ELIZABETH ANN BAYLEY SETON TIMELINE

1774 (August 28):  Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in Manhattan.

1794 (January 25):  Elizabeth Bayley married William Magee Seton.

1795 (May 23):  Daughter Anna Maria was born.

1796 (November 25):  Son William was born.

1798 (July 20):  Son Richard was born.

1800 (June 28):  Daughter Catherine was born.

1802 (August 20):  Daughter Rebecca was born.

1803 (Fall):  Elizabeth and William Seton (her husband) traveled to Italy in search of respite for William’s tuberculosis. There she encountered Antonio and Filippo Filicchi, who encouraged Elizabeth to convert to Catholic Christianity.

1803 (December 27):  William M. Seton died of tuberculosis.

1804 (March):  The widowed Elizabeth Seton returned to the United States.

1806 (Spring):  Seton converted to Catholic Christianity.

1808 (June):  Seton arrived in Baltimore to teach at a small Catholic school run by Sulpician Fathers (Society of St. Sulpice Order – Province of the United States).

1809 (July):  Seton created the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, a religious order for women founded in the tradition of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. The community moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland.

1812:  Seton’s daughter Anna Maria died of consumption.

1813 (July):  Eighteen women took their first vows as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, using a rule modeled on that of the French Daughters of Charity.

1814:  Sisters from the Emmitsburg Community expanded to Philadelphia to run an orphanage.

1816:  Seton’s daughter Rebecca died of consumption.

1817:  The Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph created a new outpost in New York City, founding another orphanage.

1821 (January 4):  Elizabeth Bayley Seton died of tuberculosis in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

1959 (December 18):  Elizabeth Seton was declared venerable by Pope John XXIII.

1963 (March 17):  Elizabeth Bayley Seton was beatified by Pope John XXIII.

1975 (September 14):  Elizabeth Bayley Seton was canonized as a saint by Pope Paul VI.

BIOGRAPHY

Elizabeth Bayley was born in Manhattan on August 28, 1774. Her father Richard Bayley was an intellectually ambitious physician and her mother Catherine Charlton Bayley was the daughter of an Anglican rector. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) soon brought turmoil: Richard Bayley spent the early months of the war in England pursuing additional medical education, then served as a medical officer in the British army during the occupation of New York. Catherine Bayley died not long after giving birth to a baby who also soon died. When Richard quickly remarried, Elizabeth and her older sister Mary gained a stepmother, Charlotte Barclay, who proved to be an awkward mother not only to Elizabeth and Mary, but to the seven children Charlotte eventually bore during her marriage to Richard. Often sent to stay with relatives north of Manhattan, Elizabeth grew up aware of the unhappiness in her home and longing to attract her father’s attention. She never forgot the sorrow and loneliness she sometimes felt.

Although Elizabeth [Image at right] at times attended Episcopal services with her family, institutional Christianity was not important to her childhood. Catholicism (which boasted few adherents in Manhattan and was mistrusted by many Protestants as a superstitious religion whose adherents were loyal primarily to Rome) was largely or entirely unknown to her. Yet Bayley did, by her later account, seek out moments in which she felt close to God; these usually occurred when she was alone in nature. She was also an avid reader, and it was through reading that in her teens she developed a close relationship with her father. She read poetry, ancient history, and contemporary philosophers including Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft, keeping copybooks on her own and in conjunction with her father Richard Bayley.

At age nineteen, Elizabeth Bayley married fellow New Yorker, William Magee Seton, a transatlantic merchant six years her senior. The marriage was happy and the couple lived contentedly in a web of intermarried friends, relatives, and her husband’s merchant associates. Seton also forged female friendships that bolstered her throughout the extraordinary transformations of her life. In the first several years of the marriage, she bore two children: Anna Maria and William. As a young wife and mother, Seton continued to read philosophy, and now also read the Bible and the sermons of Hugh Blair (1718–1800), a Scottish minister and belletrist who eschewed doctrinal controversies in favor of urging Christians toward virtue and benevolence. Seton believed, as she wrote a friend in 1796, that “the first point of Religion is cheerfulness and Harmony” (Bechtle and Metz 2000, vol. 1:10)

Her husband’s health began to falter; his mother and aunt had died of tuberculosis and he now showed signs. During the same years, the merchant concern in which William worked for his father faced losses. As she worried for the future, Elizabeth began to find more solace in Christian prayer and reading. Empathetic with women who faced such challenges with fewer resources than she possessed, she also worked with Isabella Graham (1742–1814), an immigrant from Scotland prominent in transatlantic Presbyterian circles, as part of one of the nation’s first female-run groups devoted to charitable works, the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. Seton served as a manager and treasurer and wrote compassionately of her conversations with women whom the society served (Boylan 2003:96–105).

Threats to Seton’s own privilege grew in 1798, when her father-in-law slipped on ice on his front porch and, after struggling for weeks, died. Elizabeth and William were left to figure out the family’s distribution of money and effects (the elder Seton died intestate), to manage the merchant house’s complex business dealings, and to provide for William’s seven half-siblings still living at home. The young couple, Elizabeth still in her twenties, and the children took up residence at the elder Seton’s home, which also housed the merchant business. Seton found her new circumstances profoundly disorienting, regretting that she had little time left for reading, prayer, and thought. The next two years saw the Seton merchant house struggle while Elizabeth, who bore two more children, Richard and Catherine, during this period, worked informally as her husband’s clerk. In December 1800, William Seton declared bankruptcy.

While William [Image at right] struggled to rebuild his credit, Elizabeth found a spiritual guide in a young assistant rector of Trinity Church named John Henry Hobart (1775–1813), who gave emotionally rich sermons redolent with confidence that Episcopal priests were the descendants of Christ’s apostles. During this same period, Elizabeth’s father, with whom she had maintained a close intellectual relationship since her teenage years, died of typhus while tending patients at a quarantine station. Deprived of her father and concerned for her consumptive husband, Seton felt impatient with earthly life. “I will tell you the plain truth,” she wrote to a friend, “that my habits both of Soul and Body are changed—that I feel all the habits of society and connections of this life have taken a new form and are only interesting or endearing as they point the view to the next” (Bechtle and Metz 2000, vol 1:212).

In 1802, Seton gave birth to a fifth child, Rebecca. That year Elizabeth and William also concocted a desperate plan: a voyage to Italy, in hopes that the climate might restore William’s health and an Italian merchant clan with whom Seton had lived and worked before his marriage, the Filicchi family, might help restore his business. In fall of 1803, the couple left their four younger children with friends and relatives and embarked for Livorno with their oldest daughter Anna Maria. On arrival in Livorno, the family was promptly put into quarantine for a month, because officials feared the tubercular William posed a risk. William died soon after their release, hallucinating that he had won the lottery and left his family with no debt.

For the next four months, Elizabeth and Anna Maria lived with the Filicchi family. As Seton mourned her husband, her hosts coaxed her to convert to Catholicism. The Filicchis had for years seen the United States as a potential refuge for a Catholic faith they believed was profoundly threatened in Napoleonic Europe, and Seton’s arrival in their home seemed providential. Brothers Antonio and Filippo Filicchi took Seton to Catholic Masses, shared Catholic readings, and introduced her to the cultural glories of Florence. At first, Seton gently laughed off their efforts, but she soon found herself moved by Mass, by the prominence of the Virgin Mary in Catholic devotion, and by the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is the Catholic teaching that Christ is present in the sacrament of communion. As she prepared to return to New York, Seton decided to convert.

Seton told her startled family and friends of her intentions soon after she disembarked in early June 1804. Most hoped that she would settle back into her old life and abandon a conversion they considered motivated by grief and disorientation. One person took her decision seriously and was appalled: John Henry Hobart of Trinity Church. In personal conversations and in a long argument he wrote out by hand, Hobart launched a withering assault on Catholicism as superstitious and barbaric. Seton began to compare the competing faiths’ claims by the light of her own judgment. Months of agonized indecision followed as she read Protestant and Catholic apologetics and sought guidance from Catholic priests in New York, and, via correspondence, in Boston. She hoped for guidance from the nation’s lone Catholic bishop, John Carroll (1735–1815), [Image at right] but he wrote only cautiously and impersonally, having no wish to involve himself in a Protestant matron’s public struggle over faith (O’Donnell 2018:177–99).

Finally, Seton made her choice. She was drawn to the Catholic understanding of communion, to the culture of the saints and Catholic religious art, and to the figure of the Virgin Mary. But she also decided that Catholicism was simply the safest bet. “If [choice of] Faith is so important to our Salvation I will seek it where true Faith first began, seek it among those who received it from GOD HIMSELF,” Seton wrote. “As the strictest Protestant allows Salvation to a good catholick, to the Catholicks I will go, and try to be a good one, may God accept my intention and pity me” (Bechtle and Metz 2000, vol 1:374, original capitalization and spelling). Seton attended her first Mass in the United States at Manhattan’s only Catholic church, St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. [Image at right] Shortly afterward she made her profession of faith as a Roman Catholic and received Catholic communion.

Seton’s friends and family in the main considered Catholicism to be an unsuitable religion, its teachings ill-configured to modern life, and its adherents of lower status and education than the Seton and Bayley families. Yet most accepted her choice, and some were relieved that her agonized indecision had ended. Her family continued to support her financially after her conversion. It was Seton’s own intense desire to proselytize young female members of her extended family, as well as her determination to live as fully Catholic a life as possible, that strained relations and left her eager to leave Manhattan. At first she sought to bring her children to Montreal, but she was soon invited by William Dubourg (1766–1833), an enterprising Sulpician priest, to run a small school in Baltimore. There, Dubourg explained, her boys could attend the school run by Sulpicians, called Mount St. Mary’s, while she taught the daughters of Baltimore’s wealthy Catholic families, along with her own three daughters, at a girl’s academy. Seton wrote happily that clergy believed that she was “destined to forward the progress of his holy Faith” in the United States (Bechtle and Metz 2000, vol. 1:432).

Arriving with her girls in Baltimore, Seton was grateful to live within the sound of Catholic church bells and to have the guidance of the Sulpicians. Yet she was soon discontented: The fully devotional life she had dreamed of in New York eluded her. So she was pleased that Sulpicians in Baltimore imagined a different role for her: leader of a community of women religious (in the parlance of the Church, women who had taken vows of obedience, poverty, and celibacy).

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) had sought to impose strict cloister on all women religious, but in France, two communities (the Ursulines and the Daughters of Charity) developed rules and practices that enabled members to work on behalf of laypeople while living vowed lives. Ursulines taught schoolgirls and Daughters of Charity served people who were impoverished, orphaned, or ill. Baltimore’s Sulpician priests believed that Seton could start a community that might combine teaching and benevolent work.

Sulpicians recruited young women who might wish to join the community. Seton wrote to the Filicchi brothers to request financial support. John Carroll, though unsure how Seton would lead a religious community before having belonged to one, warmed to the idea that she could found an active religious community that would offer a spiritual path for Catholic women and education to Catholic children. Such a community would be an American entrant in the Vincentian tradition, so called because Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) was, along with Louise de Marillac (1591–1660), a founder of the Daughters of Charity. A plan emerged for a Seton-led community to be founded near a new Sulpician boys’ school in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Maryland. She happily wrote Filippo Filicci of an “institution for the advancement of catholick female children in habits of religion and giving them an education suited to that purpose” (Bechtle and Metz 2002, vol 2:47).

In 1809, Seton left Baltimore to begin (another) new life. Her sons entered the Sulpician school, Mount St. Mary’s, while her daughters joined her at the fledgling women’s community and girls’ school, named St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, located in the adjoining valley. A few women from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore entered the community as did two of Elizabeth’s sisters-in-law. The women were given a preliminary rule of conduct based on de Marillac’s Daughters of Charity. They created a boarding school for paying students and a day school with a less ambitious curriculum for locals who would pay free or reduced tuition in style closer to the Ursuline model noted above. Seton acquired the title she would hold for the rest of her life: “Mother.” In addition to a female and a male superior, there was to be an elected council of sisters, a structure that reflected Catholic tradition.

