Transcendental Meditation and the Meaning of Religion under the Establishment Clause
Minn. L. Rev. Editorial Board
Minnesota law review 1978 DOI: 10.24926/265535.4005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The note addresses legal challenges claiming that government sponsorship of Transcendental Meditation and the Science of Creative Intelligence violates the Establishment Clause because critics consider TM religious due to its resemblance to Hindu practices. It reports that at least two lawsuits have made this claim and provides background on TM practice and terminology. |
Abstract
Note: Transcendental Meditation and the Meaning of Religion Under the Establishment Clause*Transcendental Meditation (TM) is an effective relaxation technique that involves "thinking" a special sound, or "mantra."'Introduced into the United States less than twenty years ago, TM has achieved a remarkable degree of popularity and scientific approval.As a consequence, both TM and its underlying theory, the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI),2 have gained substantial support from private institutions and governmental agencies.Despite this widespread acceptance, governmental sponsorship of TM programs has drawn severe criticism from those who have labeled TM religious on the basis of its resemblance to various Hindu practices.'At least two lawsuits have claimed that government support of SCI/TM violates the constitutional prohibition of religious establishment.' * Thanks are extended to Professor J. Morris Clark of the University of Minnesota Law School, who suggested the topic, and to attorneys Michael J. Woodruff and Julius B. Poppinga, who provided helpful unpublished material.1. TM is practiced twice daily, fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, and is said to enable the nervous system to achieve a deep state of wakeful rest.The mantra is a Sanskrit word selected for the meditator by his teacher on the basis of a perceived relationship between its sound and the meditator's personality.For further discussion of mantras and TM generally, see notes 83-106 & 121-22 infra and accompanying text."Transcendental Meditation" and its acronym "TM" do not refer to mantric meditation generally but rather to a specific practice introduced to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian guru.See note 95 infra and accompanying text.Both terms are service marks of the World Plan Executive Council, the chief TM organization.See also note 146 infra.2. The term "Science of Creative Intelligence" reportedly originated in 1969 with Jack Forem, who was teaching a college course on the principles of TM and wanted an academic-sounding title for it.See J. FOaEM, TRANcENDENTAL MEDrrATION 216 (1973).Both "Science of Creative Intelligence" and its acronym "SCI' are service marks of the World Plan Executive Council. See