Call for Papers 2026
Topics are intentionally broad in order to encourage writers to consider new questions, new concerns, and new solutions in their essays. Submissions should follow the guidelines at Submit an Article. Submissions will be reviewed and accepted at the editor and advisory board’s discretion based on content, relevance, and style. Proposals should be 500 words. Reflective essays should be 1500 words. Articles should be 3000–3,500 words in length, unless permission is given otherwise.
If you are interested in contributing a book review, please email us here with a description of your background and what kinds of books you’d like to review. To see a list of what books we’re currently looking for reviewers for, please see below.
October/November 2026 Issue:
Incarceration
Papers are invited on the ethical issues involved with the U.S. criminal justice system’s current use of incarceration and the ethics involved in detention centers for immigrants.
Proposal Deadline: August 1, 2026. Final Submission of Papers: September 1, 2026.
Papers and proposals should be sent here.
December/January 2026 Issue:
Homelessness
Thinking of the birth of Christ in a stable and the flight to Egypt of the Holy Family, this call asks contributors to consider the people who find themselves in similar situations. How might we best offer care to those who do not have the means to afford a home or who are escaping violence, poverty or natural disaster in their home country. Papers are invited to consider the effects of home-lessness in either or both contexts.
Proposal Deadline: October 1, 2026. Final Submission of Papers: November 1, 2026.
Papers and proposals should be sent here.
Books Which Need Reviewers:
JLE: Available books for review (Fall 2026):
(Contact us here if you are interested in reviewing any of these books)
Dialoguing with Critical Race Theory by Mark Ellingson (pdf available)
Katie’s Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community, Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition, by Katie Geneva Cannon
Healing Our Collective Wound: Racial Literacy and the Church, by Joni Schwartz-Chaney
Politics of Exhaustion: Border Violence and Struggles over Movement, by Leonie Ansems de Vries (pdf available)
The First Advent in Palestine, by Kelley Nikondeha (publisher request)
Immigration and Faith: Cultural, Biblical, and Theological Narratives, by Brett Hoover
A Theology of Migration: The Bodies of Refugees and the Body of Christ, Danie G. Groody
The Poverty Industry: The Exploitation of America’s Most Vulnerable Citizens, by Daniel Hatcher
Enough is Enough: Degrowth, Capitalism, and Liberation Theology, by Matthew Bernico and Dean Dettloff
Ensh*ttification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It, by Cory Doctorow
The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy, by Aaron Perzanowski and Jason Schultz
Offended by Grace: Moral Injury and the Disruption of Mercy, by G.C Smith
Each in Our Own Language: Symbolization and Social Ethics in Rural America, by Benjamin Durheim
Climate Justice, Climate Hope, by Michael Malcom and Abby Mohaupt
Abiding in Amen: Prayer in a Secular Age, by Wesley W. Ellis
Muted Cry: A Witness to Affliction, by Caroline J. Simon
Saving Jesus: From Those Who Are Right, by Carter Heyward
A Home for All , by Laura Stivers
Reading Howard Thurman: His Practices of Interpretation Through Womanist Eyes, by Shively T. J. Smith
Spiritual Resurgence: Cultural Transformations and the Spiritual but Not Religious, Terry D. Shoemaker
Discontented Belief: A Theology of Restlessness, by Margaret D. Kamitsuka
With Courage and Humility: Bonhoeffer’s Ethical Approach for Us Today, by Mark S. Brocker
Laughing in a Tomb: An Experiment in Camp Theology, by Brandon Ambrosino
Water for All, by Christiana Zenner
Earthy Faith: A Theology for the People, by Craig L. Nessan
I Am Not A Robot: My Year Using AI To Do Almost Everything, by Joanna Stern
Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Anti-Christs, by Matthew D. Taylor
Shadows of The Republic: The Rebirth of Fascism in America and How to Defeat it For Good, by Omer Aziz
Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism, by Rick Pidcock
Ubi Deus Dixit: Where God Has Spoken: The Lutheran Doctrine of Two Kingdoms, by Duane Larson
Articles published in the journal reflect the perspectives and thoughts of their authors and not necessarily the theological, ethical, or social stances of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.