The community faced hardships in its first year. Illness, including tuberculosis, circulated, and their first dwelling was unfinished and drafty. Seton soon mourned the death of both sisters-in-law. She had difficulty substituting the judgment of male superiors for her own in matters such as the women’s choice of confessor. Such struggles over obedience and a spiritual dryness that left her unable to feel God’s presence left Seton feeling as if she were playacting the role of mother and believing that she might be (and might deserve to be) replaced as Mother.

Although Seton’s personal writings make clear her distress, surrounding documentation reveals a thriving community and a respected leader. The Sisters’ school thrived (McNeil 2006:300–06). Seton was involved in every aspect of the enterprise, from paying bills to designing curricula to disciplining the girls. She also served as female spiritual director to the community’s members and began the work of writing reflections, translating religious works from French, and offering personal counsel that would continue for the rest of her life.

As the community grew, a Sulpician priest translated from French the Rule of the Daughters of Charity, making only small changes. Like the French Daughters, the Emmitsburg Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph were to serve the poor rather than living in cloister, and, like the Daughters of Charity, they would take private annual vows. The women discussed the proposed regulations and voted on them in 1811, a practice which, like the Sisters’ elected leadership council, was part of Catholic tradition. One woman voted no and soon left the community, but everyone else voted yes and remained. All of the women, including Seton, became novices in the community and expected to take their vows as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph in a year.

As the community began its formal existence as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, Anna Maria, Seton’s oldest child, died of consumption. Seton’s spiritual struggle after Anna Maria’s death led the Sulpicians to send to Emmitsburg a highly educated priest named Simon Bruté (1779–1839), whom they felt would serve as an effective spiritual director. It was a good choice. Bruté shared with Seton a Catholicism that fully engaged her mind and the two read and discussed centuries of Catholic writing. Their letters make clear that this was a collaborative spiritual relationship. When he needed to instruct his English-speaking flock, the French priest turned to Seton for help. Bruté’s services attracted a growing number of Catholics to take Communion at a time when clergy in the area felt the competition of Protestant revivalists.

In July 1813, four years after Seton had first arrived at Emmitsburg and one year after adopting their regulations, eighteen women took their first annual vows as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. They were a mix of widows and women who had never married, and of American-born, Irish and (via the West Indies) French. Soon, the sisterhood began to expand beyond Emmitsburg. In 1814, women who ran Philadelphia’s Catholic orphan asylum requested Sisters be sent from Emmitsburg to run the orphanage and care for the children, and the Sisters’ leadership council quickly agreed. In 1817, the sisterhood created a new outpost, this one an orphanage in New York City. As the Sisters branched out, their original schools at Emmitsburg also thrived. Focused on boarding students but providing educations to local girls at reduced cost, the institutions were important to the region and to a larger web of well-heeled Catholic and Protestant families.

Seton faced new tragedy when her youngest daughter, Rebecca, died of consumption. She also worried for her sons, who were ill-suited to the merchant life she wanted for them. Yet she increasingly felt herself the serene Mother she had long appeared to others and confidently tended to the practical and spiritual needs of Sisters and students. Once uninterested in institutional Christianity, Seton was now an institution builder. There was another change, as well. The woman who shortly after her conversion had insisted on proselytizing, had decided that it was impossible to persuade others what to believe, and perhaps harmful to try. She declined to proselytize Protestant girls in her care and counseled others to let people find their own way. Her new way of thinking melded a belief that spiritual safety lay within the teachings of the Catholic Church, with one more familiar to Protestants: each individual must forge her own relation with God.

Seton developed and shared her thinking in hundreds of pages of reflections, translations from French, and meditations, as well as in the words of Bruté’s sermons. Her contemplative nature had caused her to struggle over the demands of leading an active community, and her desire to lead a heroic life for God sometimes led her to chafe at the essentially domestic nature of her service, and occasionally at the gendered structures of the Catholic Church. But she turned to Vincentian teachings to discern meaning in her labor and role as a Sister and wrote convincingly of her contentment.

In 1818, after living with people suffering from tuberculosis for her entire adult life, Seton finally began to suffer from it. She endured her long illness in the tender care of the other Sisters. By late 1820, she openly looked forward to death, no longer bound by her responsibilities to her children (though Catherine was heartbroken) or the sisterhood, both of whom she considered well launched. Elizabeth Seton died on January 4, 1821, in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph grew in the decades after Seton’s death, with communities founded throughout the United States. In 1850, male clergy arranged for the various Sisters of Charity communities to affiliate formally with the French Daughters of Charity. Many did, but some (including the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and the Sisters of Charity of New York) declined to do so, for reasons emerging from their thoughts about governance and consultation, rather than differences in doctrine or charism. (In a Roman Catholic religious community, the charism is the heart and soul of its purpose, history, tradition, and rule of life.) As a result, some communities that trace their lineage to Emmitsburg are known as Daughters of Charity, and others as Sisters of Charity. As the nineteenth century progressed, Sisters and Daughters of Charity were joined by many other female religious communities in the United States: by 1900, there were nearly 150 Catholic female religious orders and congregations and approximately 50,000 nuns and Sisters (Mannard 2017:2, 8).

Throughout the nineteenth century, admirers kept Seton’s memory alive. While Seton still lived, Simon Bruté successfully dissuaded her from burning her papers; she worried that her life of inquiry, struggle, and choice might teach inappropriate lessons, but Bruté was confident that it would lead others to what he considered the safety of the Church. Sisters of Charity as well as friends and family also preserved and sometimes made copies of Seton’s letters. This formed the basis of an archive that resides now at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg. Sisters of Charity have also edited and annotated a four-volume collection of Seton’s writings, and have overseen the Seton Writing Project, which provides an online annotated catalog of letters written to and about Seton. (Bechtle and Metz 2000–2006; Seton Writing Project). In 1882, James Cardinal Gibbons (1834–1921) proposed to the community at Emmitsburg that an effort to bring about Mother Seton’s canonization—a cause, in the language of the Church—be begun. Gibbons’ proposal was part of a broader effort to convince Rome to canonize an American citizen, and Seton was not in fact the first: Mother Frances Cabrini (1850–1917), an Italian who arrived in New York City during a transformational period of immigration, was canonized in 1946.

The cause of Elizabeth Seton, however, persisted. In 1907, an ecclesiastical court was created to investigate its merits. In 1931, American women traveled to the Vatican and petitioned Pope Pius XI (p. 1922–1939) on behalf of Elizabeth Seton’s canonization. In the same year, the American Catholic hierarchy voted to approve her cause. The Mother Seton Guild formed to advocate for her canonization, and in the 1940s, Sisters and Daughters of Charity authorized a formal biography. American Catholic women organized petition drives, requesting that the pope look kindly on the question of her sainthood. In 1959, the Congregation of Rites declared that Mother Seton should be honored as “venerable.” In 1963, Pope John XXII beatified her, meaning that Catholics should consider her to be with God in heaven and may refer to her as Blessed. Finally, in 1974, Pope Paul VI announced that three miracles had been accepted by the Church and that number, rather than the traditional four, would be sufficient. Elizabeth Bayley Seton was canonized the next year as the first American-born saint, with a crowd of over 150,000 in attendance at St. Peter’s Square (Cummings 2019: 195–98).

TEACHINGS

Elizabeth Seton [Image at right] did not develop new religious teachings; instead, she adapted traditions of Catholic worship and Vincentian religious community to her sensibility and American circumstances, and she drew others in with her charismatic example. Seton and her religious community made visible female Catholic benevolence at a time when Catholicism was a mistrusted religion in the United States. Their work in schools and orphanages also laid practical groundwork for urban Catholicism before the waves of immigration of the 1840s.

Seton catechized Catholic girls attending the school she and the Sisters ran. She also catechized enslaved people who labored for the Sulpicians’ St. Mary’s school. We do not know whether enslaved people attended and sent their children to catechism through choice, coercion, or a mixture of the two.

Seton shared Catholic teachings outside of classrooms and catechetical sessions, as well. While still in New York, before embarking on life as Mother Seton, she introduced young female relatives to elements of Catholicism, likely foregrounding the doctrine of transubstantiation, prayers such as the Memorare to the Virgin Mary, and the intervention of saints. Once established in Emmitsburg, she had institutional authority for the first time in her life. As Mother Seton, she counseled sisters and offered talks for the community; she also translated texts from French, including a life of Louise de Marillac and works of Saint Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) and Saint Francis de Sales (1567–1622), as well as a Treatise on Interior Peace by the French Capuchin priest Ambroise de Lombez (1708–1778). The structure of the Catholic Church did not allow for female preaching: priests, not Sisters, were to give sermons. But Simon Brute’s poor English and deep respect for his friend left Seton first translating and then apparently largely writing Brute’s sermons for his English-speaking congregants.

RITUALS/PRACTICES

Elizabeth Bayley Seton was drawn to Catholicism in great measure because of its rituals and material culture. In this she departed from her contemporary, the bishop and archbishop John Carroll. Influenced by an English Catholic tradition, Carroll favored a restrained Catholicism that blended in with Protestant neighbors; when he had the opportunity to design a cathedral, it was in the American Federal style (O’Donnell 2018:225). By contrast, during her long struggle over conversion, Seton came to believe that Catholicism was more compatible with the human mind and heart than Protestantism in great measure because of its rituals and material culture. The Protestants’ God, she wrote, seems not “to love us . . . as much as he did the children of the old law since he leaves our churches with nothing but naked walls and our altars unadorned with either the Ark which his presence filled, or any of the precious pledges of his care of us which he gave to those of old.” Catholicism offered “something to fix [my] attention” (Bechtle and Metz 2000, vol. 1:369–70). The religious community she created treasured the paintings, crucifixes, and rosaries it could acquire. The Sisters’ black garb was based on the Italian widows’ weeds Seton had adopted after her husband’s death. Plain by the standard of many European communities, it nonetheless distinguished the Sisters from other women, and Seton established it at the inception of the community. As Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph spread out from Emmitsburg to form additional communities, they often brought with them something of Seton’s (a letter, for example) and that remained a treasured possession in the new sisterhood.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Mother Ann Seton was the first American woman to found a Catholic order for women in the United States. In doing so she both worked within the structures the Catholic Church provided and used relationships with clergy and laity to extend her authority, the latter a kind of activity that is itself a tradition within the Church. Her approach to creating a religious community is illustrative. Seton let her interest in living in a religious community be known to priests, understanding that it was they who had the ability to connect her to an existing community or to create a new one. When Sulpician priests began to plan for a community in the tradition of the Daughters of Charity, Seton helped to raise funds and began quietly to encourage women to join it, but she did so deferentially, always presenting herself as responsive to providence and to clerical guidance, rather than letting on that she was driven by her own ideas and spiritual ambitions. Knowing she was likely to be chosen as the community’s leader, she did not put herself forward but demonstrated her willingness to take on the role.

Seton’s leadership [Image at right] of the community once it[ was created occurred within the structure and ethos set by the community’s regulations, which were modeled on the Rule of the Daughters of Charity, itself a descendant of the Rule of Saint Benedict. This template for community life drew on centuries of experience creating a framework in which individuals living in close proximity pursued difficult spiritual and communal goals in as much harmony as possible. Days and seasons were organized around both liturgical rhythms and mundane tasks, and a clear hierarchy coexisted with significant collective decision-making. Useful as this framework was, Seton nonetheless also led through developing personal relationships with those around her, including deep friendships that departed from the monastic tradition. Seton knew of St. Teresa of Avila’s instruction that the Sisters should love each other equally rather than forming specific friendships; she nonetheless chose to create a different kind of community, one that understood earthly affections as productive of rather than competitive with worship of God.

