WCC NEWS: WCC journals draw unprecedented readership, reflecting growing global conversation

More people than ever before are engaging with World Council of Churches journals, The Ecumenical Review and the International Review of Mission, both published by Wiley.  Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC 26 May 2026 The 2025 Publisher’s Report from Wiley shows substantial growth for both journals.  The most striking figure is the readership growth for International Review of Mission. Article views on Wiley Online Library increased by 21.5% in 2025 – more than double the 8.5% growth recorded across all journals in the Religion and Theology subject area. The average number of views per article was 229, compared with a subject-area average of 84. The Ecumenical Review also outperformed the field in 2025, averaging 122 views per article against that same benchmark of 84. The circulation of both journals grew substantially. International Review of Mission is now accessible through nearly 4,918 institutions worldwide, and The Ecumenical Review through 4,929 – both up from around 4,050 each in 2024. Much of that growth comes through transformational agreements, which now cover 2,889 institutions per journal, in addition to Wiley’s philanthropic initiatives that extend low-cost or free access to a further 4,555 institutions in the developing world.  “Reach, in other words, is not just a number – it reflects the growing global conversation around the work WCC journals carry,” said Lyn van Rooyen, coordinator of WCC journals.    Most-read articles In International Review of Mission, the most-read article was “The Nicene Creed, the Church, and Christian Mission” (1,328 views), followed by “On the Homoousía” and “The Kingdom of God and the Transformation of the World.” For The Ecumenical Review, “The Creed of Nicaea” led with 1,425 views, followed by “Praying for Rain: Indigenous Systems of Rainmaking in Kenya” and “The ‘Pinkster Kerk’ as a Site of Indigenous Religious Expression within Black Pentecostal Theology.”  “It seems the topics that interested the readers are Nicaea at 1,700 years, decolonial theology, and African Christianity,” noted van Rooyen.  Since it was first published in September 2024, an Ecumenical Review article by WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and Dr Masiiwa Gunda, WCC programme executive and Ecumenical Institute at Bossey adjunct professor, titled "Anti-Racism and the Fight against Discrimination Today,” has remained one of the highest-performing articles in the journal. The International Review of Mission published six open-access articles first published in 2025 – a 200% increase over 2024 – at a time when the subject category saw a 39% decrease in open-access publishing across all publishers. The Ecumenical Review held steady at eight open-access articles, again against a field-wide decline.  “That’s worth noting, especially in the context of the WCC’s commitments to equitable access to knowledge,” said van Rooyen.  The top reading countries for both journals include the United States, China, Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and India. Subscribe to The Ecumenical Review and the International Review of Mission. The journals are available through the following links: The Ecumenical Review  The International Review of Mission See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland