About the Journal

lectio difficilior provides a platform for feminist, gender-critical, queer and intersectional engagement with biblical texts, their historical contexts and also their reception history. People of any gender may publish with us. Lectio difficilior is a Diamond Open Access online journal. 

lectio difficilior

Our programme for feminist exegesis in Europe – lectio difficilior lectio melior est – “The more difficult reading is the better reading”

Our option for the third millennium
We read carefully.
We read critically.
We see clearly.

lectio difficilior is international, interdenominational, and interdisciplinary, and is committed to innovative scholarship that makes it accessible to a broad readership. The journal is characterised by its broad interdisciplinary approach and diverse research areas, approaches, and methods. It has continued to develop in terms of content since its foundation. It was and remains committed to feminism.

At a meeting of the numerous authors of the ‘Compendium of Feminist Bible Interpretation’ (edited by Luise Schottroff and Marie-Theres Wacker) in December 1998 in Münster/Westf., the idea of a new journal took shape, with the preference given to an electronic version. From its first issue in 2000, the lectio difficilior was an open-access journal. In doing so, it has made a significant contribution to promoting young academics, particularly women, and to international access to the latest academic research.

Diverse, exciting, true-to-life – lectio difficilior

  • It is the first European journal for feminist exegesis, hermeneutics, and related research areas.
  • Published twice a year in Bern since 2000.
  • Offers scholars and anyone interested in exegetical and theological topics: specialist articles and book recommendations.
  • Published in three languages. Articles are published in German, English, or French.
  • It is not affiliated with any religious denomination.
  • Is interdisciplinary. Contributions from related research areas are published if they are related to exegesis or biblical hermeneutics.
  • Offers scholars the opportunity to post their research contributions for discussion without long waiting periods.

Open Access Policy

lectio difficilior provides immediate open access to its content in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. 
lectio difficilior  does not charge any article processing charges (APCs) or article submission charges (ASCs) and does allow the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions. 

Peer Review Process

The articles published in this journal go through a peer review process. After an initial review by the editors, each article is evaluated by one member of the editorial board and one member of the review board. 

Publication Ethics

LDiff endeavours to ensure the high quality of its publications. It adheres to the standards of ethical behaviour and expects all parties involved in the publication process to adhere to them. This includes the author, journal editor, peer reviewers and publisher.  lectio difficilior  follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for the preservation of scientific integrity. 

Plagiarism

lectio difficilior is committed to publish only original material that has not already been published or reviewed elsewhere. Any manuscript that raises concerns about plagiarism will be checked and cases of plagiarism will be sanctioned. 

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers, authors and editors must disclose any and all possible financial or non-financial conflict of interest regarding the manuscript. If unsure, please contact Dr. Nancy Rahn (nancy.rahn@unibe.ch) or Dr. Bruno Biermann (bruno.biermann@uni-muenster.de) should be contacted. 

Archiving

To ensure the long-term availability of scientific information, the contents of the journal are archived with LOCKSS.