Seton’s authority emerged from her spiritual counsel and charisma. This was so because the women of the community, as well as the priests formally and informally affiliated with it, understood her to be in communion with God, and possessed of unusual spiritual power. Seton herself also grounded her ethics in her spirituality. She believed that contemplation of Christ’s sufferings produced a deep consciousness of shared human frailty and of God’s love. This awareness inspired not only worship of God but also compassion and practical benevolence toward others. “I am not enabled as Jesus Christ to do miracles for other,” Seton explained, “but I may constantly find occasions of rendering them good offices and exercising kindness and good will towards them” (Bechtle and Metz 2006, vol. 3a:195). This understanding of active love, concordant with the Vincentian tradition, was central to Seton’s leadership.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

Elizabeth Seton faced challenges because of her gender and her choice to convert to Catholicism. As a woman, she had difficulty earning money after the death of her husband, and her financial dependence on her family accentuated the tensions caused by her conversion. Those tensions reflected an Anglo-American mistrust of Catholicism as a religion that repressed patriotism and individual judgment. Although most of her friends and family accepted her decision, Catholic faith still differentiated Seton from the predominantly Protestant culture in which she lived; her intense devotion to her adopted faith, as much as the unexpected content of that faith, temporarily strained ties. The small number of Catholics and paucity of Catholic communities in the United States posed a challenge when Seton decided to become a woman religious, but her country also offered a realm for innovation: she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph because the United States had no community for Catholic women religious that she could join. That community initially faced challenging living conditions, with unfinished buildings and tight finances. It is important to recall, however, that she always had benefactors and that the school and community benefited from funds produced by the institution of slavery. This was true because the Sulpicians at Mount St. Mary’s used enslaved labor, because the American Catholic Church as a whole, which helped to support the Sisters, benefited from enslaved labor, and because families paid tuition to the Sisters using money derived from enslaved labor (O’Donnell 2018:220–21).

Seton’s struggles with obedience would have been recognizable to male members of religious or monastic communities, but also had an additional gendered dimension: she chafed at the need to obey male superiors whose judgment she at times doubted, and she felt occasional frustration that her sex meant she could not be a missionary or a priest. Seton always, however, found her way to contentment with the teachings of her adopted faith, and the challenge of obedience seems to have fallen away in the last years of her life.

During her life, Seton faced challenges familiar to many women religious, including some who would become saints: times of spiritual dryness or a feeling of distance from God, challenges of obedience, and a painful sense of sinfulness. After her death, her progress toward canonization also faced familiar challenges. Canonization requires a sustained lobbying effort as well as extraordinary qualities in the proposed saint, and Seton’s followers lacked both familiarity with the Vatican’s processes and unity as those seeking her canonization disagreed over tactics (Cummings 2019).

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE STUDY OF WOMEN IN RELIGIONS

Elizabeth Bayley Seton is a convert, a Catholic saint, the founder of a religious community, and a leader within the Vincentian tradition. She also developed distinctive ideas about how to reconcile religious faith and a desire for social harmony in a pluralist society. Because of an extensive archive, [Image at right] Seton’s thoughts, emotions, and spiritual life are unusually accessible. We can read in her own words about the spiritual, social, and domestic contexts of her conversion decision. Her writings provide insight into the distinctive challenges of adopting a faith different from one’s family posed to a woman living in a society in which her own employment possibilities, and thus her capacity to support herself and her children should her family reject her, were constrained. At the same time, Seton’s archive allows us to see specific elements of Catholicism’s appeal to her as a woman: the centrality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the esteem for female saints, and the possibility of life as a vowed woman religious. Catholicism offered her institutional support for her spiritual ambition in a way that the Episcopal Church, as she knew it, did not.

Sainthood also has offered Seton posthumous influence. Her example, like that of other female saints, was preserved and promulgated in a way unusual for women. (She is also included in the Anglican calendar of saints.) Women, both within the Sisters and Daughters of Charity communities descended from Emmitsburg and outside of it, lobbied for her canonization and continue to cherish her memory. Sisters and Daughters of Charity will also point out that Seton was canonized during the United Nations’ International Women’s Year (1975), and that Sister Hildegarde Marie Mahoney, a Sister of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, served as lector during the canonization Mass, the first time a woman had an official role in a papal liturgy.

Seton’s legacy is in fact most evident in the many religious communities that can be traced to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph. In the Vincentian model, highly competent women, freed of the responsibilities to husbands and children that interrupted the benevolent labors of most Protestant peers, carried out the charitable work of the Catholic Church. For more than a century after Seton’s death, Sisters and Daughters of Charity grew in number and expanded their geographical reach. By the 1850s, there were communities in Ohio, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, Indiana, Massachusetts, and California, in addition to the Emmitsburg, Philadelphia, and New York communities founded during Seton’s life. Members of the community tended soldiers during American wars, founded hospitals and orphanages, and eventually established communities in Asia, as well. Their service work during the American Civil War (1860–1865) helped create a favorable impression of Catholicism, especially at a time of anti-Catholic sentiment.

In recent decades, the numbers of Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph have shrunk, in accord with a general and precipitous decline in religious vocations in the Catholic Church in the United States. Nonetheless, as of 2023 there were still approximately four thousand members of the Sisters of Charity Federation, which unites the North American communities with ties to Mother Seton’s original Sisters of Charity of St Joseph and, along with lay members, continues to work on behalf of refugees, migrants, and people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Hospitals throughout the United States, including several medical centers in the Austin, Texas, area, still bear the Seton name and trace their roots to clinics and infirmaries founded by Sisters of Charity, though they may have long since ceased to be staffed by members of the religious communities. Similarly, schools named for Elizabeth Seton persist throughout the United States, many of which no longer have or never had direct connections to Sisters of Charity, but nonetheless see in Mother Elizabeth Seton a useful inspiration. The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton preserves buildings associated with Seton’s time in Emmitsburg as well as many artifacts. Its programs include education, spiritual, and charitable works. Thus, the legacy of Mother Seton lives on in countless ways.

IMAGES

Image #1: This portrait of Elizabeth Ann Seton is a reproduction of a portrait painted by Amabilia Filicchi. The reproduction was sent to the Daughters of Charity by Patrizio Filicchi in 1888. It is based on an engraving by Ceroni from the 1860s, which in turn was based on a 1797 engraving by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Mémin. Wikimedia.
Image #2: Portrait of William Magee Seton created in 1797 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin. National Portrait Gallery.
Image #3: Portrait of Archbishop John Carroll, created by Gilbert Stuart. Georgetown University Library.
Image #4: An image of Old Saint Peter’s Church, where Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton took her first communion. Wikimedia.
Image #5: Bronze statue of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton located at Seton Hall University, which was named after her. Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, her nephew, founded Seton Hall College.
Image #6: Statue of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
Image #7: The minor basilica and shine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Wikimedia, photo by Acroterion.

REFERENCES

Bechtle, Regina, S.C., and Judith Metz, S.C. 2000–2006. Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings. Four Volumes. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press.

Bechtle, Regina S.C., Vivien Linkhauer, S.C. Betty Ann McNeil, D.C. and Judith Metz, S.C. n.d. Seton Writings Project. Digital Commons @ DePaul. Accessed from https://via.library.depaul.edu/seton_stud/ on 10 September 2023.

Boylan, Anne M. 2003. The Origins of Women’s Activism: New York and Boston, 1797–1840. Greensboro, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Cummings, Kathleen. 2019. A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Mannard, Joseph G. 2017. “Our Dear Houses Are Here, There + Every Where”: The Convent Revolution in Antebellum America.” American Catholic Studies 128:1–27.

McNeil, Betty Ann. 2006. “Historical Perspectives on Elizabeth Seton and Education: School is My Chief Business.” Journal of Catholic Education 9:284–306

O’Donnell, Catherine. 2018. Elizabeth Seton: American Saint. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. 2023. Accessed from https://setonshrine.org/ on 10 September 2023.

Publication Date:
14 September 2023

Caroline Matas is a lecturer in the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. Her research focuses on identity, media, and power in 20th and 21st century American evangelicalism. She is writing a book about 21st century American evangelical humor.

INSTITUTE IN BASIC LIFE PRINCIPLES TIMELINE

1934:  Bill Gothard was born to parents Carmen and William Gothard.

1957:  Bill Gothard received his B.A. in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College.

1961:  Bill Gothard founded an inner-city Chicago-based ministry called Campus Teams.

1964:  Wheaton College invited Gothard to present a two-week seminar about his work in Chicago. Gothard named the course “Basic Youth Conflicts.”

1965:  Gothard incorporated the Basic Youth Conflicts seminar tour into his Campus Teams ministry, ultimately drawing tens of thousands of attendees per seminar.

1984:  In response to growing demand as the Christian homeschooling movement took off, Gothard launched a homeschooling curriculum and pilot program, the Advanced Training Institute of America, for around 100 families.

1989:  As the organization expanded its focus, it rebranded as the Institute in Basic Life Principles, offering seminars ranging from homeschooling to family dynamics to financial literacy.

1994:  IBLP member Ron Fuhrman founded the ALERT Academy, a paramilitary training camp for unmarried boys and men.

2004:  Discovery Health aired a one-hour documentary, 14 Children and Pregnant Again, featuring prominent IBLP family Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their super-sized family.

2010:  IBLP member Daniel Webster, a career politician who wrote the bill that legalized homeschooling in Florida in 1985, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

2011:  A group of anonymous former members of IBLP created an organization called Recovering Grace, aimed at exposing Bill Gothard’s history of impropriety and helping current and former members in their recovery.

2014:  The IBLP Board of Directors placed Bill Gothard on leave, leading to his resignation after an internal investigation revealed a history of sexual harassment and misconduct.

2015:  5 former IBLP members filed lawsuits against both Bill Gothard for his sexual abuse against them and against the IBLP itself for alleged negligence and conspiracy to conceal wrongdoing.

2021:  The IBLP’s homeschooling organization, Advanced Training Institute, announced that it would no longer enroll homeschooling families, but would continue to make homeschooling materials available to interested parties.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) was the brainchild of William “Bill” W. Gothard, Jr., a man born in the midst of the Great Depression to parents committed to raising their children in the Christian faith. [Image at right] Gothard was named after his father, who served as the president of Gideons International and the executive director of the Chicago Christian Businessmen’s Committee after converting to Christianity through an early Billy Graham radio broadcast. Gothard, Jr. would later attend Graham’s alma mater, the evangelical academic flagship Wheaton College.

Self-admittedly a poor student in his younger years, Gothard told interviewers that his grades only improved when he began memorizing scripture as a teenager. Gothard would go on to center the memorization of scripture as the foundation of his own organization’s homeschooling materials. Gothard encouraged parents to instill in their children “a godly contempt for the philosophies of the world,” positing that every topic worth learning could be taught from an explicitly Christian point of view (Bockelman 1976:31).

By his college years, Gothard had concluded that most Christian ministries suffered due to their compromise with “worldly” standards. Gothard rejected the idea of moral gray areas, instead arguing that God’s absolute standards of good and evil applied to all ideas, objects, creatures, and people. Jesus even cursed a fig tree in the Bible, Gothard wrote, because it had failed to fulfill its God-given purpose of producing fruit (Gothard n.d.). Gothard pointed to the Bible’s descriptions of good and evil wives, children, and even knowledge itself as evidence that God’s universe is irrevocably bifurcated between absolute good and absolute evil. The best way to determine whether one was aligned with the good, Gothard said, was to live according to the forty-nine character qualities he identified as evidence of individuals’ Godliness.

From the earliest days of his ministry, Gothard jealously protected his reputation. In an interview for an unauthorized biography written by Christian author Wilfred Bockelman in 1976, Gothard expressed his distaste for public critique and disagreement. “God’s way is to give a good report of others, and to deal privately with a person in those areas in which you don’t agree,” Gothard told Bockelman (1976:23). This emphasis on privacy extended to Gothard’s organization as a whole, whose growth was spurred largely by word of mouth. Even as Gothard’s organization grew to reach a reported 2,000,000 seminar attendees, he maintained firm control over the group’s operations. Serving as president of the Institute in Basic Life Principles from its 1961 founding as Campus Teams until his resignation in 2014, Gothard deeply influenced everything from members’ hairstyles and manner of dress to their financial decisions to their children’s courtship opportunities. Despite his focus on marriage and family relationships as the primary locus for spiritual formation, Gothard never married or had children. He continued to live with his parents into his forties. When asked why he remained single, Gothard jokingly replied, “I haven’t found a free weekend yet” (Bockelman 1976:37).

