Cancer and Theology: Personal and Pastoral Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to participate in a special edition of Religions that will offer pastoral and theological insights on cancer. Approximately 40% of people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life. Virtually everyone will be touched by the experience of knowing someone close to them that has journeyed with cancer. These statistics will continue to rise as many population groups worldwide continue to age. It is, therefore, surprising how little theological reflection on cancer has taken place. This Special Issue seeks to bring together scholars from diverse theological disciplines (biblical scholars, systematic theology, and practical as well as pastoral theology) and perspectives. We are looking for theologically reflective articles that are also deeply pastoral and personal with respect to the challenge of cancer. Hence, we are seeking contributors who have either experienced cancer themselves or have walked alongside those who have. We are asking authors to allow their life stories to speak as an important part of their academic research. We hope that this Special Issue of Religions may serve as a resource for pastors, pastoral and spiritual care practitioners, or others in various helping professions who are theologically and pastorally navigating the concerns of cancer with those whom they engage. We hope that you will consider contributing an article to this important project.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Biblical perspectives on disease or illness and their application to cancer.
• Theological perspectives on healing and prayer with respect to cancer.
• Human vulnerability and weakness in the midst of cancer.
• Cancer and spirituality, discipleship, and lifestyle.
• Cancer and hope, personal eschatology.
• Cancer and human suffering.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send these to the Guest Editors, or to the Assistant Editor, Ms. Violet Li ([email protected]), of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Brian C. Macallan
Prof. Dr. Ronald T. Michener
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• cancer and theology
• suffering
• disease
• hope and cancer
• healing