Is there really any legitimate objection to the practice of Yoga from a Christian perspective?
Back in 2014 a Catholic priest from Donegal, Ireland, called on his parishioners to stop doing yoga. He called it “contemptible”.
He voiced his objections in the parish newsletter by saying:
“As followers of Jesus Christ we should not partake in deeds that go against our religion. Accordingly, you should not take part in yoga, thai chai or reiki.
Do not put your soul in jeopardy for the sake of these contemptible things,”
Of all the issues to be harping on about. Is there really anything more trivial to be getting hellhound about? I’m obviously not Catholic myself, but I do practice Yoga for fitness and relaxation. If anything this objection, is quite frankly odd.
Source
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
42 Answers
Ridiculous! Yoga and meditation are practices that can easily be separated from their spiritual origins and are not any different than any other form of mind and body work. The insanity of hardcore religion knows no bounds it appears.
@Coloma Thank you, I could not agree more. Plus yoga is awesome!
Thomas Merton, profoundly respected Catholic philosopher, would disagree with him. Merton said to look to Buddhism for guidance on mediation and mindfulness.
You sure do bring back the Sunday School teacher in me. I don’t know whether I like it or not. Half of me is like “I know the answer to this!” and the other half is all “Why haven’t I repressed this yet?”
Anyway… to answer as though from the opposition:
In the first epistle from Paul to the church at Thessalonica, he lays out a set of guidelines on Christian living – what you should be doing while waiting for the “Lord to come as a thief in the night” to reclaim his Bride.
It talks about being sober, and loving, and praying without ceasing. One of the instructions is to “avoid all appearance of evil”. (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
That is the main argument I would make – if I were going to make one – for abstaining from Yoga for the sake of Christian principal.
The fact is undeniable that Yoga has its basis in religious practice, and that religion is not the religion of the god of Abraham. While you might not be meditating on the Hindu philosophy while practicing your Downward Dog, an uninformed onlooker might mistake you for someone who embraces Hinduism.
A wary Christian who is awaiting the end times would not want to be caught looking like a Hindu when the rapture of the church occurs.
I am a Christian, and I believe in Yoga. That said, I haven’t done it in a while, but not because of a conflict between that and my faith.
I went to a Catholic based ( unbeknownst to me at the time ) hypnotherapist and counselor that incorporated many eastern and new agey works into his practice along with being a AMA certified hypnotherapist.
@filmfann I haven’t practiced in a while either. Mostly die to busyness with other commitments. But I will go back to it.
Westerners don’t practice yoga. They practice asanas derived from yoga. So there really isn’t any problem.
I’m not exactly sure just what this priest said, or how it differs from the “official” stance of the Church on such practices, but it seems to me that the Church is more concerned with the spiritual aspects of these practices. As @Seek stated above, yoga is originally based upon spiritual practices in spite of western style yoga being almost completely stripped of the spirituality, as @JeSuisRickSpringfield alluded above.
Many Catholic clerics (especially the more conservative) will state that Tai Chi ”...is very difficult to practice it without the effects of the Oriental cosmology. It is meditative in nature and the movements and practice is specifically designed to interact with the alleged Ch’i.”
Also from the same source: “The postures, breathing, and exercise of Yoga is specifically designed to effect the body, mind, and soul according to a cosmology, ontology, worldview and philosophy that is contrary to the Christian worldview.”
I’ve also seen articles on the Church’s position on Reiki. (which has helped me in the past; whether or not the effect is psychosomatic is another discussion)
The official Church view on Reiki is that …it is a superstitious practice and ought to be avoided. The principle from which Reiki is founded upon borrows from the occult and ancient forms of sorcery and magic.”
Personally, I see it this way: the bible (especially the NT) is full of references to the “laying on of hands” and “miracle cures” by the early disciples. Is this not the same thing?
(Just to be clear, I was raised Catholic, but I no longer practice because my belief system has evolved in a completely different direction). I did study a couple years for the priesthood, and my answers concerning the Church are based upon that, not necessarily on my own beliefs.
Well Jesus threw some pretty cool shapes during his death throes on the cross, so…
The priest is an idiot asshole. I would be tempted to take the man out and drown him like a bag of cats if he ever set foot on my boat.
I’ve been doing yoga since the early 1970’s and have always thought it would be an excellent addition to any school’s curriculum, starting with grammar schools—for all the reasons stated in this article.
ln the ensuing years, I’ve seen news item, after news item, where school boards around the nation have refused to allow yoga in the classroom for reasons that amount to nothing less than ignorance and superstition. It’s a lot more acceptable since the 1990’s, but they still pop up now and then. In just a few moments of research, I found the three items below:
Parents of elementary students in an Encinitas, CA school demand removal of yoga classes.
Georgia elementary school removes Sanskrit phrase “Namaste” from yoga practice after parents complain it ‘pushes ideology’ onto students.
College in Ottawa Bans Yoga for White People because of Cultural Appropriation.
That from a “Liberal Arts” college. My, how times have changed.
Fuck. I’m so glad I don’t live there anymore.
@Yetanotheruser – I’m not terribly familiar with Reiki, but I am familiar with the “laying on of hands”.
At least in the strict Evangelical tradition I was brought up in, the laying on of hands was an act of faith meant to basically get God’s attention so he could work. If you’re laying hands (or prayer cloths, or shawls, or oils, etc), you’re doing it as an accessory to intercessory prayer.
