About the Journal

 

 

Editorial & Publishing Policies

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas (JIS)

Journal Title: Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas
E-ISSN: 2775-4596
DOI Prefix: 10.15575/jis
Accreditation: SINTA 3 (Decree No. 177/E/KPT/2024)
Publisher: Master Program of Religious Studies, UIN SGD Bandung
Frequency: Quarterly (4 issues/year)
 

Table of Contents

1. Focus and Scope

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas (JIS) (e-ISSN: 2775-4596) is an open-access and peer-reviewed scholarly journal publishing theoretical and practical research in the studies of religions and spirituality across diverse historical, geographic, and cultural contexts. The journal provides a critical academic forum integrating multidisciplinary approaches, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, law, education, economics, literature, and cultural studies.

The journal prioritizes scholarly inquiries addressing the intersection of faith and spirituality with contemporary societal challenges, including:

  • Religious doctrines, theological interpretations, rituals, and lived spiritual experiences;
  • Pluralism, multicultural co-existence, interfaith dialogue, and conflict resolution;
  • Secularization, modernization, and post-secular religious phenomena;
  • Digital religion, cyber-spirituality, and modern media dynamics in sacred spaces;
  • Religion in public policy, human rights, law, civic ethics, and governance;
  • Comparative and empirical studies of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and indigenous religious traditions worldwide.

JIS publishes original research articles, rigorous conceptual frameworks, and in-depth critical literature reviews that demonstrate methodological precision, theoretical contribution, and fresh empirical evidence.

2. Authorship Policy

2.1 Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit must reflect substantive, demonstrable intellectual contributions. In alignment with international standards (COPE and ICMJE), each author listed must meet all four criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
  2. Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
  3. Final approval of the version to be published;
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part are properly investigated and resolved.

2.2 Non-Author Contributions (Acknowledgements)

Contributors who do not satisfy all four criteria should not be listed as authors. These include individuals providing financial support, general administrative supervision, technical transcription, or language editing. Their contributions should be specifically recognized in an Acknowledgements section with their written permission.

2.3 Unacceptable Authorship Practices

JIS strictly prohibits the following unethical practices:

  • Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions;
  • Gift or Guest Authorship: Granting authorship to individuals who did not actively contribute;
  • Coercive Authorship: Demanding authorship inclusion due to academic hierarchy or supervisory position without meeting criteria.

2.4 Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The designated corresponding author serves as the official liaison between the journal and co-authors during review, revision, and publication. The corresponding author guarantees that all listed authors have approved the submitted and revised versions and agree to the author order.

2.5 Authorship Changes

Any addition, deletion, or reordering of authors after submission requires a formal written request signed by all co-authors explaining the rationale. Changes after acceptance are granted only under exceptional circumstances.

3. Publication Frequency

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas (JIS) is published quarterly, releasing four (4) regular issues per calendar year:

  • Issue 1: January
  • Issue 2: April
  • Issue 3: July
  • Issue 4: October

Special or themed issues may be commissioned under the editorial authority of the Editor-in-Chief and undergo the identical peer-review standard as regular issues.

4. Electronic Archiving Policy

4.1 Purpose and Scope

This policy governs the permanent preservation and continuous accessibility of published scientific output and editorial audit records, ensuring that the scholarly record remains verifiable and unaltered over time.

4.2 Electronic Publication and Persistent Identification

  • JIS is published and managed exclusively in electronic form via Open Journal Systems (OJS).
  • The journal operates under registered electronic ISSN: 2775-4596.
  • Every published article is assigned an individual Digital Object Identifier (DOI) with prefix 10.15575/jis via Crossref, ensuring permanent persistent linking.

4.3 Archived Materials

The journal actively archives:

  • Published Content: Final full-text articles in PDF.
  • Editorial Records: Original submissions, blinded peer-review reports, editorial correspondences, Turnitin similarity logs, and copyright consent forms.
  • Post-Publication Notices: Errata, corrigenda, expressions of concern, and retraction declarations.

