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| {{short description|New religious movement based in Hawaii}} | {{short description|New religious movement based in Hawaii}} | ||
| {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}} | |||
| {{Infobox organization | {{Infobox organization | ||
| | name = Science of Identity Foundation | | name = Science of Identity Foundation | ||
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| | established = | | established = | ||
| | founder = Chris Butler | | founder = Chris Butler | ||
| | founding_location = {{nowrap|], United States}} | | founding_location = {{nowrap|], ]}} | ||
| | type = ]; ] | | type = ]; ] | ||
| | tax_id = 99-0177647 | | tax_id = 99-0177647 | ||
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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. It was founded by Chris Butler in the 1970s, and is based |
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 out of 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 got a group of ].<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/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 17, 2024 |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |pages=1}}</ref> | ||
| However, 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 web |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 |website=] |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, however, 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, SIF'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 SIF 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 1976, SIF'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 SIF 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> | ||
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| The organization combines the teaching of ] with aspects of ] theology.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Bolante |first=Ronna |date=2004-08-01 |title=Who is Mike Gabbard? |url=https://www.honolulumagazine.com/who-is-mike-gabbard/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=Honolulu Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, engage in any sexual contact outside marriage, or consume caffeine or intoxicants. | The organization combines the teaching of ] with aspects of ] theology.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Bolante |first=Ronna |date=2004-08-01 |title=Who is Mike Gabbard? |url=https://www.honolulumagazine.com/who-is-mike-gabbard/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=Honolulu Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, engage in any sexual contact outside marriage, or consume caffeine or intoxicants. | ||
| === Criticism === | |||
| 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'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" /> | ||
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| == Association to Tulsi Gabbard and her family == | == Association to Tulsi Gabbard and her family == | ||
| SIF received a great deal of media coverage when some columnists found that ] had been associated with the SIF.<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name = NYT2019 |
SIF has received a great deal of media coverage when some columnists found that ] had been associated with the SIF.<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name = NYT2019/>{{fv|date=December 2024}} During her childhood, Tulsi Gabbard was influenced by SIF and considered Butler as her mentor, and in 2015, she acknowledged Butler as her guru in a video statement for an ] anniversary event.<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":1" /> Her father, ], a ], has also been associated with SIF<ref name="Sanneh" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Issenberg |first=Sasha |title=The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage |publisher=Knopf Doubleday |year=2021 |isbn=9781984898517 |pages=112–114}}</ref> and his wife, Carol Gabbard, was the treasurer of the SIF.<ref name=":5" /> Tulsi Gabbard has since distanced herself from SIF.<ref>{{cite web| date=November 21, 2024|title=Tulsi Gabbard: Did British daily call Hinduism or ISKCON an ‘obscure cult’?|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/tulsi-gabbard-did-british-daily-call-hinduism-an-obscure-cult/amp_articleshow/115528909.cms |website=The Times of India| quote= "as Gabbard matured, she began to distance herself from SIF. By her teenage years, she embarked on a spiritual journey that led her to fully embrace Hinduism, specifically the Vaishnava tradition. She has publicly stated that she no longer regards Butler as her guru and identifies instead with mainstream Hindu teachings centered on devotion to Krishna, the Supreme Lord in Vaishnavism."}}</ref><ref name = NYT2019>{{cite news |last= Bowles |first= Nellie |author-link= Nellie Bowles |title= Tulsi Gabbard Thinks We're Doomed |newspaper= ] |date= August 2, 2019 |access-date= September 21, 2019 |page= A1 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-race.html|archive-date=September 26, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926014900/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-race.html}}</ref> | ||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 23:26, 13 December 2024
New religious movement based in Hawaii| Abbreviation | SIF |
|---|---|
| Founder | Chris Butler |
| 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 out of 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 got a group of disciples.
However, 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, however, 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, SIF'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 SIF 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, engage in any sexual contact outside marriage, or consume caffeine or intoxicants.
Criticism
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 note Butler to have regularly engaged in mocking his devotees, publicly; it was said to be "a form of Krishna’s mercy".
Butler denies these allegations; he had threatened to sue the Honolulu Star-Advertiser when it planned to publish accounts of ex-followers in 2019.
Association to Tulsi Gabbard and her family
SIF has received a great deal of media coverage when some columnists found that Tulsi Gabbard had been associated with the SIF. During her childhood, Tulsi Gabbard was influenced by SIF and considered Butler as her mentor, and in 2015, she acknowledged Butler as her guru in a video statement for an ISKCON anniversary event. Her father, Mike Gabbard, a Hawaii State Senator, has also been associated with SIF and his wife, Carol Gabbard, was the treasurer of the SIF. Tulsi Gabbard has since distanced herself from SIF.
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 (2019-06-11). "Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood". New York. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Han, Yoonji (2022-10-18). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult'". Insider. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- 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 (2019-08-01). "How the American Sangh built up Tulsi Gabbard". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- 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.
- ^ Bolante, Ronna (2004-08-01). "Who is Mike Gabbard?". Honolulu Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ^ Hurley, Bevan (2022-10-16). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- Wiseman, Oliver (2019-10-29). "Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on?". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- Cocke, Sophie (2019-01-27). "Chris Butler and Science of Identity Foundation criticize media, decline interviews". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ^ Bowles, Nellie (August 2, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard Thinks We're Doomed". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- Issenberg, Sasha (2021). The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage. Knopf Doubleday. pp. 112–114. ISBN 9781984898517.
- "Tulsi Gabbard: Did British daily call Hinduism or ISKCON an 'obscure cult'?". The Times of India. November 21, 2024.
as Gabbard matured, she began to distance herself from SIF. By her teenage years, she embarked on a spiritual journey that led her to fully embrace Hinduism, specifically the Vaishnava tradition. She has publicly stated that she no longer regards Butler as her guru and identifies instead with mainstream Hindu teachings centered on devotion to Krishna, the Supreme Lord in Vaishnavism.
External links
- Official website
- "Science of Identity Foundation Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
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