Steve Jacobs is a senior lecturer in Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Wolverhampton. With an academic background in Religious Studies and a special interest in contemporary forms of Hinduism, he has extended this interest to look more broadly at the complex interactions and intersections between religion and popular culture. He has just completed a long term, multi-sited ethnographic study on the Hindu derived global meditation group the Art of Living Foundation. He published a book, The Art of Living Foundation: Spirituality and Wellbeing in the Global Context, which explores the therapeutic turn in spirituality, utilising the Art of Living as a case study. He has also published a number of articles – including ‘Yoga Jam: Remixing Kīrtan in the Art of Living Foundation’.
This podcast explores how Hindu belief and traditions have been incorporated into modern western practices. An overview of the British kirtan community and the Art of Living movement is followed by a discussion of authenticity, reconciliation of tradition and modernity, and the influence of popular culture.
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