After completing his master’s degree in Christian education at Wheaton College in 1957, Bill Gothard began an organization called Campus Teams, designed to reach Chicago inner-city youth through Bible studies focusing on seven “non-optional” principles of life: design, authority, responsibility, suffering, ownership, freedom, and success. When Gothard presented his Campus Teams work in a two-week seminar for Wheaton College undergraduates in 1964, he framed these seven principles as the foundation of all “Basic Youth Conflicts.” Gothard began offering his “basic seminar” as a touring speaker, eventually drawing crowds large enough to fill the Seattle Coliseum. [Image at right]

As Gothard found success with his Basic Youth Conflicts seminar, he incorporated his family into the ministry. Gothard’s father served on his board of directors and Gothard’s brother Steve helped create many of the organization’s early publications. When Steve was accused by multiple women in the organization of sexual misconduct in the late 1970s, Gothard initially attempted to resolve the issue internally but ultimately publicly ejected Steve from the organization in 1980. The board of the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC) was also dissatisfied with Bill Gothard himself due to his alleged misuse of funds (including non-ministry use of the organization’s private jet), his delay in addressing his brother’s misconduct, and rumors of Bill’s own sexual misconduct against female employees (“The Gothard Files” 2014). In 1980, former employees filed two lawsuits against the organization and Bill Jr., Bill Sr., and Steve Gothard for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties, but both were ultimately dropped due to financial strain on the plaintiffs.

In 1984, the IBYC launched the Advanced Training Institute of America (ATIA, later ATI), an arm of the organization aimed at homeschooling and career training for youth. [Image at right] Families that paid for membership in the ATI received a set of homeschooling materials called “Wisdom Booklets,” workbooks that combined lessons in linguistics, history, science, law, medicine, scripture, and “character qualities” and were designed for use across age and grade levels. ATI families also pay for the opportunity to send their children to work at IBYC headquarters to receive ministry and job training, along with mentorship by Bill Gothard himself. 102 families participated in ATI’s pilot year, but enrollment quickly grew as the broader Christian homeschooling movement gained traction socially and legally during the 1980s and early 1990s (Ingersoll 2015; Kunzman 2010; Gaither 2008).

By 1989, when IBYC changed its name to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), its homeschooling program had grown exponentially, with over 10,000 participants attending the 1990 ATIA annual conference. The 1990s were characterized by the organization’s global expansion, with IBLP establishing offices in Australia, New Zealand, Moscow, and Taiwan. By the year 2000, the IBLP claimed that more than 2,500,000 million people from more than 150 countries had attended an IBLP conference (“Home Page” 2000).

Domestically, the 1990s and 2000s saw IBLP’s expansion into more specialized offerings for youth, families, and communities, including marriage conferences, pastor training conferences, “total health” seminars, financial freedom seminars, and anger resolution trainings. In 1992, IBLP board member Thomas Hill established the “secular” face of the IBLP, an organization called Character First! that adapted Gothard’s series of character qualities for use in a variety of non-religious settings. Character First’s resources have been used by public school boards, city police forces, public and private correctional facilities, and corporations including McDonald’s and Coca Cola (Talvi 2006). Out of Character First! grew the International Association of Character Cities (IACC), founded in 1998 to implement Gothard’s character qualities in the leadership and structures of city governments. At its peak in the late 2000s, the IACC boasted over 150 verified “Character Cities” in the U.S. and forty-eight international “Character Cities” (Matas 2023).

In 1994, IBLP member Ron Fuhrman founded the ALERT Academy, a paramilitary training camp for boys and men that combined scripture memorization, endurance hiking, and formation marching drills. ALERT is housed at the organization’s current headquarters, a 2,250-acre campus in Big Sandy, Texas, which the Hobby Lobby-famous Green family sold to the IBLP for just $10 in 2000. In 2003, the IBLP began running regional family conferences to help connect local IBLP families to one another. Journey to the Heart, founded in 2007, served as an intensive spiritual retreat for IBLP teen girls and boys that included a trip to IBLP headquarters in Hinsdale, Illinois, where students were required to meet with Gothard personally.

The organization gained notoriety through the fame of some of its largest families. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of Springdale, Arkansas became household names after a 2004 Discovery Health documentary featured their fourteen homeschooled children, strict modesty and dating standards, and conservative religious and political beliefs. Throughout their original TLC reality show’s seven-year run from 2008-2015, 19 Kids and Counting (formerly 17 and 18 Kids and Counting) [Image at right] showcased the Duggars participating in IBLP events, including their attending the organization’s yearly family conference in Big Sandy, Texas; several of the Duggar boys’ participation in ALERT; and Michelle homeschooling with ATI materials. Through their association with the Duggars, Gil and Kelly Jo Bates of eastern Tennessee were featured, alongside their own supersized family of nineteen children, in their own one-season TLC show called United Bates of America and an 11-season run of a reality show called Bringing Up Bates on UpTV. Gil Bates later became an IBLP board member.

In 2011, a group of anonymous former members of IBLP created an organization called Recovering Grace, an internet-based group aimed at exposing Bill Gothard’s history of sexual impropriety and helping current and former members in their recovery. The group published nine women’s stories of being isolated, groomed, harassed, and assaulted by Gothard while they were employed at IBLP headquarters as teenagers and young adults. Adults identifying themselves as the “first ATI generation,” or the first generation of adults to have been raised in and educated with Advanced Training Institute materials, also accused the IBLP generally and Gothard specifically of using their forced and/or unpaid labor during their time “training” at headquarters. As pressure mounted around IBLP to attend to these accusations, Gothard was placed on administrative leave and ultimately resigned in 2014.

The IBLP remained in the spotlight through the late 2010s as victims sued Gothard and the IBLP for sexual abuse and cover-up of the same, respectively (“Wilkinson et al. v. Bill Gothard” 2016). Although the eighteen plaintiffs ultimately dropped the case in 2018, in part due to complexities with the statute of limitations, they reaffirmed their belief that Gothard’s actions and teachings had done “incalculable damage,” as had the IBLP’s decision to “protect themselves instead of those under their care” (Smith 2018).

The IBLP received heightened scrutiny in the 2020s as several adult children of the reality television-famous Duggar family spoke out against the organization and Gothard. Both Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo and Jill (Duggar) Dillard released memoirs decrying the organization for its legalism and “twisted” theology. Vuolo, who published Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear in 2023, wrote that Gothard’s teachings drove her to “exhaustion,” “fear,” and “paranoia” (2023:63). Dillard and her husband participated in a 2023 Amazon documentary series, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, where she spoke at length about her family’s participation in the IBLP and ATI. Shiny Happy People featured over a dozen former IBLP members speaking out against the organization, saying it harbored pedophiles, facilitated abuse, and “turned every father into a cult leader” (Willoughby Nason and Crist 2023).

IBLP’s ATI homeschooling program officially ended enrollment in 2021, although its curriculum remains available for purchase on IBLP’s website. IBLP still offers annual family conferences and camps, as well as gender-specific discipleship programs like Journey to the Heart and ALERT Academy. The organization also continues to run a prison ministry that reportedly serves more than 200 correctional facilities in twenty-two states.

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

The IBLP’s statement of beliefs is largely consistent with the stated beliefs of many conservative Protestant congregations in the United States, affirming the Bible as the inerrant word of God, Jesus Christ as the sinless son of God whose substitutionary atonement is the only path to salvation, and a literal Heaven and Hell where all people will spend eternity. As many conservative Protestant churches in the United States do, the IBLP statement of faith takes care to specify their rejection of homosexuality and transgender identities as outside of God’s intention for gender and sexual expression. So too does the IBLP’s statement of faith affirm their opposition to abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

If the IBLP can be said to have a distinctive theological feature, it is the extent to which the organization filters all other beliefs through the prism of authority structures. [Image at right] One of Gothard’s seven basic life principles, the IBLP identifies recognizing and honoring authority structures as the key to security and order within the family, church, workplace, and society. In the family, the husband is the head of the wife, who is in turn the secondary head of the children. In a church, the church’s leaders are in a position of authority over the church members. While all leaders are, themselves, subject to God’s ultimate authority, individuals are encouraged to submit to their earthly leaders even when they suspect doing so compromises God’s word, including accepting punishment they believe is too harsh or unfounded, asking their authority to point out how they might be misinterpreting a command, and “giving God time to change [their] authority’s mind” (Gothard 1979a:35).

IBLP materials routinely detail the potential consequences of stepping outside of the command of one’s earthly authorities. A young woman who marries in order to escape her strict parents, Gothard writes, might find that God will “use her husband to carry on His work” of teaching her to submit joyfully and immediately to authority (1979a:27). Indeed, the IBLP Advanced Seminar warns, stepping outside of one’s protective authority structures invites “destruction” of the body and spirit (Gothard 1986). Former members, including Jinger Duggar Vuolo, recall Gothard telling a story about a young man who was killed in a car crash because he was listening to music with a heavy drum beat, and thus failing to submit to God’s will. Gothard encouraged authorities to exercise their right to corporal punishment as a tool for cultivating their charges’ submissive spirit, advising parents that they should use a “rod of reproof” to spank their child as much as necessary “to bring the [child’s] will into submission” (1986:297). Many IBLP families, including the Duggars, promoted Michael and Debi Pearl’s To Train Up a Child, which advocated “switching” children even as newborn babies (Pearl and Pearl 1994:9).

One area in which all IBLP members are expected to submit to God’s authority is in the number of children they conceive. Members are encouraged to leave the number of children they have “up to God,”that is, to avoid using any contraceptives or natural family planning methods. Even in the case that a woman’s doctor tells her that another pregnancy would be life-threatening to her, the IBLP warns couples not to make decisions out of fear and to remember that “God has ultimate control over health” and “is also able [to] give the level of health in the mother and the child that will bring the greatest glory to Him” (Gothard 1994:41). Gothard encouraged members to undergo reversals of tubal litigations and vasectomies, even organizing a choir composed exclusively of children born after their parents had such procedures (Willingham 2023). Despite the organization’s emphasis on having as many children as possible, the IBLP generally opposes adoption due to a belief that adopted children will be afflicted by the “severe” sins of their birth parents (Gothard 1982).

Gothard’s teachings on the spiritual, cultural, and political benefits of large families were central to the growing Quiverfull movement in the 1980s and 1990s. The Quiverfull ideology draws its name and justification from Psalm 127: 3-5, “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Propagated by a number of fundamentalist and evangelical Christian leaders and organizations in the late twentieth century, the Quiverfull mindset calls for Christian families to out-breed other Americans in order to overcome the creep of secularism and atheism. As Gothard outlines in the IBLP’s advanced seminar, if one IBLP couple were to have twelve children and each of their children followed suit, in five generations their descendants would number 271,455. “The seed of this couple would certainly be mighty upon the earth!” (Gothard 1986:190). One of Gothard’s earliest acolytes, Michael Farris, built upon Gothard’s vision for the family by founding the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College, an institution catering to homeschooled students who seek to be “the tip of the spear” in the American culture wars (Rosin 2007:4; Joyce 2008).

RITUALS/PRACTICES

The IBLP identifies the nuclear family home as the ideal teaching center, hospitality center, nurturing center, ministry center, and even business center of its members (Gothard 1979b). Thus, members are encouraged to homeschool their children, pursue independent employment opportunities and/or establish family businesses, and make many of their everyday goods (including food, cleaning products, and clothing) at home. Adults in the IBLP are encouraged to practice what the organization calls “financial freedom,” a path that requires living debt-free, avoiding business partnerships, and faithfully tithing at least ten percent of their income to church ministries. The organization encourages members to donate their time and money freely to the church and various ministries, including to the IBLP, and to trust that God will provide for their basic needs. One of the IBLP’s seven principles, ownership, includes the exhortation to members to follow Jesus’s example of surrender and yield their rights to wealth, to physical comforts, and to make his own decisions (“Yielding Rights” n.d.).

Wives and children are especially affected by the IBLP’s emphasis on the home as the locus of all family activity, as their sphere of interaction outside the home is extremely limited and dependent on the husband/father granting them permission to venture outside his “castle” into a demonic world “which desires to come in, plunder his home, and take captive his wife and children” (Gothard 1986:21). Daughters are encouraged to stay under their parents’ authority and roof until they marry, and their marriage itself is often arranged through the would-be husband’s ongoing conversations with the would-be wife’s father (McFarland 2010; McGowin 2018). Unmarried girls and women are often given few options to earn money or build skills outside of homemaking and raising their siblings, a reality showcased by the television-famous Duggar family, whose older daughters had “buddy teams” of younger siblings whose care and education largely fell on their shoulders.

