Handbook of Religions

The Handbook of Religions (LOTR) is a reference work that aims to “convey well-founded knowledge about the entire spectrum of topics relating to religions”, spatially focused on the German-speaking countries or parts of the country. It appears in loose-leaf form and online (www.handbuch-religionen.de).

Structure and claim

The manual , founded and published in 1997 by Michael Klöcker ( University of Cologne ) and Udo Tworuschka ( Friedrich Schiller University Jena ), now has a volume of 10 volumes with around 7,500 pages (as of November 2019). Four supplementary deliveries with approx. 180 pages each are published annually. The manual has been published by Olzog Verlag , Munich , since the first supplementary delivery . The basic work was published in 1997. In November 2015, the manual changed to the Oberfranken Media Group - Fachverlage (MGO) in Bamberg. The handbook has been maintained and published by Westarp Science - Fachverlage since summer 2018.

The Handbook of Religions is the only handbook that provides comprehensive information on the past and present of the religious communities represented in the German-speaking area (including addresses, websites, etc.) and also reflects on relevant contexts, processes and structures. The constant updating of many articles is one of the editing principles.

It is an interdisciplinary, non-dogmatic work, the authors of which commit themselves to a religious-scientific approach, i. H. hold back with evaluations if possible. His approach knows no “right” and “wrong” or “true” and “untrue” religions.

The manual is divided into 15 subject areas, the content of which is supervised by 23 subject area managers. With the change from the Oberfranken media group to Westarp, the publisher and publisher have now started the internationalization of the “Handbook of Religions” (LOTR):

The previous editors, Editors-in-Chief , have so far been supported in their work by a group of department heads. As a result, the competencies and tasks of the department heads (currently 26) are changing in the course of internationalization: They now form an editorial board, which on the one hand assumes responsibility for acquiring authors and topics. On the other hand, they examine the typescripts. This ensures that the articles are subjected to an editorial reviewing process .

In addition to the editorial reviewing process, the Handbuch der Religionen introduces the peer review process . Each editor works with a staff of several peer reviewers and thus supports the editors-in-chief, who are ultimately responsible for accepting or rejecting a contribution.

Another expression of the internationalization of the Handbook of Religions is the introduction of the English subtitle: Handbook of Religions. Churches and other Religious Communities in Germany and in German speaking Countries.

In addition to their German title, all contributions also have a corresponding English translation. In addition to a German abstract and key words, each article is provided with an English abstract and key words. The editors are explicitly named on the first page of the article in order to enable an exact and scientific citation.

The Handbook of Religions is listed as a journal (ISSN 2510-6740) in the relevant specialist catalogs and takes part in various ranking processes.