Secularism and Nonreligion publishes research articles, short research notes, and book reviews. All of these are submitted using the same formatting and the same process.
Guidelines for Research Articles and Research Notes:
Manuscripts submitted for review should be formatted in line with the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. Information on APA manuscript preparation guidelines can be found here. Basic information on manuscript preparation follows.
General Formatting:
Your manuscript should be double-spaced with 1 inch margins on all sides. The manuscript should use 12 point Times New Roman font. A Title Page, separate from the rest of the manuscript, should also be submitted. The manuscript should include the following sections: Abstract, Main Body (may be labeled something else and may include subheadings; more below), and References.
While online publication means we do not have to follow strict guidelines on page length, we encourage authors to keep article manuscripts under 10,000 words and book reviews under 1,000 words. Manuscripts longer than the recommended lengths will need to include a justification for the extra content.
Title Page:
The Title Page should include the title of the manuscript, centered, followed by the author's name, institutional affiliation, and contact information, each on a separate line. Additional authors should be listed below the first with the same information. Acknowledgments can be included at the bottom of the Title Page.
Abstract:
The abstract should be between 150 and 250 words long and include a brief description of the question you are addressing in the manuscript, the methodology you use to address the question, and a summary of your findings. The Abstract should be on a separate page from the rest of the manuscript.
Main Body:
The specific section headings employed in your article are flexible. Standard headings include: Introduction, Literature Review, Theoretical Approach, Data, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. Not all of the above headings have to be used. Additionally, subheadings up to three levels can be used. Headings should be formatted as follows:
| Level | Format |
| 1 | Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings |
| 2 | Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading |
| 3 | Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. |
| 4 | Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. |
| 5 | Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. |
The Main Body of the manuscript should also include page numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the manuscript.
References:
As noted, references should follow APA guidelines. Here are some example references to illustrate how references should be formatted:
Journal Article:Sherkat, D. E. (2008). Beyond belief: Atheism, agnosticism, and theistic certainty in the United States. Sociological Spectrum, 28(5), 438-459.
Edgell, P., Gerteis, J., & Hartmann, D. (2006). Atheists as other: Moral boundaries and cultural membership in American society. American Sociological Review, 71, 211-234.
Zuckerman, P. (2008). Society without god: What the least religious nations can tell us about contentment. NYU Press.
Beit-Hallahmi, B. (2006). Atheists: A psychological profile. In M. Martin (Ed.), The cambridge companion to atheism (1st ed., pp. 300-318). Cambridge University Press.
Voas, D., & Day, A. (2007). Secularity in Great Britain. In A. Keysar & B. A. Kosmin (Eds.), Secularism and secularity: Contemporary international perspectives (pp. 95-112). Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture.
Pasquale, F. L. (2006). Varieties of irreligious experience in the American Northwest. Presented at the Annual Meeting for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Rochester, New York.
Silverman, D. (2009). Coming out: The other closet. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from http://www.atheists.org/atheism/coming_out
Tables, Charts, Illustrations, and Figures:
Tables should follow standard APA formatting guidelines. Unlike traditional print journals, charts, illustrations, and figures should be created in color as they will be published online. High resolution copies of all charts, illustrations, and figures will be requested once the manuscript is accepted for publication. In addition to being able to use color in manuscripts, audio and video supplementary material can be included as well. All such material must not be copyrighted and will be released under the same Creative Commons license as manuscripts published in
Secularism and Nonreligion. Manuscripts should, in general, have no more than ten (10) charts, illustrations, figures, photos, or videos.
Guidelines for Book Reviews:
Book reviews need not be solicited. If you are reading or planning on reading a book related to the topics of interest to the journal, feel free to email the Editors of Secularism and Nonreligion to find out if we would be interested in a review of that book. Book reviews should be less than 1,500 words in length. References should be formatted using APA style, as detailed above for research articles. The $10.00 submission fee is waived for book reviews (just make note of that when submitting) as they only receive editorial review. If you have any questions, please contact one of the Editors.
If you are a publisher and would like a book reviewed by Secularism and Nonreligion, please contact our Book Review Editor, Jonathan Jong, about where to send the book.
