Introduction: Abuse in Yoga and Beyond: Cultural Logics and Pathways for the Future

Introduction: Abuse in Yoga and Beyond: Cultural Logics and Pathways for the Future Christopher Miller In recent years, abuse scandals have shaken the yoga world once again, overturning previously held conceptions of yoga gurus, their teachings, and the individuals and organizations that have enabled their abuse. Most importantly, these abuse scenarios – whether they have involved sexual assault, cruelty, financial exploitation, etc. – have left individuals and communities disoriented, deeply traumatized, and desperately searching for answers. As Sacred Matters editor Gary Laderman writes, “the sacred is not always what it seems, can be associated with just about anything, and remains […]

Just Say Yes: In Drugs We Trust

Gary Laderman Anyone interested in the new frontiers of American religion should pay attention to how Americans love to say yes to their drugs.

An Interview with Jason Francisco, Part 3: Płaszów, A Camp in Its Afterlives

  Jason Francisco’s photography spans a variety of subjects and themes, but some of his ongoing projects take on the complexities of memory and loss in Eastern Europe, particularly memory and loss related to the Holocaust. Francisco recently sat down for an interview with Matthew H. Brittingham, an Emory PhD candidate and associate editor at Sacred Matters. The two discussed Francisco’s photographs on a former Nazi-controlled WWII camp in Krakow, Poland, known as Płaszów. This is part three of a three part interview with Professor Francisco. See: Part one and part two. Professor Francisco’s photography and writing can be seen at his website. For […]

An Interview with Jason Francisco, Part 1: Photographing the “Sacred” in “Alive and Destroyed”

  Jason Francisco received his MFA in Photography from Stanford University in 1998 and is presently an Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies at Emory University. Professor Francisco’s photography spans a variety of subjects and themes, but several of his ongoing projects examine the complexities of memory and loss in Eastern Europe, particularly memory and loss related to the destruction of Eastern European Jewry as part of the Holocaust. Some of Jason Francisco’s projects have been running for almost a decade, if not longer, continuously being updated, reimagined, and re-theorized when he revisits Eastern Europe. Francisco wrestles with loss […]