State University of New York Press Reconfigurations of Philosophy of Religion: A Possible Future

This collection addresses, as it exemplifies, an identity crisis in contemporary philosophy of religion. It represents a unique two-way dialogue between philosophers of religion and scholars of religion and broaches issues pertaining to the philosophy of religion and the philosophical tradition, on the one hand, and religious studies, theology, and the modern academy on the other. While each author manages the current challenges in philosophy of religion differently, one can nonetheless discern a polyphony of interests surrounding a postcritical, postsecular appreciation of religion. In part 1, contributors ask how philosophy of religion can accommodate both the strengths and weaknesses of Western analytic and continental traditions; incorporate developments in ideology critique, gender studies, and Asian philosophies; and negotiate the perceived stalemate in philosophy of religion. Part 2 addresses these questions in terms of a philosophy of religion that is postcolonial in intention and multidisciplinary in orientation and features scholarship from the fields of both religion and theology. An underlying theme is the importance of ushering philosophy of religion into a postphenomenological era of religious studies and theology. This is a neglected dimension in many laudable discussions about philosophy of religion that this volume hopes to emend. Review The book edited by Jim Kanaris consists of twelve essays. All of these are trying to embody philosophy of religion in their own way ... This diverse and multi-color approach has an enticing effect, since it signals the intention to break beyond traditional boundaries, shunning any 'déjà vu'. -- Philosophia Insofar as the future puts the present under critique by welcoming in anticipation what is avenir (to come), few aspire to be the first to the future and thereby inaugurate in the present 'a time out of joint, ' as Raschke phrases it à la Derrida and Hamlet. The notable contributors of this volume, insightfully brought together by Kanaris, have braved just that. -- Arc (The Journal of the School of Religious Studies, McGill University) 'A Possible Future' is a modest subtitle for this collection. We are in fact offered multiple options for proceeding in the philosophy of religion. The current period is one of intense self-questioning among academics working in this area, regarding the state of the field and how it might be augmented or transformed without undermining its existing strengths. This volume usefully gives voice to a concinnity of 'reconfigurations' that, in their diversity, contribute provocatively to the debate. -- Reading Religion This gathering of important voices and the differences of approach and opinion that they represent invites/provokes reflection, self-examination by philosophers of religion, and further work. -- Jeffrey Dudiak, author of The Intrigue of Ethics: A Reading of the Idea of Discourse in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas About the Author Jim Kanaris is CAS Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Religion at McGill University. He is the author of Bernard Lonergan's Philosophy of Religion: From Philosophy of God to Philosophy of Religious Studies and the coeditor (with Mark J. Doorley) of In Deference to the Other: Lonergan and Contemporary Continental Thought, both also published by SUNY Press.