The society was formed in June 2016 by a group of six scientists, including Stephen Barr, a physicist at the University of Delaware, who is its first president.

[2] The organization is primarily composed of scientists who hold or are studying for terminal degrees in their subject areas, who generally are or have been involved in scientific research.

[4] Prominent members of the Society of Catholic Scientists include Kenneth R. Miller and Brother Guy Consolmagno, current director of the Vatican Observatory.

Focusing on the "significance of scientific theories and discoveries and on the relation of science and faith, the organization is active at many North American research institutions, including Seton Hall,[6] MIT,[7] Notre Dame[8] and the University of British Columbia.

[10] The second conference had the theme "The Human Mind and Physicalism" and was held in June 2018 at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.