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| | formerly = Hari Nama Society<br/>Holy Name Society <!-- Any former names by which the organization known --> | | formerly = Hari Nama Society<br/>Holy Name Society <!-- Any former names by which the organization known --> | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| The '''Science of Identity Foundation''' ('''SIF''') is a ] that professes to combine some teachings of ] with aspects of ] theology. |
The '''Science of Identity Foundation''' ('''SIF''') is a ] that professes to combine some teachings of ] with aspects of ] theology. It was founded by Chris Butler in the 1970s, and is based in the ] state of ]. Its condemnation of homosexuality and hostility toward Islam have been heavily criticised. | ||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| Chris Butler, son of a ] |
Chris Butler, son of a ] ] activist, had entered the 1960s ] while enrolled at the ].<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":3" /> Soon, he joined the burgeoning ] movement as a '']'', with the name Sai Young, and soon acquired disciples.<ref name="Sanneh">{{Cite news |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=October 30, 2017 |title=What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607114820/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |access-date=January 13, 2019 |newspaper=New Yorker}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Walter |date=August 22, 1977 |title=Rebel against power trips. Chris Butler, maverick --with 1,000 followers. Hawaii's other Krishnas. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-rebel-against-p/159245232/ |access-date=November 17, 2024 |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |pages=1}}</ref> | ||
| After being publicly denounced by ], the leading exponent of the movement in U.S.A, Butler joined the ] (ISKCON), and received the name Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Yoonji | date= 2022-10-18|title=Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult' |url=https://www.insider.com/tulsi-gabbard-science-of-identity-controversial-religious-sect-2022-10 |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite magazine |last=Howley |first=Kerry |date=2019-06-11 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html |access-date=2023-05-09 |magazine=] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McMaster University |last2=Lagace |first2=Marc Lodge Andrew |date=May 2024 |title="Mother of Yoga": Zhang Huilan, Chris Butler, and the Popularization of Yoga in the People's Republic of China |url=https://journalofyogastudies.org/index.php/JoYS/article/view/JoYS.V5.002 |journal=Journal of Yoga Studies |volume=5 |pages=39–67 |doi=10.34000/JoYS.2024.V5.002|doi-access=free }}</ref> Within a few years, their relationship had soured as Butler deviated from ISKCON's ways, choosing to marry and allowing his disciples to keep their heads unshaved.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> After the death of Prabhupada in 1977, Butler broke away from ISKCON and founded SIF, then known as the Hari Nama (lit. Holy Name) Society.<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Siddhaswarupananda, Jagad Guru |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |publisher=Facts On File |location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&dq=%22Science+of+Identity+foundation%22&pg=PA411 |last1=Jones |first1=Constance A. |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. ], Series Editor |pages=411–412 |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |quote= remained with ISKCON until after Prabhupada died in 1977. He founded the Science of Identity Foundation as a vehicle to facilitate his teachings. The Science of Identity Foundation (originally the Hari Nama or Holy Name Society) is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. |last2=Ryan |first2=James D.}}</ref> Simultaneously, he began to deemphasize ISKCON's rigid adherence to Vaishnava texts and promoted a range of eclectic views.<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":2" /> | After being publicly denounced by ], the leading exponent of the movement in U.S.A, Butler joined the ] (ISKCON), and received the name Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Yoonji | date= 2022-10-18|title=Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult' |url=https://www.insider.com/tulsi-gabbard-science-of-identity-controversial-religious-sect-2022-10 |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite magazine |last=Howley |first=Kerry |date=2019-06-11 |title=Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html |access-date=2023-05-09 |magazine=] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McMaster University |last2=Lagace |first2=Marc Lodge Andrew |date=May 2024 |title="Mother of Yoga": Zhang Huilan, Chris Butler, and the Popularization of Yoga in the People's Republic of China |url=https://journalofyogastudies.org/index.php/JoYS/article/view/JoYS.V5.002 |journal=Journal of Yoga Studies |volume=5 |pages=39–67 |doi=10.34000/JoYS.2024.V5.002|doi-access=free }}</ref> Within a few years, their relationship had soured as Butler deviated from ISKCON's ways, choosing to marry and allowing his disciples to keep their heads unshaved.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> After the death of Prabhupada in 1977, Butler broke away from ISKCON and founded SIF, then known as the Hari Nama (lit. Holy Name) Society.