4.4 Preservation Systems & Redundancy

To guarantee long-term disaster recovery and unhindered access, JIS utilizes multi-tiered repository archiving:

  • National Harvesters: Automated indexing and full-text archiving in GARUDA (Garba Rujukan Digital, ID: 24727) and integration with SINTA;
  • Institutional Repository: Permanent preservation within the digital library infrastructure of UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung.

4.5 Retention Period for Editorial Records

All editorial audit trails, peer-review documentation, correspondence, and similarity reports are securely maintained for a minimum of five (5) years to facilitate compliance with national accreditation evaluations.

6. Screening Plagiarism Policy

6.1 Mandatory Automated Screening

All submissions to JIS undergo automated plagiarism detection using Turnitin prior to entering the peer-review process. The editorial board enforces a strict threshold:

  • The overall similarity score must not exceed 25%;
  • Single-source similarity clusters exceeding 3% must be critically verified by the section editor;
  • Direct quotation and bibliographic apparatus must be cited accurately according to academic citation manuals.

6.2 Classification of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as presenting the ideas, formulations, data, or words of another person as one's own without appropriate attribution or acknowledgment. This includes:

  • Literal Copying: Reproducing text verbatim without quotation marks or citation;
  • Substantial Paraphrasing: Altering sentence structure while preserving another's specific intellectual formulation without citation;
  • Self-Plagiarism (Text Recycling): Re-publishing significant portions of one's own previously published work without explicit cross-referencing and editorial permission;
  • Translation Plagiarism: Translating copyrighted material from other languages and presenting it without credit.

6.3 Screening Outcomes & Action

  • Similarity < 25%: The manuscript proceeds to editorial evaluation and external peer review.
  • Similarity 25% – 35% (Minor / Unintentional): The manuscript is returned to the author with the Turnitin report for mandatory revision before review.
  • Similarity > 35% or Clear Misconduct: Immediate desk rejection without peer review.

7. Policy on Allegations of Research Misconduct

7.1 Definition of Misconduct

Research misconduct encompasses actions that deliberately or negligently distort the scientific record. It includes, but is not limited to:

  • Data Fabrication: Making up data, participant records, source citations, or experimental results;
  • Data Falsification: Manipulating research materials, processes, or sources to convey misleading conclusions;
  • Plagiarism: Appropriating words, ideas, concepts, or unpublished student theses without acknowledgement;
  • Duplicate / Redundant Publication: Submitting identical or overlapping manuscripts to multiple venues simultaneously;
  • Authorship Violations: Ghost, guest, or gift authorship;
  • Citation Manipulation: Inappropriate self-citation, coercive citation requests, or cartel citation stacking;
  • Peer-Review Manipulation: Compromising review confidentiality, creating fake reviewer identities, or stealing intellectual property during review;
  • Ethical Breaches in Fieldwork: Conducting fieldwork involving human communities or sacred/restricted religious traditions without proper informed consent or research permits;
  • Undisclosed AI Use: Generating synthetic text or fabricated literature reviews using Generative AI without transparent disclosure.

7.2 Submitting an Allegation

Allegations may be submitted by any party in writing to the Editor-in-Chief. Submissions must provide: (a) the article title and DOI; (b) a specific description of the alleged breach; and (c) verifiable documentary evidence. Whistleblower confidentiality is strictly safeguarded.

7.3 Handling Procedure & Due Process

Investigations strictly follow Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) flowcharts:

  1. Preliminary Screening: The Editor-in-Chief and an independent board member assess the substance of the evidence.
  2. Author Notification: The accused authors are provided formal written notice and given fourteen (14) calendar days to respond.
  3. Independent Panel Review: An ad-hoc ethics committee evaluates all materials. If substantiated, institutional authorities or funding agencies may be notified.
  4. Resolution: Outcomes range from formal correction, desk rejection, or retraction, to a temporary ban on submissions.

8. Conflict of Interest Policy

8.1 Purpose and Scope

This policy ensures that scientific evaluation remains objective and untainted by secondary interests. It applies to authors, peer reviewers, editors, and editorial board members.