Women in the IBLP are similarly unevenly burdened by the group’s strict modesty standards. Women and girls are instructed to avoid “eye traps” that reveal or even suggest skin on the leg, shoulders, midriff, or chest. Some styling choices encouraged among the IBLP are a result of Bill Gothard’s own aesthetic preferences. As Jinger Duggar Vuolo details in her memoir, IBLP insiders knew “Gothard’s girls,” the type that he preferred to surround himself with at headquarters, “had long, blond hair, big smiles, and petite body types” (2023:155). Gothard encouraged young women to wear their hair long and curly, to wear dresses and skirts instead of pants, and to avoid shoes that draw attention to the ankles (1986:279).

IBLP’s largest annual gathering is the week-long Family Conference held at their current headquarters in Big Sandy, Texas. Throughout the week, children attend age- and gender-specific sessions based around Gothard’s seven life principles while parents hear from speakers that include IBLP board members and members of famous families, including Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. During the conference, girls aged twelve to seventeenx participate in a Bible study called COMMIT, where they learn to “humbly serve others in their irreplaceable youth” (“Big Sandy Family Conference,” n.d.). Boys aged eight to seventeen are invited to participate in a weeklong introductory “cadet” program to ALERT Academy, a pipeline to becoming “men of God and leaders of their day,” the eventual kings of their own castle (Joyce 2009).

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP
From its inception as Campus Teams in 1961 through 2014, the IBLP’s leadership structure featured Bill Gothard at the helm as both founder and president.  [Image at right] Throughout that time, the organization also had a board of directors, although the scandals that rocked the group during the late 1970s and early 1980s revealed that the board’s checks on Gothard’s power were more limited than they seemed. Dissatisfied board members had little recourse besides resigning from their position, as several did upon losing confidence in Gothard’s leadership in 1980. After Gothard resigned from the organization in 2014, the IBLP named longtime staff

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

The IBLP has received complaints from former members and staff of harassment, abuse, negligence, and labor violations since at least the late 1970s. From early reports of both Steve and Bill Gothard’s sexual misconduct toward female employees in the late 1970s through the 2015 lawsuit filed against Gothard for sexual harassment and abuse, a number of female employees and members have identified the IBLP as an unsafe environment, especially for girls and women. Although the ten plaintiffs that sued the IBLP and Bill Gothard in 2015 ultimately dropped their lawsuit due to complications with the statute of limitations, they maintain that their allegations against Gothard are backed by witnesses, credible timelines, and consistent pattern of behavior described by Gothard’s alleged victims. They further allege that the IBLP was negligent in its failure to ensure a safe working environment for the young women groomed by Gothard at headquarters, from the 1970s through 2014.

Scandals within famous IBLP families have also shone light on the relationship between IBLP teachings and the preponderance and consistent cover-up of abuse within the organization. In 2015, InTouch magazine obtained a redacted police report that the Duggar family later admitted revealed their oldest son, Josh, had molested four of his younger siblings, including one sister as young as five years old. The same year, Josh was identified as having spent nearly one thousand dollars on subscriptions to Ashley Madison, a dating site for married adults seeking affairs. Josh resigned from his high-profile position with the Family Research Council, a conservative evangelical lobbying group that opposes LGBT civil rights in the name of protecting children and families. In a 2015 interview with Fox News’s Megyn Kelly, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar defended their decision to commit to a reality show about their wholesome values in the immediate aftermath of their son’s crimes against their own daughters. Jim Bob told Kelly that many of their friends have had similar and “even worse” incidents within their own families. Noting that they put safeguards in place, including not allowing their older sons to babysit the younger children, the Duggars said Josh’s misdeeds were behind him and he was a “changed person” (Kelly 2015). In 2021, Josh was convicted on federal charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials and sentenced to over twelve years in federal prison.

Former members argue that the IBLP’s teachings helped to foster an atmosphere of abuse of power. An IBLP worksheet on counseling abuse victims asks victims to consider whether God let their abuse happen due to immodest dress, being outside of the protection of their parents, or being with evil friends. The same worksheet asks the victim whether they would choose “no physical abuse or [being] mighty in Spirit” as a result of their abuse. Other IBLP teachings advise women that they should not think of themselves as “victims” of a hostile husband, but rather “understand that we are called to suffer for righteousness” (Gothard 1979c:10). The organization’s emphasis on “discretion” as a religious edict to avoid slander, gossip, and “damaging reports” that hurt the reputation of the ministry similarly limits members’ avenues for addressing abuse.

The IBLP has also received criticism for its encouragement of corporal punishment against children. In his basic seminar lectures available for free on the IBLP website, Gothard tells parents that children must be spanked until they cry, because failure to cry is a sign that “their will is still intact! Unbroken! And their—maybe their spirit’s been damaged, but not their will” (Gothard, n.d.b). The Duggar family helped popularize Christian authors Michael and Debi Pearl’s “blanket training” method of child training and punishment, wherein a baby is placed on a blanket and is physically “corrected” every time they attempt to move from the blanket. This “blanket time” starts at just a few minutes for babies, but extends upwards of thirty minutes (Duggar and Duggar 2008:160; Joyce 2009). The Pearls’ methods, including blanket training, have been linked to the deaths of multiple children, including seven year old Lydia Charity Schatz in 2010 and thirteen year-old Hana Grace-Rose Williams in 2011 (Hodson 2011).

The 2023 documentary series Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets gave voice to a number of former IBLP members who experienced abuse within the organization and within their own families. [Image at right] One former member, Emily Elizabeth Anderson, alleges that her father sexually abused her for over a decade and that Bill Gothard not only failed to act as a mandatory reporter when she revealed the abuse to him, but also sexually groomed and abused her from the ages of thirteen to eighteen while she participated in the IBLP and ATI programs (Anderson n.d.). Anderson is one of more than thirty women who have publicly accused Gothard of sexual misconduct and the IBLP of failing to act in the best interest of victims. Following the documentary’s release, the IBLP published a statement decrying the series as containing “salacious and false” attacks designed to “mock what is good and moral in the most sensationalized way possible.” Noting that Gothard is no longer affiliated with the ministry, the statement directs readers to explore its free basic seminar, a 20+ hour series of video lectures delivered by Bill Gothard.

IMAGES

Image #1: William “Bill” Gothard.
Image #2: Bill Gothard at the Seattle Colesium.
Image #3: Advanced Training Institute of America 3logo.
Image #4: Advertisement for 19 Kids and Counting (formerly 17 and 18 Kids and Counting) television program.
Image #5: IBLP Authority Structure.
Image #6: IBLP organization logo.
Image #7: Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets documentary advertisement.

REFERENCES

Anderson, Emily Elizabeth. n.d. “About,” Thriving Forward. Accessed from https://www.thrivingforward.org/about on 9/1/2023.

“Big Sandy Family Conference.” n.d. FamilyConferences.org. Accessed from https://familyconferences.org/family-conferences/big-sandy-spring/#programs on on 9/1/2023.

Bockelman, Wilfred. 1976. Gothard: The Man and His Ministry. Santa Barbara, CA: Quill Publications.

Duggar, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. 2008. The Duggars: 20 and Counting: Raising One of America’s Largest Families—How They Do it. New York: Howard Books.

Gaither, Milton. 2008. Homeschooling: An American History. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gothard, Bill. 1994. “Questions and Answers on Infertility and Birth Control.” Basic Care Booklet 19. Oak Brook, IL: Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Gothard, Bill. 1986. Research in Principles of Life: Advanced Seminar Textbook. Oak Brook, IL: Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts.

Gothard, Bill. 1982. “Ten Reasons Why Adopted Children Tend to Have More Conflicts.” Oak Brook, IL: Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts.

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Publication Date:
5 September 2023

Nicole Karapanagiotis is Associate Professor of Religion and Department Chair of Philosophy and Religion, at Rutgers University, Camden.  Her research areas of specialization include devotional Hinduisms, theistic Vedanta philosophies, religion and digital media, and religion and marketing. She is the author of Branding Bhakti: Krishna Consciousness and the Makeover of a Movement (Indiana University Press, 2021) and has published numerous articles in journals such as the International Journal of Hindu Studies, Novo Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, and others. She is the 2018 recipient of Helen Crovetto Award for Excellence in the Study of New Religious Movements with Ties to South Asia.

KRISHNA WEST TIMELINE

1948:  Hridayananda Das Goswami (Howard J. Resnick) was born in Los Angeles, California.

1969:  Hridayananda Das Goswami met Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON.

1970:  Hridayananda Das Goswami received initiation under Swami Prabhupada.

1972:  Hridayananda Das Goswami accepted saṃnyāsa (formal renunciation) from Prabhupada.

1977:  Hridayananda Das Goswami became one of group of eleven successors to run ISKCON after the death of Prabhupada.

1996:  Hridayananda Das Goswami earned his Ph.D. in Sanskrit & Indian Studies.

2013:  Hridayananda Das Goswami established Krishna West.

2016:  Krishna West Orlando opened.

2016:  Krishna West Mexico City opened.

2017:  The First International Krishna West Festival was held in São Paulo, Brazil.

2022:  Krishna West Chicago opened.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

Krishna West is a sub-movement of the International Society for Krishna Consciousnes (ISKCON) that was founded by Hridayananda Das Goswami in 2013. Born Howard J. Resnick in 1948 in Los Angeles, California. [Image at right] Hridayananda Das Goswami first met the founder of ISKCON, AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in 1969 while he was an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon meeting Swami Prabhupada, Hridayananda Das Goswami’s entry into the ISKCON movement was swift: within a year of their meeting, he joined ISKCON as a full-time temple devotee and took formal initiation into the movement by Prabhupada himself. Just two-years later, in 1972, Hridayananda Das Goswami accepted saṃnyāsa from Prabhupada. In ISKCON, saṃnyāsa is an order of life wherein one takes a formal and lifelong vow of celibacy and a renunciation of family and societal life in order to spend one’s full time and efforts preaching.

In 1977, when Swami Prabhupada passed away, Hridayananda Das Goswami became one of eleven men to take disciples of his own and help lead the ISKCON movement into the future. Between the years of 1977 and 2013, Hridayananda Das Goswami engaged in a number of devotional projects in ISKCON including serving on ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC), initiating and guiding his own disciples, writing and translating various texts and treatises, and spending his time traveling and preaching in order to spread the ISKCON movement around the world as he believed was Swami Prabhupada’s wish.

Initially, Hridayananda Das Goswami felt that he (and other ISKCON gurus like him) were successful in their efforts to fulfill Swami Prabhupada’s mission and goals. However, starting in the 1990’s, Hridayananda Das Goswami began to feel seeds of discontent with the state of ISKCON affairs. In particular, he was concerned about the fact that while ISKCON was successful attracting people from the Indian community (particularly those with ties to, or familiarity with, Hinduism), the movement was struggling to attract (and retain) members from other demographic groups. This demographic circumstance, labeled by E. Burke Rochford, Jr. as the “Hinduization of ISKCON,” (Rochford 2007) concerned Hridayananda Das Goswami because he believed that Prabhupada’s chief mission was for ISKCON to be a global movement: one with followers of a variety of ethnic, racial, and national backgrounds (Karapanagiotis 2021). Hridayananda Das Goswami believed that because ISKCON was not global in its congregant base, it was failing.

In response to this perceived failure, Hridayananda Das Goswami created Krishna West, an ISKCON sub-movement, in 2013. The goal of Krishna West was to draw people from outside the Indian community to ISKCON by recasting and reformulating the movement (as least spaces within it) in such a way that would be appealing to them (Karapanagiotis 2021). The name “West” in Krishna West refers both to the demographic groups that Hridayananda Das Goswami wished to attract in creating this new sub-movement as well as the style in which ISKCON would be recast in order to attract them. For Hridayananda Das Goswami, as well as those within broader ISKCON circles, the term “westerner” is used to refer to anyone not of Indian heritage and “west” is used to describe regions of the world outside of the Indian subcontinent. These terms and their usage within both Krishna West and ISKCON have roots in colonialism as well as in the reform movements that arose in response to it (Karapanagiotis 2021). Despite being both problematic and imprecise, they are used without critique in Krishna West and in the broader ISKCON movement. In creating Krishna West as a sub-movement stylized for “westerners,” Hridayananda Das Goswami re-packaged the practice, form, presentation, and spaces of ISKCON in hopes of drawing “westerners” to the movement (Karapanagiotis 2021).

