Authorship Criteria

Theological Journal KERUGMA is committed to ensuring that authorship accurately reflects the intellectual contributions and scholarly responsibilities of individuals involved in the preparation of a manuscript. Authorship is granted to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the development, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the work. The journal upholds the principles of academic integrity, transparency, fairness, and accountability in determining authorship.

To qualify for authorship, each author must meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Substantial Scholarly Contribution: Make a significant intellectual contribution to the conception or design of the study, the formulation of its research questions, the development of its theological argument, or the analysis and interpretation of biblical texts, historical sources, theological literature, or other relevant materials.

  2. Writing and Critical Revision: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual and scholarly content.

  3. Final Approval: Review and approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.

  4. Accountability: Accept responsibility for their respective contributions and cooperate in addressing any questions concerning the accuracy, integrity, or reliability of the work.

All individuals listed as authors must satisfy these criteria. Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet the authorship requirements should be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission, in the Acknowledgments section.

The journal does not permit guest, gift, honorary, or ghost authorship. Academic rank, institutional position, research supervision, financial support, or administrative assistance alone does not qualify an individual for authorship. All authors must agree on the order of authorship before submission, and any subsequent changes to the author list require the agreement of all affected authors and approval from the editorial team.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the submitted manuscript, that their contributions are accurately represented, and that relevant declarations concerning conflicts of interest and research integrity are provided.

AI tools and generative AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume the responsibilities and accountability required of human authors. Any use of such tools that materially contributes to manuscript preparation must be disclosed transparently in accordance with the journal's applicable policies. All authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scholarly quality of the submitted work.

These criteria are intended to ensure that authorship in Theological Journal KERUGMA reflects genuine scholarly contributions and supports responsible academic publishing within biblical studies, theology, and Christian ministry.