Religion Brain & Behavior

Religion Brain & Behavior (RELIG BRAIN BEHAV) is a leading peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) that serves as the official journal of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR). With an ISSN of 2153-599X and a 2026 Impact Factor of 4.7000, the journal occupies a distinguished position within the social sciences and religious studies, typically ranking in the top quartile (Q1) for its interdisciplinary field. The journal’s scope is dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding of religious beliefs, practices, and experiences through the lens of cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. It publishes a diverse range of article types, including original empirical research, theoretical and methodological reviews, meta-analyses, target articles with open peer commentary, and book reviews. Key topics covered encompass the cognitive and neural bases of ritual, prayer, and supernatural agent concepts; the evolutionary origins of religion; the role of cultural transmission and group dynamics; and the interplay between religious cognition and moral behavior. The journal is particularly notable for its innovative target article format, which fosters dynamic scholarly debate, and for its commitment to methodological rigor and cross-disciplinary integration. While not an open access journal by default, authors may choose to publish their work open access through Taylor & Francis’s Open Select program. The target audience includes cognitive scientists, evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers of religion, and graduate students seeking cutting-edge, empirically grounded research on the biological and cultural foundations of religion.