About the Journal
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Soter is a religious sciences journal with a historical continuity. The first issue of the journal was published in 1924 by the Faculty of Theology-Philosophy at Vytautas Magnus University; in 1940 the journal was banned by Soviet government. In 1990, after Lithuania regained independence, publication of the journal was renewed by the Faculty of Catholic Theology at Vytautas Magnus University. In 2024 the journal celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Publisher/Owner: Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania).
Aims and Scope
Soter is an interdisciplinary journal. It covers seven areas of the field of religious sciences:
1) Theology and Philosophy; 2) Pastoral Theology, 3) Liturgy; 4) History of Christianity; 5) Canon Law and the Social Teaching of the Church; 6) Christian Culture and Religious Studies; 7) Christian Education and Psychology; 8) Archives and Sources.
This broad field of research brings together a large international and interdisciplinary body of scholars in the field of religious sciences who publish their research findings in the journal.
Soter is a journal of religious sciences in Lithuania. The journal focuses on conceptually innovative research in religious sciences. We encourage research that compares different aspects of religious life and experience across different religions and cultures.
Soter publishes original articles from the humanities and the social and other sciences that explore issues of theology, philosophy, Christian culture and religious sciences as well as Christian pedagogy and psychology. The journal also publishes primary sources, critical translations of Christian texts, reviews of publications, and chronicles.
Soter maintains an open access policy and provides free access to all articles published by the journal. The emphasis is on making the latest original work of scholars in the field of religious studies available to the entire religious studies community, so that anyone can read and download all the articles already published in Soter free of charge.
Soter is included in the following Indexing Databases
- Index Copernicus
- Lituanistika
- Central and Eastern European Online Library(C.E.E.O.L.)
- Databases of Central and Easter European Online(EBSCO Publishing)
- ERIH PLUS (European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences)
- Sherpa/RoMEO
Open Access Issues (since 2006):
Archive
All issues of Soter published since 2004 are posted in CRIS (the VMU Research Management System) under the title: Collections of this Community.
Publishing Schedule
Four issues per year, published quarterly.
Languages
The journal publishes material in eight languages: Lithuanian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.
Peer-Review
Double-blind peer review is used.
Copyright and Licensing
Authors and the journal agree to the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which licenses peer-reviewed journals and grants Soter permission to publish their unpublished and original manuscript. This provision also applies to open access issues of Soter. The journal’s copyright is protected under the “Rules for the Management, Use and Disposal of Intellectual Property of Vytautas Magnus University” as approved by the Council of Vytautas Magnus University in 2019.
Submission and Publishing Fees
There are no submission or publishing fees.
Revenue Sources
Vytautas Magnus University is the main sponsor of the journal. The publication of Soter 68 (98) was funded by the European Social Fund. Publishing of the journal may also be funded by private donors.
