Vaishnavism, Antievolutionism, and Ambiguities: Revisiting Iskcon's Darwin‐skepticism

Abstract

The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna Movement, has disseminated a flurry of antievolutionist media since its inception in 1966. Such communications frequently co-opt arguments employed by Christian creationists and Intelligent Design theorists. At the same time, however, there are indications that a scattering of ISKCON publications have articulated relatively ambiguous, less oppositional statements about evolutionary theory. This article reconsiders ISKCON's Darwin-skepticism by appraising recent, largely unexamined Hare Krishna publications, as well as responses to evolutionary theory expressed by ISKCON's founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta, and his immediate Vaishnava forerunners. The analysis reveals that, although the majority of contemporary ISKCON materials are vehemently opposed to evolution, some leading voices demonstrate less combative, cautiously accommodating stances. These cases are suggestive of complexities in ISKCON's responses to evolution, both past and present, which are not necessarily encapsulated in the terms Vedic creationism or antievolutionism.

Convergent Antievolutionism and the Hare Krishnas

“…Nevertheless, Oliver and I were extended an invitation to attend the proceedings because in 2018 we authored the journal article Vaishnavism, Antievolutionism, and Ambiguities: Revisiting ISKCON's Darwin-Skepticism. 1 The paper contends that while the great majority of contemporary ISKCON media demonstrate vehement antievolutionism, some leading Hare Krishna voices have exhibited less combative, cautiously accommodating responses to evolutionary theory. The writings of this latter group include tentative attempts to fuse notions of biological evolution with Vaishnava theology.…”

Cultural Identity Transformation of Gaudiya Vaishnavas in Russia

“…Так, тема интеграции гаудия вайшнавизма в культуры разных стран мира представлена в исследованиях Брайана Хэтчера [Hatcher, 2015], Эдмунда Бёрка Рочфорда [Rochford, 2018] и Джона Фэйхи [Fahy, 2019]. Тема конкретизации и трансформации вайшнавского вероучения рассматривается в трудах Оливера Замбон и Томаса Эхтнера [Zambon, Aechtner, 2018], Айлин Баркер [Barker, 2016] [Горин, 2018: 189-196].…”