It is important to note that Hridayananda Das Goswami is not the only ISKCON guru who is recasting the ISKCON movement in order to attract “westerners.” In fact, it is a popular and growing effort across ISKCON, being spearheaded by a number of ISKCON gurus and other proponents in the United States, India, and elsewhere (Karapanagiotis 2018; Karapanagiotis 2021). Hridayananda Das Goswami’s Krishna West differs from the efforts of these other ISKCON gurus, however. Whereas other gurus recast ISKCON (building yoga studios, meditation lounges, etc.) in order to attract “westerners,” their ultimate aim through these efforts is to eventually draw them into the mainline ISKCON movement (Karapanagiotis 2021). For his part, however, Hridayananda Das Goswami does not believe that “westerners” will be drawn to (or wish to remain in) the mainline ISKCON movement. Instead, Hridayananda Das Goswami’s Krishna West was designed as a free-standing sub-movement of ISKCON: a “movement within a movement or a “western Hare Krishna movement,” as Krishna West proponents like to say. This is why Hridayananda Das Goswami refers to Krishna West as a “destination” and not a bridge: Krishna West is an ISKCON sub-movement meant to draw in “westerners,” and keep them there (Karapanagiotis 2021). [Image at right] In this regard, Krishna West is simultaneously embedded in, yet also functionally adjacent to, the ISKCON movement.

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

Proponents and practitioners of Krishna West identify themselves as ISKCON devotees, and it is important to the identity of Krishna West (and to Hridayananda Das Goswami’s vision for it) that it is characterized as a sub-movement of ISKCON, rather than a movement separate from it.

Because Krishna West is a sub-movement of ISKCON, Krishna West practitioners share beliefs and doctrines with devotees in the ISKCON movement. Like other ISKCON members, for example, Krishna West adherents believe in the god Krishna and understand him to be the “Supreme Personality of Godhead,” which is ISKCON’s gloss on the term Puroṣottama from Bhagavad Gita 15.16–15.18. For ISKCON devotees, this means that Krishna is the “Ultimate Person,” in that he is the supreme being who possesses transcendental superiority over the manifest and unmanifest worlds. It also means in ISKCON that Krishna is believed to have a form, receptivity to human relationships, and personality traits. As such, Krishna West practitioners (like fellow ISKCON devotees) believe in and relate to Krishna as a being who has a presence in their lives, has a history full of mythical pastimes, and has a form that can be visualized and “seen.” (Bromley and Shinn, eds. 1989; Bryant and Ekstrand, eds. 2004; Burke 1985; Burke 2007; Dwyer and Cole, eds, 2007; Karapanagiotis 2021; Knott 1986; Squarcini and Fizzotti 2004). Regarding the latter, devotees often speak of Krishna’s beauty, his physical attributes, what he wears, etc. as meditative ways to remember and build connection with him.

Besides their belief in and views about Krishna, Krishna West adherents also share other beliefs/doctrines with the broader ISKCON movement. For example, they believe that the self’s true identity is not the body, but rather the soul, and that the soul is “part and parcel” of Krishna’s divine nature (Bromley and Shinn, eds. 1989; Bryant and Ekstrand, eds. 2004; Burke 1985; Burke 2007; Dwyer and Cole, eds. 2007; Karapanagiotis 2021; Knott 1986; Squarcini and Fizzotti 2004). Further, they believe that through remembrance of and devotion to Krishna, they can achieve a state of liberation wherein they will share in the eternal company of Krishna and live out a joyful relationship with him in perpetuity. Finally, Krishna West practitioners also share with fellow ISKCON devotees beliefs about the power and importance of chanting Krishna’s names (Delmonico, 2007) and eating and distributing his sanctified food (King 2012; Zeller 2012). With respect to the former, in Krishna West, as in its parent organization ISKCON, the names of Krishna (specifically the Hare Krishna mahā mantra) play a central role in the lives of practitioners. Theologically speaking, the names of Krishna are believed to be ontologically the same as Krishna himself (Delmonico 2007; Dimock 1999; Haberman 2003; Hein 1994; Prabhupada 1968; Prabhupada 1973, 1974). As such, devotees believe that uttering them aloud (or even in one’s own mind) puts the devotee in the direct presence of Krishna. For this reason, devotees also like to chant the mahā mantra in public, believing that the effect of the names will be brought to all who hear them. (Haddon 2013; Karapanagiotis 2019; Prabhupada, 1973). Krishna West practitioners (and ISKCON devotees at large) have a similar set of beliefs with respect to prasādam, or sanctified food that is eaten after having been first offered to Krishna (King 2012; Zeller 2012). Just as Krishna’s names share in Krishna’s essence, so too is prasādam believed to be imbued with Krishna’s grace. Because of this, devotees believe that eating prasādam changes eaters’ hearts. For this reason, devotees in Krishna West (and in ISKCON more broadly) strive to eat prasādam regularly and also to distribute it to others so that Krishna’s grace can be brought far and wide (King 2012; Zeller 2012).

RITUALS/PRACTICES

Although Krishna West is a sub-movement of ISKCON, sharing beliefs and doctrines with its parent organization, there are several ways in which Krishna West differs from ISKCON. These differences primarily reside in the domain of rituals and practices. This is not to say that Krishna West has additional practices not shared by the broader ISKCON movement, however. Instead, practices in Krishna West differ from those of the broader ISKCON movement because Krishna West adherents attempt to “syphon out” a core set of practices from ISKCON (those they see to be essential) and conduct them in a manner that they feel will appeal to “westerners.” This process is explained in the mission and vision statements of Krishna West:

we call this project Krishna West because we do everything possible to make bhakti-yoga easy, relevant and enjoyable for Western people, without in any way compro­mising, diluting, or diminishing the purity and power of a glorious ancient tradition. We do this by offering the essential spiritual teaching and practice in its entirety, without requiring students and practitioners to embrace a new ethnic­ity composed of non-essential Eastern dress, cuisine, music etc. People in the West need and deserve the chance to practice genuine bhakti-yoga within an external culture that is comfortable and natural for them. (Krishna West Website n.d.).

We teach the practice of bhakti-yoga, a non-sectarian, joyful spiritual science that delivers accessible and impactful spiritual knowledge and growth to the sincere practitioner. The bhakti-yoga community thus aims to contribute to the respiritualizing of our planet, naturally contributing to social, economic, political, and environmental justice. (Krishna West Website n.d.).

As can be seen in these mission and vision statements, Krishna West proponents believe that there is an essence of ISKCON which exists and can be separated and practiced as divorced from any regional, cultural, or ethnic dressing or accoutrements. Further, this essence, they believe, can then be re-cast within cultural garb that is comfortable for the target audience (“westerners” in the case of Krishna West) (Karapanagiotis 2021).

Hridayananda Das Goswami and other Krishna West proponents criticize the fact that ISKCON devotional culture is rooted in an Indian Hindu cultural “dressing,” citing this as the reason that ISKCON has been so successful at attracting the Indian community, but not at attracting “westerners” (Karapanagiotis 2021). For example, Hridayananda Das Goswami discusses the fact that initiated devotees in ISKCON take Sanskrit devotional names, and make use of an extensive “insider language” full of Sanskrit terms and references. He also notes that devotees typically wear South Asian devotional clothing at the temples and other ISKCON events, eat prasādam that is nearly always Indian cuisine, and play music on Indian instruments (and sing in Indian liturgical languages). If the “essence” of ISKCON could be presented to “westerners” in a mode and manner that is culturally comfortable for and familiar to them, Krishna West proponents argue, “westerners” will be eager to join the movement. Rituals and practices in Krishna West, therefore, are designed with this aim in mind.

The Krishna West goal of practicing ISKCON without any Indian Hindu cultural “trappings,” is first and foremost reflected in the spaces in which Krishna West groups meet. [Image at right] Unlike many ISKCON programs, Krishna West programs do not take place in temples, or in spaces that resemble temples. Instead, Krishna West programs take place in rented halls, rented yoga studios (or the meet-up spaces attached to them), in parks, walking trails, outdoor gardens, and/or in devotees’ homes.

Another hallmark of Krishna West spaces is that they do not have the altars or ritually installed deities (mūrtis) that are characteristically found in ISKCON temples. Likewise, Krishna West practices do not involve the deity worship (mūrti pūjā) customarily practiced in ISKCON temples.

In addition to practicing in spaces that are made to be appealing to “westerners,” Krishna West proponents are also committed to allowing practitioners to wear clothing that is most comfortable for them. Clothing is one of the key areas of difference between Krishna West and its parent organization ISKCON. In Krishna West, devotees do not wear South Asian devotional clothing. This means that rather than wearing ISKCON’s typical attire of dhotīs (long loin cloths), kurtās (long, loose tunics), sarees, etc., Krishna West practitioners wear jeans, button-down shirts, dresses, skirts, trousers, sweaters, etc.

In terms of the format of practices and programs, Krishna West shares many similarities to the ISKCON movement. Many Krishna West centers, for example, have weekly meetings and gatherings. These gatherings—which vary between in-person and online modalities—typically begin with the singing or chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā mantra. Importantly, as per the Krishna West paradigm, the chanting/singing is not (just) accompanied by Indian instruments or the standard ISKCON harmonium, mṛdaṅga drums, etc. Rather, it is often accompanied by “western” instruments such as guitars, pianos, violins, keyboards, and the like. Further, in Krishna West, the mahā mantra is set to “western” melodies, including those of western classical music. Sometimes, devotees get creative with the melody, setting the mahā mantra to tunes of popular rock music such as those of Pink Floyd, the Eagles, etc.

In most Krishna West programming, a discussion of the Bhagavad-Gītā follows the chanting of the mantra. This discussion is often led by one individual, but is otherwise a very participatory conversation that concludes with Q & A. Importantly, because the ritual of mūrti pūjā (deity worship) is absent from Krishna West Centers, the programs in Krishna West are much more text-centered than in mainline ISKCON. After the Gītā discussion, the program concludes and the gathered attendees share a collective meal of prasādam. In a manner consistent with the principles of Krishna West, the meal is not the standard ISKCON Indian vegetarian fare. Instead, it is vegetarian food that is more “western-leaning,” and often includes dishes such as pasta, salad, soups, and pizza. Importantly, the cuisine in Krishna West centers matches the local fare of the community in which it is based: for example, if a Krishna West center is in Chile, vegetarian Chilean food would be served following the Gītā discussion.

In addition to weekly programs, there are a variety of other programs in Krishna West. These programs vary by location, but involve meetings to discuss Swami Prabhupada and Hridayananda Das Goswami’s books, gatherings to sing and chant the Hare Krishna mahā mantra, as well as gatherings that are purely social in nature (going for walks, sharing in prasādam, etc). In addition to the group practices, devotees in Krishna West maintain the individual practices that are standard in ISKCON: chanting jāpa (rounds of the mahā mantra chanted silently or softly to oneself using a mālā, or beaded rosary) and following ISKCON’s four regulative principles (no meat, fish, eggs, gambling, intoxication, or illicit sex) (Bromley and Shinn, eds. 1989; Bryant and Ekstrand, eds. 2004; Burke 1985, 2007; Dwyer and Cole, eds. 2007; Karapanagiotis 2021; Knott 1986; Squarcini and Fizzotti 2004). Krishna West devotees also endeavor to spread the teachings of Prabhupada and ISKCON by developing more and further Krishna West programs and distributing Prabhupada’s and Hridayananda Das Goswami’s books. These books include Swami Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is (Prabhupada 1986), Hridayananda Das Goswami’s A Comprehensive Guide to the Bhagavad-Gītā With Literal Translation (Goswami, 2015), and Hridayananda Das Goswami’s Quest for Justice: Select Tales with Modern Illuminations from the Mahabharata (Goswami 2017), amongst others.