8.2 Definition

A conflict of interest arises when financial commitments, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, or ideological allegiances could influence, or appear to influence, professional judgment in manuscript submission, peer evaluation, or editorial decision-making.

8.3 Author Responsibilities

Authors must submit a formal Conflict of Interest Statement disclosing:

  • All research funding, grants, or honoraria related to the project;
  • Financial interests (employment, consultancies, stock ownership) connected to the subject matter;
  • Non-financial affiliations (leadership roles in religious organizations or advocacy groups relevant to the study). If no conflict exists, authors state: "The authors declare no competing financial or non-financial interests."

8.4 Reviewer Recusal

Reviewers must decline review invitations if they have co-authored publications with the authors within the last three years, share current institutional affiliation, or hold a competitive personal or financial interest in the work.

8.5 Handling Editorial Submissions

Manuscripts submitted by editors, board members, or internal UIN Sunan Gunung Djati faculty are managed with strict firewalls: the submitting editor has zero access to the submission's review records, and an independent guest editor or associate editor oversees the double-blind review process.

9. Post-Publication Discussion Policy

9.1 Scholarly Dialogue Mechanisms

JIS considers publication the beginning of ongoing academic discourse. The journal provides structured channels for post-publication academic engagement:

  • Letters to the Editor: Concise scholarly commentary (up to 1,500 words) critiquing or contextualizing an article published within the preceding 12 months;
  • Formal Responses & Rejoinders: Extended analytical critiques submitted through regular OJS channels and subjected to double-blind peer review;
  • Direct Editorial Notification: Submissions of factual or analytical queries to the Editor-in-Chief.

9.2 Right of Reply

When a critique is accepted for publication, the original authors are granted the opportunity to submit a reply within thirty (30) days. The commentary and reply are cross-linked with permanent DOIs to maintain debate coherence.

10. Correction and Retraction Policy

10.1 Preservation of the Scholarly Record

Published articles become part of the indelible scientific literature. Under no circumstances are published articles silently amended, altered, or removed. Post-publication interventions adhere strictly to COPE guidelines.

10.2 Forms of Notice

  • Erratum: Corrects significant errors introduced by the publisher during copyediting, formatting, or typesetting;
  • Corrigendum: Corrects material errors introduced by authors that do not compromise the foundational conclusions (e.g., misattributed quote, omitted funding, numerical typo);
  • Expression of Concern: Issued by the Editor-in-Chief when substantial doubts arise about article integrity while an investigation is pending or when evidence is inconclusive;
  • Retraction: Full withdrawal of an article due to clear evidence of scientific invalidity, data fabrication, falsification, plagiarized content, or severe ethical violation.
  • Removal: Reserved exclusively for legal court orders, defamatory content, or imminent threats to safety. Metadata and a removal notice remain online.

10.3 Treatment of Retracted Articles

In adherence to international archiving standards, retracted articles remain visible in the archive to preserve public transparency. Every PDF page is watermarked "RETRACTED" with a prominent link to a citable, DOI-registered Retraction Notice detailing the findings.

10.4 Appeals Process

Authors may formally appeal a retraction decision within thirty (30) calendar days of notification by providing new, verified documentary evidence to the Editor-in-Chief. A newly constituted, unconflicted review panel evaluates the appeal, whose verdict is final.

11. Peer Review Process

JIS maintains a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review model to protect objectivity, scholarly rigor, and impartiality. Reviewers do not know author identities, and authors are not informed of reviewer identities.

11.1 Workflow Stages

  1. Submission: The author submits the manuscript through OJS with anonymized text files.
  2. Desk Review & Similarity Check: Section editors assess initial scope fit, formatting conformity, and run Turnitin checks. Manuscripts outside scope or exceeding similarity ceilings are promptly rejected without external review.
  3. Double-Blind Peer Review: Manuscripts meeting desk standards are assigned to a minimum of two (2) independent domain experts. Reviewers assess conceptual validity, methodological rigor, theoretical engagement, literature currency, and clarity.
  4. Reviewer Recommendation: Reviewers submit detailed evaluation sheets recommending: Accept as is, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
  5. Editorial Decision: The Editor-in-Chief / Section Editor issues a binding editorial decision based on cumulative reviewer feedback.
  6. Revisions & Verification: Authors must provide an itemized response letter detailing changes made. Revised manuscripts are re-assessed by editors and/or re-sent to original reviewers.
  7. Copyediting, Layout & Proofreading: Accepted articles undergo language polishing, layout formatting, DOI registration, and final author confirmation before publication.

