Scientometric Comparison of Web of Science Health-Related Publications on Islam and Christianity
Journal of Medical Library and Information Science,
Vol. 7 No. 7 (2026),
6 May 2026
,
Page 1-15
https://doi.org/10.22037/jmlis.v7i7.49792
Abstract
Introduction: The relationship between religion and health has attracted increasing scholarly attention, especially regarding Islam and Christianity as the world’s two largest religions. This study aimed to compare health-related scientific publications on Islam and Christianity indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) using a scientometric approach.
Methods: This descriptive quantitative study employed scientometric analysis and co-authorship network mapping. Bibliographic data were retrieved from the WoS Core Collection on May 20, 2022, using search strategies based on key religion-related terms (e.g., Islam, Muslim, Quran; Christianity, Christian, Bible) combined with health- and medicine-related keywords. After screening titles and abstracts to remove irrelevant records, the remaining data were exported in TXT format and analyzed using EndNote, Microsoft Excel, and VOSviewer. Publication trends, citation patterns, prolific countries, organizations, journals, authors, and keyword and co-authorship networks were examined.
Results: A total of 3,747 Islam-related and 2,756 Christianity-related health publications were included. Pakistan, the USA, and Iran were the leading producers of Islam-related publications, while the USA, England, and India were most productive for Christianity. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association was the most prolific journal for Islam, and Mental Health, Religion & Culture ranked first for Christianity. Co-authorship networks showed broader international collaboration in Christianity-related research, while collaboration in Islam-related publications was more concentrated. Despite growth in publication output in both Islam- and Christianity-related health research, citation impact did not increase proportionally in either domain.
Conclusion: Health-related publications on Islam and Christianity have grown across the past decade; however, their citation impact remains limited. Strengthening research quality, visibility, and international collaboration may enhance the overall contribution of religion-and-health scholarship.
- Scientometrics
- Publications
- Health sciences
- Medicine
- Islam
- Christianity
- Web of Science
How to Cite
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