<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Siddhaswarupananda, Jagad Guru |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |publisher=Facts On File |location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&dq=%22Science+of+Identity+foundation%22&pg=PA411 |last1=Jones |first1=Constance A. |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. ], Series Editor |pages=411–412 |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |quote= remained with ISKCON until after Prabhupada died in 1977. He founded the Science of Identity Foundation as a vehicle to facilitate his teachings. The Science of Identity Foundation (originally the Hari Nama or Holy Name Society) is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. |last2=Ryan |first2=James D.}}</ref> Simultaneously, he began to deemphasize ISKCON's rigid adherence to Vaishnava texts and promoted a range of eclectic views.<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":2" /> | ||
| In 1976, Butler's disciples launched a new political party — called the Independents for Godly Government — presenting themselves as a "multifaith coalition of conservative-minded reformers", and ran for the House of Representatives and Mayoral elections; the candidates did not disclose their links with Butler and explicitly claimed to have no affiliation with any religious organization including the Hare Krishna faith.<ref name="Sanneh" /> The party was funded by a variety of businesses, including two local newspapers and a health-food store chain, run by the disciples themselves.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |first=Pieter |last=Friedrich|date=2019-08-01|title=How the American Sangh built up Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/american-sangh-affair-tulsi-gabbard |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=caravanmagazine.in |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| In the 1980s, he ran a late-night television show called "Chris Butler Speaks" on ].<ref name="butler1982">{{cite news |last=Christensen |first=John |date=November 23, 1982 |title=Chris Butler: About this guru business |newspaper=] |page=B-1}}</ref> Since the 90s, Butler has kept a low profile, rarely speaking in public; in 2017, '']'' reported that Butler presents himself less as a Hare Krishna dissident and more as a member of a worldwide Vaishnava movement.<ref name="Sanneh" /> Butler's wife ] has received acclaim for popularizing yoga through the ] show; in 2016, she was conferred with the ] award by the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarbacker |first=Stuart Ray |title=Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781438481210}}</ref> | In the 1980s, he ran a late-night television show called "Chris Butler Speaks" on ].<ref name="butler1982">{{cite news |last=Christensen |first=John |date=November 23, 1982 |title=Chris Butler: About this guru business |newspaper=] |page=B-1}}</ref> Since the 90s, Butler has kept a low profile, rarely speaking in public; in 2017, '']'' reported that Butler presents himself less as a Hare Krishna dissident and more as a member of a worldwide Vaishnava movement.<ref name="Sanneh" /> Butler's wife ] has received acclaim for popularizing yoga through the ] show; in 2016, she was conferred with the ] award by the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarbacker |first=Stuart Ray |title=Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781438481210}}</ref> | ||
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| The organization combines the teaching of ] with aspects of ] theology.<ref name=":0" /> Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs or have ‘‘illicit sex".<ref name="butler1982" /> | The organization combines the teaching of ] with aspects of ] theology.<ref name=":0" /> Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs or have ‘‘illicit sex".<ref name="butler1982" /> | ||
| ⚫ | Butler's teachings included condemnation of homosexuality,<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":2" /> hostility towards Islam, and skepticism of science.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Hurley |first=Bevan |date=2022-10-16 |title=Tulsi Gabbard's ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tulsi-gabbard-cult-putin-democrat-science-of-identity-b2058196.html |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> '']'' notes that Butler's teachings from the 1980s assert that engaging in bisexual relations would lead to pedophilia and bestiality.<ref name="Sanneh" /> | ||
| Butler had, through the early 2000s, given controversial lectures regarding homosexuality and related topics.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2019-09-23 |title=Science of Identity Foundation’s Statement Regarding Past Controversial Lectures |url=https://medium.com/@scienceofidentityfoundation/statement-477fc3da912 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Medium |publisher=Science of Identity Foundation |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Sanneh" /> In 2019, he publicly acknowledged that the "language and tone" he had used was "inflammatory, combative, and harsh".