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Philosophy of Religion journal rankings?

In our November “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

Considering the recent post on philosophy of religion journals (https://philosopherscocoon.com/2025/12/11/grappling-with-the-shortage-of-highly-regarded-philosophy-of-religion-journals/), I was wondering what the general list of PoR journals are and how they are ranked. Is this a fair list of PoR journals or am I missing anything? Also, are these the basic ways people would rank them?

Tier 1: Faith and Philosophy: The Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers, Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion, Religious Studies: An International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion.
Tier 2: Agatheos: European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, International Journal of Philosophy of Religion, Journal of Analytic Theology.
Tier 3: European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Sophia: International Journal of Philosophy and Tradition, TheoLogica: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology.

Any thoughts from readers?

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9 responses to “Philosophy of Religion journal rankings?”

  1. Anonymous

    Here’s the thread on this subject from May 2025:

    https://philosopherscocoon.com/2025/05/07/journal-rankings-in-philosophy-of-religion/

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    Where would people place journals like Continental Philosophy of Religion or International Journal of Philosophy and Theology? One of my frustrations with publishing within the philosophy of religion is that the main phil of religion journals tend to favor analytic and/or medieval pieces. As someone working mainly in the continental phil of religion (think “theological turn” in French phenomenology), should I also be aiming to publish in these journals listed?

    Reply
  3. Anon

    The European Journal of Philosophy of Religion is no longer a serious journal. It shouldn’t be listed at all.

    Here’s how I’d rank them—and I get the sense that many generally agree:

    Top Tier
    Faith and Philosophy
    OSPR

    Second Tier
    Religious Studies
    IJPR
    Agatheos

    Third Tier
    Journal of Analytic Theology
    Philosophia Christi
    ACPQ

    Fourth Tier
    Sophia (be warned with this journal: they’re extremely slow).

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    Isn’t OSPR invitation-only?

    Or do they publish papers from an annual conference?

    For people who may be new to phil religion, I don’t think you can submit directly to OSPR, but I wanted to ask here to make sure.

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      I think most of their articles are taken from what people submit to the biannual Sanders prize, but I’m not sure where the rest come from

      Reply
  5. Anonymous

    What about Zygon? I never see it mentioned in these rankings, though they seem to have worthwhile stuff sometimes

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    Fwiw, I’m a little perplexed by some of this discussion. I work in philosophy of religion, but not philosophical theology. For me, the core journals are Religious Studies, Faith and Philosophy, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, and Sophia. Some of OP’s list are certain good journals that I periodically read and cite; but I think of them as publishing more philosophical theology (e.g. ACPQ, Journal of Analytic Theology, TheoLogica). Also, European Journal for Philosophy of Religion is either a predatory journal now, or a step below. And it shouldn’t be on any lists at this point.

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      Yeah, those are the four that I have bookmarked on my internet browser

      Reply
      1. Anonymous

        Can you say why there is the impression that ACPQ does more philosophical theology than philosophy of religion? I guess I see that with the Journal of Analytic Theology and even TheoLogica, but I was surprised to read this about ACPQ.

        Also, do you have experience with Agatheos as a replacement to European Journal for Philosophy of Religion? People seem to be rating them very highly, but they’re so new that I’m not sure yet.

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