Editor's Introduction

At Catalyst, scholarly innovation is an ever-present goal. We acknowledge that the academic publication process has long been criticized for its inability to keep pace with the dynamic reality of social life. Whereas the peer-review process does take time and should not in our view be compromised, the established notion that research should be published exclusively in issues composed of multiple manuscripts is far less sacred. Whereas a well organized and artfully crafted issue can be greater than the sum of its parts, a great advantage to our online format is that we do not have to choose between taking the time to craft an entire issue or publishing an individual piece of immediately relevant research. Thus, in addition to our regular issues, Catalyst publishes individual articles or “Sparks.” We hope that Lee E. Ross’s “Religion and Intimate Partner Violence: A Double-Edge Sword,” which follows this editorial introduction, will spark critical discussions about the role of authority, scriptural interpretation, patriarchy, and violence in our society.