![Book Review Section Relaunched](/images/jcrt-open-graph.webp) **Boulder, CO — August 10, 2026** — The editorial board of the *Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory* (JCRT), a Whitestone Publication, is pleased to announce the relaunch of its book review program. Effective immediately, JCRT is soliciting single-title reviews and cluster reviews from scholars working across religious studies, theology, philosophy of religion, critical theory, and adjacent fields. The relaunch responds directly to the void left by the closure of *Reading Religion*, the American Academy of Religion’s openly accessible book review site, which ceased active operations on May 31, 2026. With one of the largest open venues for scholarly religion reviews now transitioned to an archive, JCRT aims to help fill that gap by offering an open-access, peer-edited home for rigorous, timely, and theoretically engaged reviews. ## **A call to a broad community of reviewers** #a-call-to-a-broad-community-of-reviewers JCRT especially encourages graduate students and independent scholars to submit reviews, alongside tenure-track and established faculty. The editorial board views the relaunched review section as both a venue for serious critical engagement and an opportunity for emerging scholars to build publication records, sharpen their voices, and contribute to ongoing conversations in cultural and religious theory. “We want the review section to reflect the full range of scholars doing important work in our fields — from first-year doctoral students to senior colleagues,” said J.C. Smith, the book review editor. “Independent scholars and graduate students often produce the most incisive and generative reviews, and JCRT is committed to being a home for that work.” ## **Submission formats** #submission-formats JCRT invites two primary formats: - **Individual book reviews** — approximately **1,500 words**, engaging a single recent title. - **Cluster reviews** — approximately **2,000–2,500 words**, engaging **two to three** thematically related titles in conversation. Reviews should combine substantive summary with critical, theoretically informed engagement consistent with JCRT’s longstanding editorial vision. ## **How to submit or propose a review** #how-to-submit-or-propose-a-review Scholars interested in reviewing for JCRT — whether proposing a specific title, responding to a call, or offering to be added to the reviewer pool — should email the Book Review Editor at **[editor@jcrt.org](mailto:editor@jcrt.org)** with the subject line **“JCRT-Review.”** Please include a brief statement of interest, areas of expertise, and (if applicable) the title or titles you propose to review. Full submission guidelines are available at [https://jcrt.org/submissions/](https://jcrt.org/submissions/) ## **About JCRT** #about-jcrt The *Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory* is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by Whitestone Publications. Since its founding, JCRT has served as a leading venue for interdisciplinary work at the intersections of religion, theology, philosophy, and cultural theory, publishing scholars from around the world. ## Contact #contact **Contact:** JC Smith, Book Review Editor, [editor@jcrt.org](mailto:editor@jcrt.org) **Web:** [https://jcrt.org](https://jcrt.org/) **###** Tags: call-for-papers call-for-submissions Previous Next [The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory (JCRT)](https://jcrt.org) is an online, peer-reviewed, academic publication published by [The Whitestone Foundation](http://thewhitestonefoundation.org/), a 501c3 corporation located in Boulder, Colorado. ISSN 1530-5228. Articles are open access under a [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license; authors retain copyright. Indexed by [EBSCO](https://www.ebsco.com/). Listed with [Duotrope](https://duotrope.com/magazine/journal-cultural-religious-theory-20464?ref=lst-7vbKB-7r3u0g8&pc=L-7VBKB). 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