Call for Papers:

Witness Amidst Confessional Plurality and Nationalism

For Publication in Global Missiology, www.globalmissiology.org, April 2026

The April 2026 issue of Global Missiology - English will take up the vexing reality of multiple Christian traditions co-existing amidst nationalistic contexts. The fact that there are myriad Christian traditions has been explored, explained, and both justified and criticized. Even so, many Christians can be perplexed as to why numerous traditions not only persist but seemingly keep multiplying. Moreover—and arguably more importantly—people outside the Christian faith cannot help but ask why Christian groups cannot seem to agree with each other, further inhibiting their interest in the Christian gospel.

In addition, Christian traditions relate differently to the state(s) within which they exist. Some offer unwavering support, others criticize, some resist, others begrudgingly comply, and many try to ignore. Governments also differ in how they expect or demand loyalty from religious groups—but all states require some measure of compliance. Given today’s seemingly rising number of nationalistic settings with autocratic leaders that both demand ultimate loyalty and do not wish for antagonistic religious groups, how churches can best give appropriate witness to Jesus Christ within settings of confessional plurality and nationalism is a widespread and practical challenge.

The following topics—in particular case studies—are examples of requested articles:

- Historical examples

- Earlier studies, e.g., the WCC’s 1997 “Towards common witness”

- Current Contexts

- New Proposals

- Co-authored, cross-tradition studies

Proposed titles with approximately 100-word abstracts are due May 31, 2025. Full manuscripts of approved paper proposals will be due January 31, 2026. Manuscript guidelines, including a template for formatting, can be found on the Global Missiology website at:

http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Please address all submissions and questions to globalmissiologyenglish@gmail.com.