Author Guidelines

General Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit original scholarly manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication in another journal. Submitted manuscripts must comply with academic integrity standards and PIETAS publication ethics policies.

PIETAS: Jurnal Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (Journal of Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies) publishes original research articles, systematic literature reviews, conceptual articles, theoretical papers, and critical book reviews related to religious studies and cross-cultural studies.

Manuscripts may be submitted in English or Indonesian. Authors are encouraged to use clear academic language and ensure that manuscripts demonstrate originality, theoretical contribution, methodological rigor, and relevance to contemporary discussions in religious and cultural studies.

Before submission, authors must register through the journal's online submission system. All manuscripts must be prepared according to the official journal template and submitted through Open Journal Systems (OJS).

Manuscripts that meet the journal's aims and scope, formatting requirements, and publication ethics standards will proceed to the double-blind peer-review process.

Types of Manuscripts

Research Articles

Original empirical studies that provide significant theoretical, methodological, or practical contributions to religious studies and cross-cultural scholarship.

Systematic Literature Reviews

Comprehensive reviews that critically analyze existing literature, identify research gaps, and provide directions for future scholarship.

Conceptual and Theoretical Articles

Articles that develop theoretical perspectives, conceptual frameworks, or critical arguments related to religion, culture, and society.

Critical Book Reviews

Critical evaluations of academic books that contribute to discussions in religious and cross-cultural studies.

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

Title

The title should be concise, informative, specific, and accurately represent the content of the manuscript. The title should not exceed 20 words and should avoid unnecessary abbreviations, jargon, or ambiguous expressions.

Author Information

Authors should provide the full names of all contributors without academic degrees or professional titles, followed by institutional affiliations, complete institutional addresses, ORCID iDs (if available), and email addresses.

The corresponding author must be clearly identified and responsible for communication with the journal throughout the submission, review, and publication processes.

Abstract

The abstract should be written in one paragraph with a maximum length of 250 words.

For research articles, the abstract should include the following elements:

Background or research context
Research objective
Methodology or approach
Main findings or arguments
Conclusion and contribution

The abstract should not contain citations, tables, figures, or unexplained abbreviations.

Keywords

Authors should provide three to five keywords that represent the main concepts of the manuscript. Keywords should be arranged alphabetically and should not unnecessarily repeat words already appearing in the title.

Introduction

The Introduction should provide the research background, scholarly context, research gap, problem statement, objectives, significance, and relevant literature. Authors should clearly explain the originality and contribution of the study within existing academic discussions.

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

The manuscript should demonstrate engagement with relevant and current scholarly literature. The theoretical framework should provide an appropriate foundation for analyzing the research problem and supporting the arguments presented.

Methods

The Methods section should clearly explain the research design, theoretical approach, participants or research objects, data sources, data collection procedures, analytical methods, and ethical considerations where applicable.

For qualitative, historical, theological, textual, anthropological, or cross-cultural research, authors should clearly explain the interpretive framework and analytical procedures used in the study.

Results

The Results section should present findings clearly, systematically, and objectively. Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively, referenced in the manuscript, and accompanied by informative captions.

Discussion

The Discussion should interpret findings in relation to previous scholarship, explain theoretical and practical implications, and demonstrate the contribution of the study to religious and cross-cultural knowledge.

Authors are encouraged to discuss similarities, differences, limitations, and potential directions for future research.

Conclusion

The Conclusion should directly address research objectives and summarize the main contributions of the study. Authors may include implications and recommendations for future research where appropriate.

Acknowledgements

Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions, research assistants, funding organizations, or other contributors who supported the research but do not qualify for authorship.

Funding Statement

Authors should disclose all sources of financial support, grants, sponsorships, or institutional assistance related to the research.

If no funding was received, authors should state:

"This research received no external funding."

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, personal, religious, or organizational relationships that could influence the research process or interpretation of findings.

If no conflict exists, authors should state:

"The authors declare no conflict of interest."

Ethical Approval and Research Integrity

Research involving human participants, communities, religious groups, indigenous populations, or sensitive cultural contexts must comply with appropriate ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Authors are responsible for obtaining informed consent and ethical approval where required.

Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

Authors may use artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies for limited purposes such as language improvement or technical assistance, provided that such use does not replace scholarly analysis, interpretation, originality, or authorship responsibility.

Substantial use of generative AI tools during manuscript preparation must be disclosed according to PIETAS Artificial Intelligence Policy.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

References

References should include only sources cited in the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.

References must follow the APA (American Psychological Association) 7th Edition citation style.

Authors should prioritize high-quality academic sources, especially peer-reviewed journal articles and internationally recognized scholarly publications.

At least 80% of references should preferably come from peer-reviewed scholarly publications.
Authors should prioritize recent literature published within the last five years when relevant.
References must be accurate, traceable, and directly relevant to the manuscript topic.

Data Availability Statement

Authors are encouraged to provide a Data Availability Statement describing the availability of research data, supporting materials, or sources used in the study where ethically and legally permissible.