Evolving Religion-Science Perspectives of the Bhaktivedanta Institute and ISKCON

Abstract

The Bhaktivedanta Institute was established in 1976 as a research branch of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, popularly known as the Hare Krishnas. This article examines the history and ongoing activities of this institute as it has shaped ISKCON's official religion-science discourses. Early Bhaktivedanta Institute documents are compared with data gathered from a 2019 Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies workshop. While the Bhaktivedanta Institute's media initially described science and scientists as malign forces, the 2019 workshop disclosed more complex stances towards biological evolution and scientific researchers. Consequently, this article illustrates the ways in which a contemporary branch of the Bhaktivedanta Institute has attempted to reconcile ISKCON's worldview with modern science, while also distancing itself from the movement's previous science-religion conflict narratives.