Starkey, C orcid.org/0000-0002-7807-6617 (2023) British Buddhism, secular mindfulness, and the politics of sustainability. Religion, 54 (2). pp. 179-202. ISSN 0048-721X
Abstract
The environment for Buddhist organisations in Britain has changed since the period of their initial establishment. As a result of the rise in popularity of secular mindfulness and the spread of Buddhist teachings, Buddhist groups in Britain are forced to consider their sustainability in a crowded spiritual marketplace. This article examines the recent growth of secular mindfulness teaching by Buddhist groups in Britain, drawing on new qualitative research with British Buddhist groups and teachers. I argue that ‘secular meditation’ approaches have been variously adopted by Buddhist groups to appeal to a wider range of people, bringing in much-needed revenue for financial sustainability as well as carving out greater cultural relevance. However, the boundaries between the ‘secular’ and the ‘Buddhist’ are not always clearly demarcated. As ideas and labels they operate in symbiosis, enabling Buddhist groups to navigate multiple audiences simultaneously, sustaining and developing their position in the public sphere.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). |
Keywords: | Buddhism, Britain, secular mindfulness, meditation, meditation courses, sustainability, secular, economics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number British Sociological Association Chancery Court Celine Benoit |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Jul 2023 10:07 |
Last Modified: | 15 Nov 2024 16:52 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/0048721X.2023.2222694 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:199904 |
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