Editorial Introduction
How to Cite:
Witt, J. D. (2025). Introduction. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 19(3), 271-273. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.33184
I am happy to introduce this issue as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture As Bron Taylor detailed in his earlier introduction (Taylor 2025), I have worked with the journal staff in the past, but it was a distinct honor to be asked to take over the Editor-in-Chief position after Bron decided to step back from the role and focus on other work. After two decades in charge of the journal, building it from the ground up, it is certainly a well-deserved change for Bron. I know that many other members of the journal staff and board will agree that we have all benefited from Bron’s leadership and mentorship and his efforts to build this collection of scholarly endeavors centered on the religion, nature, and culture nexus. We look forward to reading updates on his research in the future pages of this journal.
Of course, the Editor-in-Chief is just one member of a much larger team that often receives less recognition for their essential work maintaining an excellent scholarly journal. A key factor in my agreement to step into this position was the knowledge that many of these team members would remain. Co-Editor/Managing Editor Dr. Amanda Nichols is unmatched in her editorial and managerial talents, and Assistant Managing Editor Dr. Dominic Wilkins has proven to be a rare example of someone who can continue in the path that Dr. Nichols has blazed. Many other editors and assistants continue to drive this journal, and Bron has already highlighted their talents and achievements in his introduction to JSRNC 19.1 (Taylor 2025). Readers should be confident that the excellent team that has been so integral to expanding and enhancing the JSRNC will largely remain, ensuring that this journal continues to be ‘the place for the presentation of diverse, transdisciplinary research, debate, and reflection—one that is accessible to a wide audience—regarding the relationships among religion, nature, and culture’ as Bron hoped it would (Taylor 2007: 7).
As regular readers of the JSRNC know, scholarship on the religion, nature, and culture nexus has changed through the nearly twenty years that this journal has been published. Such changes can be evidence that critical interventions in the field and its methods, along with active interdisciplinary engagement, are serving their purpose of refining and improving scholarly efforts to understand, interpret, and perhaps even influence the social and ecological challenges of the day. To facilitate this kind of critical work, Bron argued that the JSRNC and its related scholarly society, the ISSRNC, should remain ‘taboo-free inquiry zones, where no question is illicit, and no approach or argument is precluded by facile hopes or a priori assumptions. Only then can we ensure the field will develop in its most promising directions and quickly correct itself if it veers off course’ (2007: 7–8). As I take over the Editor-in-Chief position, I am similarly committed to promoting creative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research that is willing to challenge disciplinary boundaries and conventions, amplify marginalized and emerging voices, and facilitate changes in thinking on religion, nature, and culture issues. While methods and theories may continue to evolve, I hope that the JSRNC can remain a central site for these critical discussions to continue.
Nonetheless, retaining the core mission of the journal, some important clarifications are also needed. ‘Taboo-free’ does not mean ‘anything goes’. Much harm has been done, particularly to Indigenous and marginalized communities, by scholars who recapitulate harmful tropes and discourses, who condone violent policies and practices, or who undermine the rights and political efforts of marginalized groups through their commitments to ostensibly critical objectivity (see, for example, Smith 2021 [1999]). Challenging the scholarly conventions that perpetuate this kind of violence is an important element of creating more just and equitable scholarly approaches. Welcoming critical engagement thus must also be handled with sensitivity and accountability to the communities impacted by it. Of course, these kinds of considerations can be enhanced with a wider diversity of input into the journal’s processes and decisions. We thus hope to continue expanding the journal team by recruiting scholars from different regions, disciplines, and positionalities to better account for the diversity of views and experiences included in the religion, nature, and culture nexus. We also expect to continue involving the Board of Advisors (formerly Editorial Board) in strategic planning and outreach, helping to encourage high quality submissions from interdisciplinary, global, diverse sources and to ensure that research in the JSRNC reaches a wider professional audience. The journal remains committed to interdisciplinary research, ‘counteracting disciplinary myopia’ (Taylor 2007: 7) that can be characteristic of some scholarly venues, and, as Bron noted in the inaugural issue, facilitating the kinds of conversations and collaborations needed to gather the data and perspectives that might produce meaningful interventions in academia and the broader world. In short, while we remain committed to making the JSRNC a vital forum for academic conversations related to the religion, nature, and culture nexus, we also recognize that shifting perspectives, methods, and issues require flexibility on the part of the journal editors and staff. After nearly two decades of this work, we hope these conversations will continue to engage new generations of scholars who will see this journal as a forum for their work developing the approaches and evidence needed to bring about changes in contemporary and future socioecological systems.
Many of the issues that motivated the emergence of the ISSRNC and JSRNC persist, and new challenges have also arisen as these scholarly efforts have developed. Academic journals may only play a small part in addressing these issues, and yet, we remain committed to utilizing this academic space to continue developing the critical and constructive perspectives needed to help. I encourage readers to continue submitting their research for consideration with the JSRNC, participate in ISSRNC conferences, and consider getting involved in committees and other opportunities to further guide the development of the journal and society. As social and ecological challenges proliferate, forging stronger communities—even scholarly communities—is all the more necessary to foster greater resilience. I look forward to seeing how this scholarly community grows over the coming years.
References
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. 2021 [1999]. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, 3rd edn. (London: Zed Books).
Taylor, Bron. 2025. ‘The Future and Foundation of the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 19.1: 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.32899
———. 2007. ‘Exploring Religion, Nature and Culture—Introducing the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture’, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 1.1: 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v1i1.5
