ABSTRACT
This paper examines how being in the status of a minority in philosophy influences the practice of philosophy through a focus group study. Key findings are (1) personal life experiences sparked interest and provided continued motivation to work in the philosophy of religion, (2) participants experienced exclusion, and found exclusion of certain voices in the profession harmful, (3) intersectional identity affected participants’ ability to be regarded as authorities in their field, and some modified their testimony to fit their audience, (4) participants thought there were intra-religious factors that further exacerbate the underrepresentation of women, particularly, gender roles and expectations in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism, (5) perceived harm (both in general, and as done in religious communities) affected participants’ views and influenced their philosophical practice, (6) participants’ department and colleagues were supportive, although the majority were advised not to specialize in philosophy of religion as graduate students.