12. Open Access Policy

JIS provides immediate, unrestricted open access to all published content based on the principle that making scholarly research freely available to the public supports a robust global exchange of knowledge.

  • There are no embargo periods;
  • Readers and institutions are never charged subscription fees to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to full texts;
  • Articles are indexed globally to maximize author visibility and scientific impact.

13. Ownership, Publisher & Management

13.1 Ownership

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas (JIS) is institutionally owned and governed by Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia.

13.2 Publisher

The journal is published by the Master Program of Religious Studies (Program Studi Magister Studi Agama-Agama), Pascasarjana, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia.

13.3 Editorial Management & Leadership

  • Editor-in-Chief: Rifki Rosyad (UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung)
  • Editorial Board: Composed of prominent national and international scholars in religious studies and related humanities.
  • Editorial Independence: The publisher guarantees that the editorial team possesses absolute autonomy in evaluating and selecting content. Editorial decisions are free from political, institutional, or economic pressure.

14. Repository Policy

14.1 Versions Eligible for Deposit

Authors may deposit the submitted manuscript (preprint), accepted manuscript (postprint), and published version in institutional or disciplinary repositories and on personal academic websites.

14.2 Attribution and Licensing

Once the article is published, repository records should include its complete bibliographic citation, DOI, and a link to the version of record in JIS. Reuse of the published version follows the CC BY-SA 4.0 license described in the Copyrights, Permissions, Reprints & Licensing section.

14.3 Relationship to Digital Preservation

Author self-archiving supports dissemination but does not replace the journal's responsibility to preserve published content. Journal-level preservation and editorial-record retention are addressed separately in the Electronic Archiving Policy.

15. Publication Ethics

Publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in developing a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It directly reflects the quality of the authors' work and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is, therefore, important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editors, the peer reviewers, and the publisher.

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas is a peer-reviewed journal to publish articles in the field of gender studies. Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas is committed to the ethical standards set for all entities involved in the publication of articles.

15.1 Responsibilities of Authors

Reporting Standard

Authors must present the original manuscript, not published in any form, and do not submit the same article to other journals until the publisher give an answer regarding the feasibility of the manuscript. Authors should provide accurate and accountable data. Authors must cite the sources appropriately by considering the content of the manuscript either in the form of written publications and personal interviews. Authors who are discovered to make a major error in their own published works are required to notify the publisher or editor and assist with withdrawal or correction of the manuscript. Author should follow the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas guidelines in preparing the article to submit

Originality, plagiarism and acknowledgement of sources

Authors should adhere to publication requirements that submitted work is original, is not plagiarized, and has not been published elsewhere - fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable. To ensure it, the authors need to check the originality of article using plagiarism checker before submission. The article will be rejected if there is plagiarism on the article. Any information from references used in the article should be honestly and accurately cited in the article.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Ethics

Authors should only submit papers only on work that has been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and that complies with all relevant legislation.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Multiple submissions, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

The authors should submit their article to the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas. When it is not accepted to publish in the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas as the result of peer-review and officially reported by Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor, the authors can submit it to other journal. The article will be rejected if there is plagiarism and multiple submissions on the article.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper

15.2 Responsibilities of Editors

Liabilities:

The Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas has an editorial team consisting of an editor-in-chief, a managing editor and board of editors. They all are required to be accountable and responsible editors for publishing the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas article. The Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas editors led by the editor-in-chief. The Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas editors have a duty and responsible as follows: Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor accept articles submitted by the author to the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas.