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

Krishna West is a sub-movement of ISKCON; as such, it is housed under the authoritative structure of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC). Hridayananda Das Goswami, the founder of Krishna West, has mentioned on numerous occasions that it was important to Swami Prabhupada that ISKCON not split into different groups with altogether different leadership structures. Therefore, Krishna West remains under the umbrella of ISKCON and the GBC, even though administratively it might be easier if it were otherwise.

Despite the fact that Krishna West is under the umbrella of ISKCON, because it is a sub-movement, it also has its own leadership and organization. The official leader of Krishna West is Hridayananda Das Goswami. Working with Hridayananda Das Goswami, is a team of roughly fifty people, with roles ranging from “project leader,” “council member,” “liaison,” “manager,” and “coordinator,” to name a few. (Krishna West Website n.d. “Meet the Team”). Despite this setup, Krishna West leadership does not take a centralized or top-down approach. Instead, Krishna West’s organizational structure is decentralized and diffuse, and its projects and centers are ever-evolving.

There are Krishna West centers and projects all over the world, including in Mexico, Brazil, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, and Italy, to name just a few. Each of the centers in these locations is different and has its own individually designed and managed programming, along with its own management, and devotee-personnel. The organizational structure of Krishna West is best understood as a broad-based group of ISKCON devotees (most of whom are Hridayananda Das Goswami’s disciples) who have been tasked with starting and running Krishna West satellite centers and programs in their area, wherever they happen to be. This lends a very generative and fluid structure to the organization and leadership of Krishna West because it means that Krishna West grows and spreads according to the talents, abilities, time, location, and proclivities of these disciples themselves. It also means that each Krishna West center is different: not only with different sizes and capacities depending on the number of disciples, but also with different programming and programming styles depending on the disciples who run it.

A few other important dimensions of the organizational structure of Krishna West are of note. First, the different Krishna West centers and projects around the world are in different stages of development: while some have very regular programming, others do not. Further, because most Krishna West Centers are run by just a few devotees who operate on a volunteer basis, the state of these centers is often in flux. For example, if a devotee moves, takes a new job or, as during Covid 19, there is a shift in circumstances of the community, such as that a center might close or be dormant for a while. Therefore, while there are a lot of Krishna West centers officially listed on the group’s formal website, many are no longer in operation or are defunct (Krishna West Website n.d. “Projects”). The most robust Krishna West Centers are in South America: in particular, in Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. Krishna West Chicago and Krishna West Orlando (both in the United States) also have successful programs.

Finally, it is important to bear in mind that the term “center,” when looking at the organizational structure of Krishna West, is loose. This is for two reasons. First, not all (or even most) Krishna West centers have their own established, free-standing space: on the contrary, the overwhelming majority of Krishna West programs take place on a rotating basis in rented halls, yoga studios, and/or devotee homes. Second, the term “center” is often an umbrella term used to describe a group of different Krishna West programs and projects, each run by different disciples, that are being offered in the same city and that have complementary, but not identical programming. It should be noted, however, that although each Krishna West “center” is distinct and discrete, the disciples who run the various centers and programs nonetheless get together regularly for conversations to discuss the progress of their center, to converse about what is going well, and to collectively strategize about how to improve. Hridayananda Das Goswami himself also regularly meets with center and project leaders and visits the various Krishna West centers frequently.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

Although it was just founded in 2013, Krishna West proponents have encountered a number of challenges, largely stemming from devotees in the wider ISKCON movement and also ISKCON’s GBC. These challenges primarily revolve around conceptions of Krishna West’s beliefs, practices, and institutional identity with respect to the broader ISKCON movement. Some of these challenges led to the GBC issuing temporary preaching holds on Hridayananda Das Goswami (for example, in 2014 when the GBC banned him from going to Europe to preach Krishna West) (Karapanagiotis 2021). However, Krishna West was never exiled or excommunicated from ISKCON by the GBC. At present, Krishna West has established a peaceful place within the ISKCON umbrella, remaining both within, and also functionally adjacent to, the broader movement.

The most frequently raised challenge about Krishna West in ISKCON has to do with the changes that Hridayananda Das Goswami has instituted with respect to devotees’ manner of dress. As discussed previously, Hridayananda Das Goswami has argued that in Krishna West, devotees do not wear the South Asian devotional clothes that typically characterize ISKCON devotees’ manner of dress. Instead of dhotīs, kurtās, sarees, etc., devotees in Krishna West wear what Hridayananda Das Goswami refers to as “western clothing:” anything ranging from jeans, khaki pants, maxi dresses, blouses, and blazers.

Despite the fact that Hridayananda Das Goswami has not tried to change the way devotees dress within ISKCON’s mainline centers, the clothing changes he has made in Krishna West have nonetheless hit a deep existential nerve in the broader ISKCON movement, and many ISKCON devotees have taken these clothing changes to be an assault on a central aspect of their (and ISKCON’s) identity (Karapanagiotis 2021). The broad contours of the debate are as follows: while Hridayananda Das Goswami argues that dress is not essential to ISKCON beliefs or lived practices, devotees in the broader movement argue that the South Asian devotional clothing they wear is a dimension of the movement established by Prabhupada. It is also a chief way in which they ensure that their primary identity is a religious one (insofar as the clothing one wears impacts one’s self-understanding, state of mind, etc.). This clothing, they believe, also helps them remember Krishna and keep a detachment from the mundane world. Therefore, while Hridayananda Das Goswami only wishes to retain in Krishna West what he sees to be the “essence of” ISKCON (and he does not believe that South Asian devotional clothes fit this criterion), ISKCON devotees in the larger movement do not believe that the “essence” of ISKCON can be syphoned out of the movement and/or believe that if there is an “essence,” it includes specific manners of South Asian devotional dress.

Hridayananda Das Goswami makes a distinction between what is essential in ISKCON (or what is “eternal” as he calls it) and what is non-essential in ISKCON (or “external”). This distinction is at the heart of much of the backlash against Krishna West. In making this distinction, Hridayananda Das Goswami contends that he is following the teachings of Prabhupada and argues that Prabhupada himself did not feel that Indian clothing is an essential dimension of the movement (nor, according to Hridayananda Das Goswami, did he feel other aspects (such as Indian food, Indian music, etc.) were essential). Instead, what mattered to Prabhupada, he claims, were practices like chanting, eating sanctified food, and reading, learning from, and distributing the Bhagavad-Gītā. (Karapanagiotis 2021). According to Hridayananda Das Goswami, it did not matter to Prabhupada whether these activities were done in Indian or “western” clothes; if devotees ate Indian or “western” prasādam, etc. Many devotees in the broader ISKCON movement, however, disagree with this formulation, believing that Hridayananda Das Goswami is “pandering to the crowd,” and is disingenuously altering Swami Prabhupada’s teachings in order to attract “westerners.” In other words, to mainline ISKCON devotees, Hridayananda Das Goswami is conveniently claiming that particular dimensions of the ISKCON movement are non-essential (or “non-eternal”) because he believes these dimensions will not appeal to the “westerners” whom he is hoping to attract to the movement. Nowhere is this controversy more heated than when it comes to the set-up of Krishna West centers, most notably, their conspicuous absence of Krishna mūrtis (deities) and the accompanying rituals of mūrti pūjā, or worshipping/serving the deities. For many devotees in the broader ISKCON movement, this absence is an affront to a cherished and central dimension of ISKCON: certainly one that they see as being essential. Hridayananda Das Goswami, however, argues that Prabhupada’s main mission was to preach and spread the ISKCON movement, noting that Prabhupada had the temples built to support the mission of preaching, not to become central dimensions of the movement in their own right. (Karapanagiotis 2021).

Although they do not use the language of essential versus non-essential (or eternal versus external), other gurus also host ISKCON programs in non-temple spaces (such as meditation lounges, yoga studios, etc.) and most often these spaces are deliberately without mūrtis and mūrti pūjā. Further, these programs are staffed by devotees who wear what Hridayananda Das Goswami labels “western” clothing. Importantly, all of this is done intentionally so as to try to attract “westerners” (Karapanagiotis 2021). These gurus and their programs, too, receive backlash from those in the broader ISKCON movement for similar reasons as does Hridayananda Das Goswami. However, Krishna West receives more backlash than do these other gurus and programs because Hridayananda Das Goswami has noted that Krishna West is not intended to be a “bridge,” but rather, to be a “destination” (Karapanagiotis 2021). This language of “bridge” versus “destination” refers to the fact that while the other gurus who design ISKCON programs in lounges, yoga studios, etc. in order to attract a “western” audience do so as a means to an end, Hridayananda Das Goswami’s Krishna West is an end in itself. In other words, while the other gurus present a “western” inflected ISKCON in order to attract “westerners,” their ultimate aim is nonetheless to eventually bring these “westerners” into the mainline ISKCON movement and its temple-based communities. Krishna West proponents, on the other hand, are not trying to draw “westerners” into mainline ISKCON’s temples or temple communities. Instead, Krishna West is, as Hridayananda Das Goswami himself notes, a destination in itself.

Last but not least, it is certainly controversial that Krishna West (and other ISKCON initiatives similar to it) are striving to draw in “western” audiences to the movement rather than being content with a large (and growing) congregant base of committed Indian devotees. In fact, the very division of “western” versus Indian is itself problematic as it is an overly simplistic and troubling binary division of people that only makes sense in an Indian colonial framework. These controversies, however, tend to be raised by outsiders to the ISKCON movement, rather than devotees within it. This is because the desire to have a globally-based congregant base was so frequently discussed by Swami Prabhupada (and his predecessor gurus in the ISKCON lineage) that it is part of the ISKCON movement’s central identity and mission. This mission persists to this day and permeates the evangelic spirit of the ISKCON movement in all of its major centers, including those in India.

IMAGES

Image #1: Hridayananda Das Goswami playing the piano. Source: Krishna West Website. Accessed 9/1/23.
Image #2: Krishna West London Gathering. Source: Krishna West Facebook page (public). Accessed 9/1/23.
Image #3: Krishna West Gathering. Source: Krishna West Facebook page (public). Accessed 9/1/23.

REFERENCES**

Bromley, David G. and Larry D. Shinn, eds. 1989. Krishna Consciousness in the West. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press.

Bryant, Edwin, and Maria Ekstrand, eds. 2004. The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. New York: Columbia University Press.

Delmonico, Neal. 2007. “Chaitanya Vaishnavism and the Holy Names.” Pp. 549–75 in Krishna: A Sourcebook, edited by Edwin F. Bryant. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Dimock, Jr., Edward C. 1999. Caitanya Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja: A Translation and Commentary. Edited by Tony K. Stewart. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Dwyer, Graham and Richard J. Cole, eds. 2007. The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant and Change. London: I. B. Tauris.

Gosvāmin, Rūpa. 2003. Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu. The Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmin. Translated with Introduction and Notes by David L. Haberman. New Delhi and Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1.2.233.

Goswami, H.D.. 2017. Quest for Justice: Select Tales with Modern Illuminations from the Mahabharata. Gainesville: Krishna West Inc.

Goswami, H.D. 2015. A Comprehensive Guide to the Bhagavad-Gītā With Literal Translation. Gainesville: Krishna West, Inc.

Haddon, Malcolm. 2003. ‘‘Anthropological Proselytism: Reflexive Questions for a Hare Krishna Ethnography.’’ Australian Journal of Anthropology 24:250–69.

Hein, Norvin. 1994. “Chaitanya’s Ecstasies and the Theology of the Name.” Journal of Vaishnava Studies 2:7-27.

Karapanagiotis, Nicole. 2021. Branding Bhakti: Krishna Consciousness and the Makeover of a Movement. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Karapanagiotis, Nicole. 2019. “Automatic Rituals and Inadvertent Audiences: ISKCON, Krishna and the Ritual Mechanics of Facebook.” Pp. 51-67 in Digital Hinduism, edited by Xenia Zeiler. New York: Routledge Press.

Karapanagiotis, Nicole. 2018. “Of Digital Images and Digital Media: Approaches to Marketing in American ISKCON.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religion 21:74–102.

King, Anna S. 2012. ‘‘Krishna’s Prasadam: ‘Eating our way back to godhead.’’’ Material Religion 8:440–65.