A person performing a laying on of hands without the background idea of God noticing the act of faith and working in his power would be seen by an Evangelical person as a parody of their faith. A person himself does not have the power to heal by touch; that power only comes from God.
You said your next three questions were not going to be about religion. @CWOTUS will not be pleased.
It was quite a humid day, yes
@Jak Ah well, can’t please everyone. I have a long list of 100 questions previously posted on Yahoo Answers. I’m going through them in the order they were originally posted in. Next three questions are about online etiquette, video games and reading.
You musta been a pain on Yahoo Answers! Just kidding! Love having you.
@Dutchess_III Lol I had my allys and foes. Thanks though, love you too ;)
I’m looking forward to the reading question @NerdyKeith
As a survivor of christian fundie parents I can explain the so called thinking behind some considering yoga, etc. as the work of the Loli, sorry, Devil.
Meditation is often a component of yoga. Meditation should only be focused on God, therefore yoga is evil.
I remember as a child seeing films (propaganda) shown in church, warning the congregation about the nefarious practices such as yoga, TM, etc.
A terrible way to grow up that I still haven’t fully recovered from to this day.
LSD has helped quite a bit. It taught me that “god” is nature, the cosmos, or more importantly god is us, god is me.
@Seek
Your comment helps me appreciate your username.
Seek, for one’s self. Make your own determinations.
My parents tried to brainwash me into believing that the answer to every question is “God.”
What a sad way to exist.
Life is out there. Learn as much as one can.
Wanna go trip under the stars?
Edit: I just looked at your profile. We have a lot in common.
It used to be Seek Kolinahr.
I’m a Trekkie. Kolinahr, in the Vulcan tradition, is the attainment of perfect logic – reason without emotion. It was a good mantra for me as I was losing my faith.
It was just really hard for people to spell on Mobile, so I changed it fairly recently.
@SecondHandStoke At one time she was seeking a colander so I’m not sure how deep it really runs.
Live long and colander.
“We must acknowledge once and for all that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis.”
- Spock, son of Sarek.
Roflolling, Seek! I love Lucy! No, I really mean that!
The ways of the many out need the ways of the few….or something like that.
^ Brilliant.
And a new church is born.
Oh, @Seek has been a member of that church for a loooong time now!
@Seek “undeniable that Yoga has its basis in religious practice” not really, Yoga is older than Hinduism. Yoga is a philosophical system whose goal is peace of mind. Asanas are designed to help the body be calm and energized to support meditation. Meditation is cultivated to settle the issues our minds wrestle with. None of that is religious.
The funny thing here is that Muslims in India have been having the same meltdown over practicing yoga asanas (despite the fact that the movements of salah are historically rooted in the same movements they are protesting). Western Christians love pointing to things like this as evidence of how retrograde Muslims are, then find themselves stuck in the same debates.
I get that yoga is an ancient cultural practice, and that ancient cultural practices typically get adorned with the religious imagery of the surrounding culture. But these adornments can easily be removed and often are removed in modern times. For example, asanas are part of the phys ed curriculum in India. But the way they’re practiced, you would think they were just the Indian version of step aerobics.
The Abrahamic religions have always been oversensitive about personal identity, though. They all have rules aimed at making sure that they stick out from the rabble (e.g., most of Leviticus). But at 55% of the world population, the Abrahamic religions are the rabble these days. So maybe they should get over it.
@dabbler – ”yoga is older than Hinduism”
You must have special knowledge of the beginnings of Hinduism, because I’ve always read that no one can track down where the Hindu religion began, as it predates written history.
I think you are correct about that @Seek. Since Hinduism is he oldest recorded practiced religion. I think it’s even older than paganism, if I’m not mistaken.
When I was in India, a guide at a Hindu temple told me there was evidence suggesting that Hinduism dated back to about or before 10,000 BCE.
I would have taken notes but I was distracted by the erotic carvings on the temple’s exterior.
The guide told me one of the carvings was titled, “How to simultaneously satisfy 3 women”. ;-o
Nice twist on yoga and religion. ;-)
Everybody’s running for Google…
I’m running to Siri, I’d like to hear his perspective
@NerdyKeith “Hinduism” and “paganism” are both made up terms. India was host to a variety of Vedic and non-Vedic traditions prior to British colonization, and it was only forced “modernization” that pushed a bunch of them together into a single religion. This isn’t to say there weren’t already a number of alliances between Vedic groups (who used the British mandate as an excuse to absorb or squash many of the non-Vedic or heretical Vedic traditions that still existed by the time of colonization), nor that some groups weren’t significantly larger than the others (otherwise, it would have been far more difficult to get the assimilation process started). But “Hinduism” is not some single entity with a history stretching back into times unknown. As such, “Hinduism” is only an ancient religion if we count all forms of proto-Hinduism as Hinduism itself. But if you’re going to do that, then every religion stretches back to the original human cults that formed at the dawn of man.
As for “paganism,” it’s just an othering term (though one that has been reclaimed by neopagans). One got called “pagan” in virtue of not being something else (e.g., Christian). So again, there’s no single “pagan” religious tradition stretching back into antiquity to compete with Hinduism for the title of World’s Oldest Religion. Thinking of either Hinduism or paganism that way is a fundamentally mistaken (and thoroughly Western) way of approaching religion.
@JeSuisRickSpringfield Interesting, I did not know that. Although I am not a religious person myself, I do find topic of religion to be fascinating.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
