HTS History and Position from 1943 until 2008
1.The beginning
HTS was founded in 1943 as a result of an international endeavour involving Dutch and South African scholars. It is the oldest theological journal in South Africa. Its historical roots date back to 1942 when the Cape Town based international Dutch company HAUM/Du Buissy Publishing House became the first sponsor of the initiative taken by theologians of the University of Pretoria in co-operation with scholars in the Netherlands. At the time, the theologians were responsible for theological quality management, while HAUM/du Buissy Publishing House provided the administrative infrastructure. HTS’s rights were later sold to the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (Hervormde Kerk). The then N.H.W. Press (owned by the Netherdutch Reformed Church) printed HTS (also known as Hervormde Teologiese Studies) and the administration of the journal was handled by staff attached to the Church Synod office in Pretoria. Until Volume 64 in 2008 four issues were published annually. Prof Dr J. de Zwaan (Leiden), Prof Dr H.W. Obbink (Utrecht) and Prof Dr B. Gemser (Groningen) from the Netherlands played an influential role in the first Editorial Board, together with the Dutch-born internationally recognised Old Testament scholar Prof Dr A. van Selms. During the first four years of HTS’s existence (1943-1947/1948), academics from the University of Pretoria who served on the Editorial Board, together with Professor Van Selms and the above-mentioned Dutch scholars, were Professors J.H.J.A. Greyvenstein (New Testament Studies and Practical Theology), S.P. Engelbrecht (Church History) and A.S. Geyser (New Testament Studies). Over the years a close collaboration as far as the infrastructure and scholarly quality of HTS were concerned developed between the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa and the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria, founded in 1917. The Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk) joined in 1937 and became Section B of the Faculty of Theology. In 2000 the two sections, the Dutch Reformed Church (the then Section B) and the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (Section A) amalgamated and formed the multi-church oriented Faculty of Theology in collaboration with the Uniting Presbyterian Church of South Africa. In view of the amalgamation the General Synod of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa decided that the newly established Reformed Theological College should be responsible for the infrastructure of HTS.

2. The present day
Whereas the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa is the title owner of HTS, a contractual agreement was reached between the University of Pretoria and the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa in 2000, in terms of which the Reformed Theological College was affiliated to the Faculty of Theology. According to Clause 7.2 of this agreement, HTS’ administration is managed by the Faculty of Theology’s Reformed Theological College (HTK). The Reformed Theological College is responsible through the Editorial Board of HTS to ensure that the criteria for accreditation of HTS by the Department of Education of the South African national government are met and upheld. Accreditation is a condition for tertiary institutions in South Africa to receive a financial subsidy from the Department of Education for published research outputs of South African academics and their registered research associates. As a co-partner in the multi-church theological faculty at the University of Pretoria, the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa through its support of the Reformed Theological College in the Faculty of Theology and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Lecturers’ Council of the Faculty of Theology, supports academic publishing in the field of theology, more specifically through HTS as a scholarly journal. At the beginning of 2009, commencing with Volume 65 of HTS, the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa entered into a publishing agreement with African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd (AOSIS). This company provides various services, including but not limited to the provision of scholarly publication services through its scholarly publishing division known as “OpenJournals Publishing”.

3. HTS’S position in the academic world
Over the years HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies (HTS) has made a meaningful theological contribution in South Africa, in Africa and internationally by supporting theologians, philosophers, scholars and ministers of religion in their study of religious, social and ecumenical related subjects by means of original and sound research. Although an internationally recognised scholarly journal with a strict editorial and selection procedure, HTS has remained committed to the development of young scholars. Today HTS counts among the first 100 academic journals in South Africa as far as frequency of articles published in scientific journals is concerned. With its 4 issues per annum in the past, HTS ranked in the fourteenth place, based on research done in 2005 by CREST, a research institution based at the Department of Sociology of the University of Stellenbosch. The research deals with tendencies pertaining to South African accredited journals and covers data recorded in SA Knowledge base (SAK) over a twelve year period. In 1990 in both the Natural Sciences and Social Studies (published in Afrikaans, English and other European languages) a total of 6 617 articles were published in South Africa and in 2002, a total of 5 737 (see J Mouton in Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe 45/3, 2005). More than 45% of these articles were published in 100 journals. With regard to the highest frequency, HTS is listed in the 14th position. In this instance, “frequency” refers to the researchers’ preference for a specific journal in which to publish their outputs. Those journals with a higher frequency are mainly journals of Medicine, Law and Education. HTS has envisioned its aim to be nationally relevant and internationally competitive. The Editorial Board thus followed a strategy to ensure the balanced publication of local, national and international research. Strict international and scholarly criteria are applied in the publication of all articles. The Editorial Board consists of highly regarded international scholars and national academics. Although HTS is attached to a specific academic interest group, the journal has published an increasing number of articles written by foreign scholars. The language, which used to be Afrikaans, has drastically changed over the past three years to being predominantly English, with other foreign languages also included (see statistical index below). The language tendency also reflects the tendency in the language of theological research undertaken at the Faculty of Theology as its “operational basis”. On average, only 40% of UP’s own staff members (including researchers from the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Theology) publish annually in the HTS. All of the other contributions are received from researchers attached to other institutions in South Africa and abroad. The change in language increased the impact factor of HTS, as well as the international accessibility of the research results. HTS is widely indexed on lists in the theological academic world, such as the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI Database – based in Philadelphia, USA, Thomson Reuters Services), through ISI’s Arts and Humanities Citation Index. HTS is also indexed on the following national and international journal lists: Religion Index One: Periodicals, Index to Book Reviews in Religion, Religion Indexes: On CD-ROM and ATLA Religion Database on CD-ROM. This periodical is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database, published by the American Theological Library Association, Chicago; Elenchus of Biblical Bibliography of the Editrice Pontificio Institutio Biblico, Rome, Italy; Index to Book Reviews in Religion; International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ) and International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature, Osnabrück, Germany; International Glossary of Abbreviations for Theology and Related Subjects (IAGT) Walter de Gruyter, Berlin; New Testament Abstracts, Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, MA; Old Testament Abstracts, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; Religious and Theological Abstracts, 121 South College Street, Myerstown, PA; Religion Index One: Periodicals; Zeitschriften Inhaltsdienstes; Index to South African Periodicals (ISAP); SABINET Online (South African Information Network); South African Theological Bibliography (electronic resource), UP OpenAccess, and African Journals Online (AJOL).

Articles no. 61-90