Episode 19: Candy Gunther Brown - Debating Mindfulness In Public Schools

In this episode, we speak to Candy Gunther Brown about her new book, Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion? In our wide ranging conversation, we explore the the debate over whether mindfulness in public schools is secular or religious. We begin by examining the early history of public schools as site of moral education, as well as the legal criteria that the US courts have used to make such judgment calls. Candy walks us through some seminal legal cases, such as Malnik v. Yogi, as well as others - including legal challenges to yoga and Transcendental Meditation in public schools. We examine some of the most prominent mindfulness programs in public schools - MindUp, Mindful Schools, and Calmer Choice - unpacking the rhetorical strategies and code-switching these programs have used to frame their practices as “scientific” and wholly secular. We explore the ramifications of how such practices can instill a worldview and lead to religious effects that are often downplayed by mindfulness cheerleaders. Candy explains why simple “opt out” options are insufficient, especially when mindfulness is presented as part of a school culture, arguing for more intensive forms of informed consent and “opt in” choices.

Candy Gunther Brown has a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. Dr. Brown is the author or editor of six books, most recently Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion? published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2019. Professor Brown has served as an expert witness in four legal challenges to school meditation and yoga—testifying for both parents and school districts—and has consulted with program leaders of Calmer Choice, Inner Explorer, Inner Kids, and the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Wellness & Pedagogy. Brown has addressed international audiences in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Singapore. Media coverage includes The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Religion Dispatches, The Conversation, Huffington Post Live, Psychology Today, Mindful Leader, National Catholic Register, Atheist Yoga, Interfaith Voices, and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.