Should Transcendental Meditation (TM) be taught in America’s public schools?
That’s a question that Newsweek has dived into. The magazine reports that there is a “small but growing movement” to bring TM into U.S. classrooms.
For the uninitiated, Newsweek notes that TM is the trademarked name of a meditation technique created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1958. It is a practice inherited from India and made hip by high-profile devotees like the Beatles in the 1960s.
But those who believe in church-state separation and religiously neutral public schools are concerned about TM’s origins in religion.
The newsmagazine noted that some critics believe TM is simply a repackaged Eastern religious philosophy. TM, in the past, has invoked Hindu deities, and the practice features a private “Puja” initiation ritual in Sanskrit, involving incense and a candle and the bestowing of mantras.
Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn told Newsweek, “TM has always been rooted in the religion of Hinduism.” He cited a federal appeals court ruling against the promotion of TM in New Jersey public schools in 1979.
“If they want TM in private universities or schools, no problem,” Lynn told Newsweek. “But when they move into public schools, they are crossing that same constitutional line that was crossed in 1979.”
Lynn also indicated that the use of TM in public schools may suddenly cause conservative Christians to rethink their promotion of religion in the classroom.
“There are no imminent cases right now,” Lynn said, “but people, including conservative Christian parents, will say if Christianity can’t be taught in the public schools then Hinduism can’t be either.”
America is home to some 2,000 different religious traditions, denominations and groups. Millions of Americans follow no spiritual path at all. Our public schools must serve children from a vast rainbow of beliefs.
The modern practice of TM may be somewhat removed from its Eastern religion origins, but it shouldn’t be promoted by public schools. Maybe this issue will awaken Religious Right folks to the importance of church-state separation.
By Joseph L. Conn
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