About the Journal

Social Work & Christianity (SWC) is a refereed journal published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW) to support and encourage the growth of social workers in the ethical integration of Christian faith and professional practice. SWC welcomes articles, shorter contributions, book reviews, and letters which deal with issues related to the integration of faith and professional social work practice and other professional concerns which have relevance to Christianity.

NACSW began publishing Social Work & Christianity in 1974 (its original name was Paraclete).

At least three members of the editorial board will anonymously review manuscripts and recommend an acceptance decision based on the following criteria: relevance of content to major issues concerning the ethical integration of competent social work practice and Christianity, potential contribution to social work scholarship and practice, literary merit, clarity, and freedom from language that conveys devaluation or stereotypes of persons or groups. The journal editorial team will make final decisions.

Views expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of SWC or NACSW. Membership in NACSW or publication in SWC in no way implies endorsement or certification of the member’s or author’s qualifications, ability, or proficiency to practice social work. NACSW and SWC do not assume responsibility in any way for member’s or reader’s efforts to apply or utilize information, suggestions, or recommendations made by the association, its publications, conferences, or other resources.

Types of Articles: Social Work & Christianity primarily publishes 4 types of articles:

  • Conceptual articles: Conceptual articles focus on the development and/or explanation of an idea or theory and relate the idea or theory to the integration of Christian faith with the social work profession in an explicit manner. Conceptual articles contribute to the literature on the integration of Christian faith and social work practice by assisting readers utilize concepts and theories from the social sciences, theology, religious studies, philosophy, various helping professions, and similar fields to provide a framework for social work practice and/or scholarship. Such articles do not produce empirical results, although empirical results from prior research may be used to support the concepts and theories described in the article. 
  • Research articles: Research articles report on empirical research conducted by the author(s), whether quantitative or qualitative in focus. Research articles generally report on the exploration of a research question(s), describe a specific research methodology, and report results and implications of a research study.
  • Practice articles: Practice notes articles share examples of practice situations (micro through macro) with lessons, grounded in the literature, for readers. These articles can be written as case studies, use first-person, and may include diagrams, forms or other sample documents which might help the reader understand the lessons from practice.
  • Point of View/Commentary articles: Point of view/commentary articles provide a platform for authors to comment on current issues, social problems, and trends that are relevant to Christians in social work, or to respond to the assumptions, conclusions, or positions in a previously published article in SWC.

From time to time, Social Work & Christianity has also published other types of materials, for example, poetry. If you wish to submit material other than the 4 types of articles listed here, please contact the editor to discuss this prior to making your submission.

Book Reviews: Social Work & Christianity welcomes book review manuscripts for the Reviews section of the journal. Book reviews should be relevant to SWC’s readership and therefore should include content pertinent to Christians in social work. Book review authors should follow these guidelines:

  • Ordinarily books should be fairly recent (published within 2 years); if later, reviewers should provide some justification for why an older book has current relevance.
  • Reviews should be about 600-800 words in length.
  • Reviews should include an overview of the book’s main points, especially those pertaining to Christians in social work.
  • In addition to a descriptive summary of the book’s content, reviews should provide some assessment, critique, and analysis of the book’s strengths and weaknesses, and its contribution to the field of social work practice, especially to specific audiences such as subfields of social work practice, students, academics, administrators, and church leaders.
  • Reviews should adhere to general guidelines for formatting and writing described in the general Instructions for Authors.
  • All submitted book review manuscripts, whether invited or not, are subject to editorial review and acceptance by the book review editor, in conjunction with the editor-in-chief, who will make final decisions regarding acceptance for publication.
  • Reviews submitted for a special topic issue should be clearly marked as such.

Please note that it is not possible for SWC ito commit to publishing reviews for all unsolicited books.

Letters to the Editor: The purpose of the Letters to the Editor section in Social Work & Christianity is to provide creative space for dialogue about complicated topics for Christians in social work. Our hope is that submissions in this form allow for the healthy exchange of ideas and perspectives. The Letters to the Editor section is grounded in our Christian values of humility, mutual respect, and generosity of spirit, as well as our professional values of critical thinking and integrity.

Submissions should be no more than 500-1,000 words in length and invite conversation as it offers the opportunity for readers to observe an open and civil exchange of ideas and perspectives. Letters which are a response to articles previously published in Social Work & Christianity will be shared with the article author(s), who will have the opportunity to respond to the letter. Such Letters to the Editor are encouraged to ask clarifying questions in a spirit of curiosity (as opposed to a spirit of confrontation), model careful listening, and seek common ground where possible as it shares alternative points of view for readers’ consideration. Letters to the Editor which include personal attacks or denigration of individuals or organizations will not be considered.

Indexing and Advertising: Social Work & Christianity is indexed in Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Guide to Social Science and Religion in Periodical Literature, PsycINFO, and Christian Periodical Index. Full text articles from Social Work & Christianity appear in both ProQuest as well as EBSCO’s SocINDEX with Full Text, Academic Search Complete, and Social Sciences Full Text bibliographic research databases.

Individuals and organizations that wish to advertise professional events, resources, and programs that are compatible with the mission of NACSW should email the NACSW office (or call 888.426.4712) for rates, publishing procedures, and deadlines.