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Longtime Hare Krishna observer Rochford (a professor of sociology and religion at Middlebury College) shows that devotees, formerly known for their public chanting and controversial fund-raising practices, have largely moved out of the temples, taken jobs and established nuclear families. Using survey data and extensive interviews, Rochford investigates the attitudes of the original members' children (some of whom suffered abuse in the early Hare Krishna schools), the changing roles of women, differing modes of affiliation with the organization and the increasing influence of Indian Hindu immigrants in what is formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). His findings are generally clear and convincing, and he lets the devotees speak for themselves in frequent quotes. Rochford tends to discuss trends within ISKCON without much consideration for the cultural and political context of the last two decades, and he misses opportunities to draw connections between changes within ISKCON and the larger society; for example, internal debates about the interpretation and authority of scriptures certainly mirror conflicts taking place in mainstream American (and world) religion today. But this story of accommodation within a movement that forged its identity through strict rejection of secular culture provides valuable insight into how new religions evolve.
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”Eloquently written. . . . Highly Recommended.”—G.R. Thursby, Choice
”Longtime Hare Krishna observer Rochford shows that devotees, formerly known for their public chanting and controversial fundraising practices, have largely moved out of the temples, taken jobs, and established nuclear families. Using survey data and extensive interviews, Rochford investigates the attitudes of the original members' children (some of whom suffered abuse in the early Hare Krishna schools), the changing roles of women, differing modes of affiliation with the organization, and the increasing influence of Indian Hindu immigrants in what is formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). His findings are generally clear and convincing, and he lets the devotees speak for themselves in frequent quotes. . . . This story of accommodation within a movement that forged its identity through strict rejection of secular culture provides valuable insight into how new religions evolve.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Burke Rochford is the most notable scholarly interpreter of Krishna Consciousness in America, and Hare Krishna Transformed is the most insightful and informative book written on the organizational evolution of the movement."
—David G. Bromley, Virginia Commonwealth University
Most widely known for its adherents chanting "Hare Krishna" and distributing religious literature on the streets of American cities, the Hare Krishna movement was founded in New York City in 1965 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, it is based on the Hindu Vedic scriptures and is a Western outgrowth of a popular yoga tradition which began in the 16th century.
In its first generation ISKCON actively deterred marriage and the nuclear family, denigrated women, and viewed the raising of children as a distraction from devotees' spiritual responsibilities. Yet since the death of its founder in 1977, there has been a growing women's rights movement and also a highly publicized child abuse scandal. Most strikingly, this movement has transformed into one that now embraces the nuclear family and is more accepting of both women and children, steps taken out of necessity to sustain itself as a religious movement into the next generation. At the same time, it is now struggling to contend with the consequences of its recent outreach into the India-born American Hindu community.
Based on three decades of in-depth research and participant observation, Hare Krishna Transformed explores dramatic changes in this new religious movement over the course of two generations from its founding.
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