Articles about Cultural Appropriation and Christians Practicing Yoga

Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures. This is a growing and important topic for both Christianity and Yoga.

Baba, Yogi Prem. “Hinduism Under Assault: Appropriation and a New Model for Conversion.” Hindu Human Rights. 15 Jan 2017. 

Article argues that Christian yoga is cultural appropriation, which, the author argues, is intrinsic to Christianity.

Caliri, Heather. (2015) “Yoga, Hospitality, and Cultural Appropriation.” Christ and Pop Culture Magazine: vol 3, is 8. 

This article is a thorough account of the writer’s own journey of being a Christian practicing yoga in Encinitas, CA, the site of a now-infamous court case on the practice of yoga in schools. Caliri writes of her awakening to the North American and Christian cultural appropriations of yoga and how she reconciles--and wrestles--with practicing yoga, as well as an account of how yoga continues to deepen her faith.

Doniger, Wendy. “Is Yoga a Form of Hinduism? Is Hinduism a Form of Yoga?” University of Chicago Divinity School. 30 Dec 2010.

A short discussion of Rev. Albert Mohler Jr.’s advice that Christians not practice yoga, including an overview of the origins of yoga. Last line: “Christians for whom a yoga class is simply physical exercise may offend such Hindus but should post no problem for Mohler; and Christians who take the philosophical doctrines of yoga seriously should be no problem for a more ecumenical, not to say multicultural, pastor.” 

Jain, Andrea. “Can yoga be Christian?” The Conversation. 21 June 2017. 

Jain begins by using a 19th-century Protestant Christian woman to represent the early start of yogaphobia, which is still very real today. She expands on how American Protestants, American Catholics, and even Indian Catholics are utilizing yoga as a Christian practice. She concludes that “yoga has never belonged to any one religion.”