<ref name=":5" /> A few months later, he said: "When I became aware that some of my own students were struggling with homosexual tendencies, it became more personal to me. … I want to share the message of God's love with everyone, no matter what their race, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-02 |title=Q & A with Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda — Part 5 |url=https://medium.com/@scienceofidentityfoundation/regarding-homosexuality-bb4483b12b35 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Medium |publisher=Science of Identity Foundation |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| Also in 2019, he issued a statement regarding "disrespectful comments" he had made "in the past about Islamic religious practices." He continued: "So with great remorse, I had to beg God’s forgiveness. In my prayers, I also begged the forgiveness of anyone who may have heard or read my offensive words because I knew it must have hurt their hearts. This is why I stopped the distribution of lectures containing such disrespectful statements. … learned … from this experience: not to comment about any religions I haven’t carefully, objectively, and respectfully studied."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-29 |title=Q & A with Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda — Part 4 |url=https://medium.com/@scienceofidentityfoundation/loving-god-ca90f7aae21f |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Medium |publisher=Science of Identity Foundation |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| In 2022, The Independent<ref name=":1" /> and Business Insider<ref name=":2" /> published articles on Tulsi Gabbard's ties to SIF that were critical of SIF regarding issues of homophobia and Islamophobia did not acknowledge Butler's revised stances noted above. In December 2024, after President-elect ] nominated Gabbard for ], the Honolulu Civil Beat in an in-depth critique of SIF entitled "Senators Urged To Examine Gabbard’s ‘Deep and Intense’ Ties To Hawaiʻi Sect"<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Grube |first=Nick |date=2024-12-10 |title=Senators Urged To Examine Gabbard's 'Deep and Intense' Ties To Hawaiʻi Sect |url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/12/senators-urged-to-examine-gabbards-deep-and-intense-ties-to-hawaii-sect/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Honolulu Civil Beat |language=en}}</ref> highlighted criticisms of SIF regarding homophobia; Fox's Jennifer Griffin further publicized<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-12-14 |title=Jennifer Griffin |url=https://x.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1867938890532950506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1867938890532950506%7Ctwgr%5Eb1c8e0a5a1dd602df32fafddb610cd35bcd2de34%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fpolitics%2Ffoxs-jennifer-griffin-warns-tulsi-gabbards-ties-to-group-accused-of-being-a-cult-raises-questions-about-her-judgment-and-autonomy%2F |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=X.com}}</ref> the Civil Beat piece. Neither acknowledged Butler's revised stance. | |||
| ⚫ | Butler's teachings |
||
| Multiple ex-members of SIF have described it as a "cult"; Butler was "akin to a God" and not willing to be questioned.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|first=Oliver |last=Wiseman |date=2019-10-29 |title=Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on? |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2019/whose-side-is-tulsi-gabbard-on/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Critic Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> They |
Multiple ex-members of SIF have described it as a "cult"; Butler was "akin to a God" and not willing to be questioned.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|first=Oliver |last=Wiseman |date=2019-10-29 |title=Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on? |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2019/whose-side-is-tulsi-gabbard-on/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Critic Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> They say Butler regularly mocked his devotees, publicly, calling it "a form of Krishna’s mercy".<ref name=":3" /> | ||
| Butler denies these allegations;<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":2" /> he |
Butler denies these allegations;<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":2" /> he threatened to sue the '']'' when it planned to publish accounts of ex-followers in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cocke |first=Sophie |date=2019-01-27 |title=Chris Butler and Science of Identity Foundation criticize media, decline interviews |url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/01/27/hawaii-news/butler-and-his-organization-criticize-the-press-decline-interviews/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |language=en}}</ref> | ||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 18:39, 7 January 2025
New religious movement based in Hawaii
| Abbreviation | SIF |
|---|---|
| Founder | Chris Butler (aka Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa) |
| Founded at | Hawaii, United States |
| Type | Religious organization; 501(c)3 organization |
| Tax ID no. | 99-0177647 |
| Purpose | Educational, Philanthropic, Religious studies, Spirituality |
| Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Services | Yoga classes |
| Website | scienceofidentity |
| Formerly called | Hari Nama Society Holy Name Society |
The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a new religious movement that professes to combine some teachings of yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. It was founded by Chris Butler in the 1970s, and is based in the US state of Hawaii. Its condemnation of homosexuality and hostility toward Islam have been heavily criticised.
