In the last week I've seen a handful of references to the "Society for the Philosophy of Religion", but I can't find any information about the society in the US. There are web sites for many European incarnations of the society, and there is the rather prominent British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, but all's quite on the US front. I can't recall ever seeing any conference listings for the society, nor any calls for papers. Is it a secret society, or perhaps now defunct? Somebody help me out here.
Perhaps its like the Skulls or Fight Club--something the members cannot speak of to outsiders?
(I know you were probably looking for real help rather than smart-ass-ism. Hopefully someone else can provide the former!)
This is puzzling. I just did a little searching on the internet and it looks like there is such a society and that it is still active. It's hard to tell from CVs and the like the nature of the society; what I saw seems to suggest that membership is by invitation only. The society also seems to hold conferences here and there.
Not to hijack this thread, but when I first saw this posting, I wondered if it might be in reference to some new philosophical society in North America. For what it's worth, I think it would be good if there were a larger umbrella organization for philosophy of religion that held conferences drawing together the disparate groups of scholars working within the area. It would be a messy endeavor. Individual scholars' preferences for analytic or continental approaches to the subject as well as the interests of scholars performing contextual studies of particular religions' philosophical traditions would surely problematize just what is meant by "philosophy of religion". Yet for all that, I suspect it would be quite worthwhile to have such an organization. Here's to hoping...
I think it’s mentioned in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. The fullest mention of the society, though, is in Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendelum. The society is associated with the Knights Templar. Seriously, though, if we’re thinking of the same group it’s an invitation only group, aimed to get top folks working in PR together. There’s only one paper at a time and the turn out is supposedly very good. Of course, there’s the famous initiation rite in which they put an individual’s CV in a furnace, as hot as Daniel’s furnace, if the CV is burned then the individual is not accepted. If it’s not even singed the member is accepted. This ensures that all members have legendary CVs.
It's starting to look like the society is a lot more like Fight Club than I would have thought. A couple of references I've seen make me think the society is now close to 70 years old, but I haven't seen many references after the 90's. I'm also now wondering if the society used to be called the "Southern Society for the Philosophy of Religion". (Any meeting I've seen reference to has been in the US south-east.)
The society does exist. You have to be invited to become a member, however. Moreover, you have to attend one of their meetings and they vote on whether to admit you or not.
I was invited to join back in grad school, but I was too poor to go to their meeting at some beach resort in Georgia. Back then, Frank Harrison at UGA was in charge. I just sent him my CV and asked if I could join. I then received a formal invitation to attend the conference; but I declined the offer. I couldn't afford to make such a trip back then and I'm not sure I'd want to shell out the money now (especially if I cannot participate, but I am merely limited to attending and having folks vote on whether I am a suitable candidate for membership).
To be honest, I can understand gate-keeping to some extent. But requiring that would-be members attend a conference in a location that is rather expensive to get to strikes me as a counterproductive policy if you want persons who are actively publishing and contributing to the field to join your society. It really is too bad.