Blurb:

The question of how imported religions adapt to Western culture is a question of ‘indigenization,’ an area of study traditionally focused on Christianity’s adaptation to the cultures of missionized societies. In her fieldwork, Tøllefsen observed that strong guru devotion (guru puja: literally, guru ‘worship’) – which is an important component of AoL in India – is quite muted in Norway, and is not a part of most Norwegian adherents’ practice. AoL has successfully presented Sudarshan Kriya as a ‘scientific’ technique (Tøllefsen 2011), stripped clean of most of its original Hindu religious associations. With respect to gender issues in particular, we will seek to understand how AoL has adapted to Western – and more specifically Nordic – norms of gender equality. Have women been able to rise to positions of leadership in the Art of Living Foundation or have they been expected to assume traditional roles? The top leadership of AoL India appears to be all male while the leadership in Norway is more balanced. Does this pattern carry over to other European countries?