That program was founded and chaired by Ninian Smart, and he served as the chairman of the first editorial board.

Religion publishes academic work on all issues of Religious Studies, including the history, literature, thought, practise, material culture, and institutions of particular religious traditions from a variety of perspectives such as social scientific, humanistic, cognitive, economical, geographical, etc.

(but excluding work that falls purely within the areas of theology or philosophy of religion).

The journal has European and North-American editors (currently Michael Stausberg and Steven Engler) and a multi-national editorial board.

[1] The journal is abstracted in:[2][3] Arts & Humanities Citation Index, ATLA (American Theological Library Association), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Dietrich's Index Philosophicus, Academic Search, Current Abstracts, Humanities International Index, New Testament Abstracts, Old Testament Abstracts, SocINDEX, TOC Premier, SCOPUS, Gale, Humanities Index, Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies, ProQuest, Current Contents.