  1. Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor accept articles submitted by the author to the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas.
  2. Articles submitted by the authors to the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas are distributed by the Editor-in-Chief, or Managing Editor to the editors in  the Board of Editors for conducting the 1st review process (initial review). Distribution of the articles are well-regulated by the Editor-in-Chief, or Managing Editor so workload can be fairly distributed in number to all editors. Review process Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas using a double-blind peer-review system, performed by using the Referee's Appraisal Form.
  3. Editor-in-Chief is responsible for determining the deadline for receipt of articles that are ready for publication.
  4. Editor-in-Chief is responsible for implementing and leading the editorial board meeting. Editorial board meetings conducted at least 1 (one) times in 1 (one) issue, to finalize the issue for publication. If the Editor-in-Chief is absent, then Editor-in-Chief can assign the Managing Editor or one of editors to do the duties.

Justice:

A decision to publish an article is done through the mechanism of peer-review processs stated above, and it is taken into account based on the quality of article. The decision was taken without considering the religion, ethnic origin, nationality, race or gender of the author.

Confidentiality:

Confidentiality of the article before publication maintained as well as possible. The Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas editors cannot release any information available on the article to anyone except the author of the  article. Information in a text can be released to others Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas editor with the knowledge of the Editor-in-Chief, or Managing Editor.

Disclosure and conflict of interest:

Articles and the materials related to the article that are not accepted for publication in Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas must be returned to the authors, and it cannot be used by the Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas editors for any reason. To avoid conflicts of interest, the decision was taken in publishing the articles should be fair and based on the peer-review process.

15.3 Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions:

Evaluation Reviewers become the main reference for the Editor-in-Chief in making editorial decisions. Evaluation results from the reviewers are really intended to help the author to improve the quality of the article.

Promptness:

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process

Confidentiality:

Each article is accepted by the reviewer must be strictly confidential. Article and peer-reviewed results should not be submitted directly to the author, or communicated to other than the author, but it must be submitted to the editor in charge, Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

15.4 Responsibilities of Publisher

Department of Religious Studies Post-graduate Programs of the UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung as the publisher of Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas, encourages the editors and all stakeholders involved in publication processes to follow the ethics and code of conducts of every parties. The publisher defines the relationship between publisher, editor and other party in a contract, respect privacy, protects intellectual property and copyright, and fosters editorial independence.

Publisher works with journal editors to set journal policies appropriately and aim to meet those policies, particularly with respect to: editorial independence, research ethics, including confidentiality, consent, and the special requirements for research, authorship, transparency and integrity.

Publisher works with journal editors to converse journal policies in general and review journal policies periodically, responsible for the investigation of suspected research and publication misconduct and, where possible, facilitate in the resolution of these cases, make and publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions, and publish content on a timely basis.

15.5 Ethical Concerns and Corrective Action

Specific procedures for authorship disputes, competing interests, misconduct allegations, and correction of the published record are provided in the corresponding policy sections. These procedures should be read together rather than duplicated here.

16. Author Fees

16.1 Fee Schedule

Author fees stated in the policy draft
Fee Category Amount Payment Stage
Article Submission Fee IDR 1,000,000 Upon submission
Article Publication Fee IDR 1,500,000 After acceptance

16.2 Editorial Independence

Payment does not guarantee acceptance. Manuscripts remain subject to the journal's editorial assessment and peer-review requirements.

17. Journal History

17.1 Establishment and Publication

Jurnal Iman dan Spiritualitas began publication in 2021 under the Master Program of Religious Studies, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia. It publishes four issues per year and focuses on religious studies and spirituality.

17.2 Journal Identification and Accreditation

The journal uses electronic ISSN 2775-4596 and DOI prefix 10.15575/jis. Its website reports SINTA 3 accreditation under Decree No. 177/E/KPT/2024.

18. Inclusion and Indexing

18.1 Indexing and Discovery Services

The journal website lists the following services for indexing, discovery, or citation visibility:

18.2 Accreditation

SINTA records the journal's national accreditation and citation profile. The journal website reports SINTA 3 under Decree No. 177/E/KPT/2024.

18.3 Persistent Identifiers

JIS registers article DOIs through Crossref under prefix 10.15575/jis. DOI registration is a persistent-identification service and is distinct from accreditation or selective database indexing.