Transcendental Meditation and the Remaking of an Iowa Farm Town
Utopian Studies October 1, 2014 Joseph Weber
The Transcendental Meditation movement established a university and settled about two thousand followers in Fairfield, Iowa, after purchasing a bankrupt Presbyterian college in the 1970s. The community transformed the town's culture, politics, and social life. However, followers have aged and the movement's numbers nationwide have declined. With the death of leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 2008, the Fairfield group now faces possible extinction, similar to other Utopian communities before it. The article examines the community's impact and considers its likely future.