History
Chris Butler, son of a communist anti-war activist, had entered the 1960s counterculture while enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi. Soon, he joined the burgeoning Hare Krishna movement as a guru, with the name Sai Young, and soon acquired disciples.
After being publicly denounced by Swami Prabhupada, the leading exponent of the movement in U.S.A, Butler joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and received the name Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa. Within a few years, their relationship had soured as Butler deviated from ISKCON's ways, choosing to marry and allowing his disciples to keep their heads unshaved. After the death of Prabhupada in 1977, Butler broke away from ISKCON and founded SIF, then known as the Hari Nama (lit. Holy Name) Society. Simultaneously, he began to deemphasize ISKCON's rigid adherence to Vaishnava texts and promoted a range of eclectic views.
In 1976, Butler's disciples launched a new political party — called the Independents for Godly Government — presenting themselves as a "multifaith coalition of conservative-minded reformers", and ran for the House of Representatives and Mayoral elections; the candidates did not disclose their links with Butler and explicitly claimed to have no affiliation with any religious organization including the Hare Krishna faith. The party was funded by a variety of businesses, including two local newspapers and a health-food store chain, run by the disciples themselves.
In the 1980s, he ran a late-night television show called "Chris Butler Speaks" on Channel 13. Since the 90s, Butler has kept a low profile, rarely speaking in public; in 2017, The New Yorker reported that Butler presents himself less as a Hare Krishna dissident and more as a member of a worldwide Vaishnava movement. Butler's wife Wai Lana has received acclaim for popularizing yoga through the Wai Lana Yoga show; in 2016, she was conferred with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.
Theology
The organization combines the teaching of yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs or have ‘‘illicit sex".
Butler's teachings included condemnation of homosexuality, hostility towards Islam, and skepticism of science. The New Yorker notes that Butler's teachings from the 1980s assert that engaging in bisexual relations would lead to pedophilia and bestiality.
Multiple ex-members of SIF have described it as a "cult"; Butler was "akin to a God" and not willing to be questioned. They say Butler regularly mocked his devotees, publicly, calling it "a form of Krishna’s mercy".
Butler denies these allegations; he threatened to sue the Honolulu Star-Advertiser when it planned to publish accounts of ex-followers in 2019.
References
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (October 30, 2017). "What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?". New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Howley, Kerry (June 11, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood". New York. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- Wright, Walter (August 22, 1977). "Rebel against power trips. Chris Butler, maverick --with 1,000 followers. Hawaii's other Krishnas". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- ^ Han, Yoonji (October 18, 2022). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult'". Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- McMaster University; Lagace, Marc Lodge Andrew (May 2024). ""Mother of Yoga": Zhang Huilan, Chris Butler, and the Popularization of Yoga in the People's Republic of China". Journal of Yoga Studies. 5: 39–67. doi:10.34000/JoYS.2024.V5.002.
- ^ Jones, Constance A.; Ryan, James D. (2007). "Siddhaswarupananda, Jagad Guru". Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Encyclopedia of World Religions. J. Gordon Melton, Series Editor. New York: Facts On File. pp. 411–412. ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9.
remained with ISKCON until after Prabhupada died in 1977. He founded the Science of Identity Foundation as a vehicle to facilitate his teachings. The Science of Identity Foundation (originally the Hari Nama or Holy Name Society) is located in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Friedrich, Pieter (August 1, 2019). "How the American Sangh built up Tulsi Gabbard". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Christensen, John (November 23, 1982). "Chris Butler: About this guru business". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B-1.
- Sarbacker, Stuart Ray (2021). Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9781438481210.
- ^ Hurley, Bevan (October 16, 2022). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey". The Independent. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- Wiseman, Oliver (October 29, 2019). "Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on?". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- Cocke, Sophie (January 27, 2019). "Chris Butler and Science of Identity Foundation criticize media, decline interviews". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
External links
- Official website
- "Science of Identity Foundation Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
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