Dr. Candy Gunther Brown, of Indiana University, bookends her American Society of Church History Presidential Address titled, “Christian Yoga: Something New under the Sun/Son?” with a discussion of the yoga program being offered at Wheaton College, a nationally ranked Christian college in Wheaton, IL. In this address, Dr. Brown discusses how many Christians are now practicing the Hindu spiritual discipline of yoga and attempting to sanctify it through the use of “semantic substitution” by wrapping these practices with Christian language and scripture. Her address is based on her forthcoming book, “Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools – Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion?”, to be published by UNC Press.
As a professor of religious studies, the focus of much of Dr. Brown’s research is to document and explore why Christians are embracing questionable New Age and Alternative Medicine practices such as yoga, mindfulness, acupuncture, and energy medicine, among others.
Dr. Brown is the author of “The Healing Gods: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Christian America,” (Oxford University Press, 2013); “Testing Prayer,” (Harvard University Press, 2012); and “Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing,” (Oxford University Press, 2011). She holds BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University.
Dr. Brown’s address has just been published and is available on the Cambridge Press website here.