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JRFM

Call for Papers. Religion - Media - Crime

2026-09-11

Religion - Media - Crime

Discourses surrounding crime, punishment and justice are closely entangled with religious ideas and narratives while media function not only as echo chambers but are akin to co-authors of these discourses. Visions of the afterlife, for example, are often linked to earthly conduct and include rewards for a devout life and punishment of irreverent or harmful deeds. Many religious traditions have spent great effort in painting mental and real images of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and developing underlying ethical frameworks with their notions of good and evil. Trying to create narratives about a good life worth living, religious narratives themselves have often developed coercive tendencies. Furthermore, they have also provided concepts and language used in broader social or political discourses to understand crime or legitimize its punishment.

The upcoming issue on “Religion – Media – Crime” aims to bring debates about religion, crime (and related notions like justice, innocence, good/evil), and the visual/communicative aspect together. Its focus is the exploration of the intersection – and sometimes perhaps even clash – of religion, media, and crime. Thus, the issue takes discussions beyond mere questions of media representations of religious traditions or communities in relation with crime. Instead, for the upcoming issue, we are looking for contributions that understand religion, media, and crime as integral parts of a dynamic that provides insights into how societies operate today.

We encourage contributions analyzing the interaction between religion, media and crime from a range of disciplines and fields. Topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Religious and media discourses related to the (de)criminalization of communities
  • Mobilization of media and religion in social tensions
  • Spiritual/theological arguments in social and media discourses about crime, innocence, justice, punishment etc.
  • Constructions of crime and/or associated concepts through religious motifs in TV series, films, literature, music, or other media
  • Religious actors, institutions and communities as sources or subjects of crime-related media narratives
  • The role of religion and media in shaping public perceptions of victims, perpetrators, justice and punishment
  • Representations of religious institutions in true crime and other crime-related media genres

The issue also includes an open section for articles on other topics related to the profile of the JRFM. The deadline for all submissions is 1 April 2027. Contributions should be between 5,000-6,000 words (including notes and references) and be submitted for double-blind peer-review through the journal homepage, www.jrfm.eu. We kindly ask authors to register and follow the instructions for submitting contributions. Manuscripts have to be formatted according to the JRFM’s style guide. Publication of this issue is scheduled for 15 May 2028. For any questions about the issue or possible contributions, please contact the issue editors: Dr. Adam Domalewski (adam.domalewski@amu.edu.pl), Dr. Stefanie Knauss (stefanie.knauss@gmail.com) or Dr. Alexander D. Ornella (alexander@ornella.at).