JOURNAL FOR THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF RELIGION
SPECIAL ISSUE
VOL 31. NO 3
CALL FOR PAPERS
RELIGION AT THE ROYAL COMMISSION
Editor: Kathleen McPhillips, University of Newcastle
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-2017) has been internationally recognized as one of the most successful state inquiries into the culture of organizations and child safety and protection ever held. The Commission has amassed a huge repository of knowledge and research and the final report (December 2017) has made many recommendations that aim to increase the safety of children across organizations in Australian social life.
From the earliest days of Royal Commission public hearings, it became clear that religious organizations experienced the most difficulty with keeping children safe and addressing complaints. Research undertaken on behalf of the Royal Commission (Palmer et al 2017) and others (Keenan, 2012; Salter, 2017) indicates clearly that religious groups and particularly the Catholic and Anglican faiths were putting the reputation of their organizations ahead of child safety and protecting perpetrators rather than children. This is hugely problematic for such organizations that have a special claim on articulating moral authority and ethical standards. The full impact of this travesty is yet to be appreciated.
This special issue of JASR looks closely at the religious organizations that appeared before the Royal Commission, and the complex outcomes of child sexual abuse for survivors and organisations. In particular we encourage papers that address the following: mechanisms of organizational management and cultures of leadership; relevant theological discourses; the relationship between gender, religious organizations and child sexual abuse; evaluations of processes of organizational change; intersections between (secular) law and religion; and analysis of the impact of the Royal Commission findings on the authority and legitimacy of religious groups, particularly the Anglican and Catholic churches.
Abstracts of up to 200 words should be submitted no later than March 1st 2018 to the Editor of the Special Issue, Kathleen McPhillips (Kathleen.mcphillips@newcastle.edu.au).
Full papers are due July 1st 2018.
The Journal for the Academic Study of Religion is a highly regarded journal in the field of religious studies and is the leading journal in religion in the Pacific region: https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/JASR
It has been in publication for 30 years and regularly publishes special issues. The journal is committed to publishing cutting edge research from both new and established scholars, both in the Pacific region and internationally.