Knott, Kim. 1986. My Sweet Lord: The Hare Krishna Movement. Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press.

Krishna West Facebook Page (public). 2023. Accessed from https://www.facebook.com/KrishnaWest. on 1 September 2023.

Krishna West Website. n.d. Accessed from https://krishnawest.com/ on 1 September 2023.

Prabhupada, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 1986. Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is: Complete Edition Revised and Enlarged with Original Sanskrit Text, Roman Transliteration, English Equivalents, Translation, and Elaborate Purports. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 1974. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: With the Original Sanskrit Text, Its Roman Transliteration, Synonyms, Translation and Elaborate Purports by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 1973. “The Nectar of Devotion — Bombay, January 4, 1973.” Lectures: Vaniquotes. Accessed from https://vaniquotes.org /wiki/If_you_chant_loudly_Hare_Krsna,_even_the_ants_and_insect_who_is_hearing,_he’ll_bedelivered,_because_it_is_spiritual_vibration._It_will_act_for_everyone on 28 May 2018.

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 1973. Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi: Ādilīlā Volume Two “Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the Renounced Order of Life” with the original Bengali text, Roman transliterations, synonyms, translation and elaborate purports. New York, Los Angeles, London, Bombay: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī. 1968. “Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (Caitanya Mahāprabhu): The Eight Instructions of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” (From: “Teachings of Lord Caitanya, 1968). Accessed from http://www.prabhupadabooks.de/chaitanya/siksastakam_en.html on 27 May 2018.

Rochford, E. Burke, Jr. 2007. Hare Krishna Transformed. New York: New York University Press.

Rochford, E. Burke, Jr. 1985. Hare Krishna in America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Squarcini, Federico, and Eugenio Fizzotti. 2004. Hare Krishna. Salt Lake City: Signature Books.

Zeller, Benjamin E. 2012. ‘‘Food Practices, Culture, and Social Dynamics in the Hare Krishna Movement.” Pp. 681-702 in Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production, edited by Carole M. Cusack and Alex Norman. Boston: Brill.

**Special thanks to Cassius Blankenship, my undergraduate research assistant, who worked with me on the ethnography on which this entry is based. His many insights have made their way into the analyses here. Thanks also to Ishana Das of Krishna West Orlando, Krishna Das of Krishna West Chicago, and Panchali Dasi of Krishna West Chile for the dates they provided for Krishna West timeline, their assistance in understanding the organizational structure of Krishna West, and their generosity in hosting Cassius and me at their programs.

Publication Date:
3 September 2023

GOOD NEWS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES TIMELINE

1973/1976:  Paul Nthenge Mackenzie was born.

1999-2000s:  Mackenzie worked as a taxi driver.

1999-2000:  Mackenzie reported receiving a calling from God in which he was instructed to preach.

2003:    Mackenzie founded the House of the Lord (later registered as the Good News International Church) in Malindi with Ruth Kahindi.

2003:  Mackenzie was married for the first time to Agnes (“Mama Dan).

2009/2010:  “Mama Dan” died.

2009/2010:  Mackenzie’s father died.

2010:  Mackenzie’s sermons received considerable visibility as they were viewed as radical and contentious.

2010 (September):  Good News International Church was registered and issued a  certificate.

2011:  Mackenzie married his second wife, Joyce Mwikamba.

2015:  Mackenzie’s TV station and YouTube channel launched successfully.

2017:  Mackenzie’s second wife died after a period of ill health.

2017 (October):  Police took custody of ninety-three children in the group and charged Mackenzie with “promoting radicalization.”  

2018:  One of Makenzie’s churches in Magarini, Kilifi County was destroyed by local residents.

2019:  Mackenzie was arrested on the grounds of possession and distribution of films to the public without due authorization by Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB).

2019:  Mackenzie officially closed his church after reporting that he heard that the voice of Christ told him his work was complete.

2019:  Mackenzie and a few hundred followers left Malindi and established an enclave in sparsely populated Shakahola Forest.

2020 (March):  COVID-19 was first reported in Kenya.

2020 (October):  An extended period without rainfall began creating the worst drought conditions in forty years.

2023 (March 16-17):  It was revealed that two bodies of children were buried by their parents Isaac Ngala, Emily Kaunga, and Paul Mackenzie.

2023 (April 15):  Mackenzie was arrested after the exhuming of ninety bodies in Shakahola Forest.

2023 (April 27):  Pastor Ezekial Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer and Centre, was arrested in Malindi as a result of his alleged links to Mackenzie’s movement.

2023 (April 28):  A total of 109 bodies were exhumed from Shakahola Forest, and twenty-two associated with Mackenzie’s movement were arrested.

2023 (May 1):    Paul Mackenzie’s wife, Rhoda Mumbua Maweu, was arrested by the police for her crucial role in recruitment and financial decisions in Mackenzie’s church operations.

2023 (May 4):    Pastor Ezekiel Odero was released on a cash bail.

2023 (June 19):  Suspect Joseph Juma Buyuka died in custody during a ten-day hunger strike.

2023 (July):  The Kenyan government de-registered five religious organizations, including Paul Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries.

2023 (September 18):  Authorities in Keyna extended the detention of Paul Mackenzie 180 days, through February 2024 so that all of the remains recovered to date can be medically processed.

2023 (October):  The number of recorded deaths associated with the Shakahola site surpassed 450.

2023 (November):  Mackenzie was found guilty on showing films on his television station
without the approval of the Kenya Film Classification Board.

2024 (January 31):  The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration declared Good News International Ministries to be an organized criminal group.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

The revolution in the structure and place of religion in Kenya, of which the Good News Ministries is part, is one element in the larger transformations of the world order. The groups involved in this reordering defy easy summary as “The qualities displayed by revitalized faiths are thus a complex configuration of old and new, uniform and diverse, the global and thoroughly domesticated” (Comaroff 2015:231). As she has described this transformative process (2015:232):

There has also been a widespread popular impetus, in the early 21st Century world, toward redefining the role of religion in the civic order; a widespread effort to recover a sense of authenticity and sovereign authority in the world. All this implies thoroughgoing structural transformation. Indeed, there is much to suggest that the character of contemporary faith is integral to a reorganization of core components of capitalist modernity as a social formation, a world-wide process that has specific implications for postcolonial Africa. This shift has involved an intensification of some signature features of modern society, and an eclipse of others, a process made manifest in the changing ethos and institutional form of liberal democracies across the world. These changes vary in local manifestation, and so, too, does the nature and impact of religious revitalization.

Both Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism have spread rapidly in Kenya since the nation formally gained independence from Britain in 1963. It has been estimated that over ninety percent of the Kenyan population is Christian (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023) and about half of the population is evangelical, including Kenya’s president and his wife. As many as 15,000,000-20,000,000 Kenyans may be Pentecostals. Pentecostalism began to impact Kenya in the 1960s with visits by famous American evangelists, including Oral Roberts and Billy Graham. Pentecostal missionaries arrived in the mid-1960s and established denominational representation, such as the Kenya Assemblies of God (Joshua 2019). In addition to the denominationally affiliated churches, a wave of African Indigenous Churches (which contained elements of their denominational traditions and distinctively African elements as well) also appeared and grew rapidly (Comaroff 2015; Odey 2020; Andrew 2023). Their identities indicate their independence and Pentecostal leanings: Mombasa Pentecostal Churches (MPC), Deliverance Church of Kenya (DCK), Jesus Is Alive Ministries (JIAM-Nairobi), Jesus Celebration Centre (JCC-Mombasa), Neno Evangelism Ministries, The Happy Churches, Faith Evangelistic Ministries, Jubilee Christian Centre (JCC-Nairobi), Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM-Nairobi), and the Winners Chapel International Ministries (Gathogo 2022).

The proximate base of support for these new, independent groups in Kenya has been attributed to both erosion of traditional cultural moorings and inept government (which, of course, link back to changes in the global social order). Kagema and Maina (2014:36-37) observe that

In the traditional Kenyan society life was basically communal.” However, as traditional communal culture is dissolving, new movements are creating a new notion to its members by instilling a feeling of being away from the harsh and brutalizing realities in life. The NCMs are creating a sense of importance in their member’s lives. These movements are coming up with new values of self-perceptions, self-growth and self-development upon the members by developing goals in life. They always try to interpret any social, economic and political turmoil or deprivation in a positive manner thus creating hope upon the members. This explains why poor Kenyans are flocking in these NCMs in large numbers.

Aniche (2018:236–55) has argued that new groups, which are independent and tend to be led by “Big Men,” can be understood as the product of ineffective national government:

As the African governments fail to address cutting-edge issues facing their respective societies, the African-Pentecostal’s Big Persons emerge with a promise for a better day. In other words, the failure of the political establishments in the socio-existential realm triggers this shifting of landscapes to an extent. This means that the Church now becomes an alternative government by default, a government that compliments the failures of the central government.

Their messages tended to be apocalyptic and to promote “evangelizations to the furthest corners of the earth, in order to give the Just one last chance to make themselves known” (Gez, Droz, and Maupeu 2021:108). Some of these movements have ventured into physically risky practices, but violence has largely been precipitated by terrorist groups, such as Al-Shabaab (Elle 2023; Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:17-18). Other established religions, particularly Catholicism and Islam, have been regarded as false or Satanic. In some cases religious group leaders have become directly involved in political activity and sought governmental office. Good News Ministries, founded by Paul Mackenzie, is one of those new, independent groups.

Paul Mackenzie [Image at right] was born in Lunga Lunga, Kwale County in 1976 into a Baptist practicing famiy (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:44; Kiser 2024). His father, Kitivo Makenzi Kisini, was a contractor and, later, a protestant preacher (Standard Media 2023). His mother was Anastacia Mwele. The family was part of the Kamba ethnic community (Kiser 2024). The family faced financial challenges as Paul was the fourth/fifth child in a family of ten.

Mackenzie attended Mwalewa School for his primary studies and then Lukore Secondary School. After completing primary and high school education, he joined a local Bible college where he studied theology. After completing secondary school, Mackenzie moved to live with his firstborn brother in Likoni, Mombasa. Mackenzie had learned to drive and, with the assistance of his sister, who owned an automobile, had been able to start a taxi business in Malindi. He drove a taxi in Malindi between 1995 and 2011. He settled in Malindi and, by 1999, was a resident there. Malindi is a tourist-oriented coastal city northeast of Mobassa with a substantial Italian population and a resident population of just over 100,000. Mackenzie started attending church sermons on weekends as he continued his taxi business. He married his first wife, Agnes (known as Mama Dan), in 2003 and the couple had two children, a son (Daniel) and a daughter (Virginia). Both his father and his first wife died in 2009/2010. In 2012 he married his second wife, Joyce Mwikamba, with whom he had three/four children. In 2017, his second wife died after a period of ill health. He subsequently married Rhoda Mambua Maweu, and the couple has had one child (Atetwe 2023).

For a time, Mackenzie attended a Catholic and Baptist churches before moving on to the African Brotherhood Church (Standard Team 2023). During 1999-2000, Mackenzie reported receiving a calling from God and was instructed to preach (Nation 2023). That year he began preaching sermons for the Baptist affiliated Malindi Fellowship (which later distanced from him) and then, with his wife and Ms. Ruth Kahindi, founded a conventional church, “House of the Lord” (Hussein 2023a). Mackenzie had met Kahindi earlier when both attended a Baptist Church (Mwanesi 2023). The House of the Lord was soon renamed and registered as Good News International Church, a non-profit and non-political organization. Initially, the sermons were considered inspirational, and Makenzie told his followers said God told him that the village where Good News was located would become as famous as Bethlehem. Mackenzie subsequently set up several branch congregations in Nairobi City and along the Kenyan coast (Hussein and Kalama 2023). Taken together, his church network congregation grew to several thousand.

Mackenzie’s rapid rise to prominence was not extraordinary in this environment. As, Kagema, Dickson and Millicent Maina (2014:45) observe, unsophisticated and entrepreneurial individuals have rapidly ascended to leadership positions in new groups:

Many of the famous and rich NCMs preachers in Kenya are known to be from a very poor background. However they always argue that God has uplifted then from nothing to ‘great men and women of God’. For instance, during his preaching, Pastor Maina Ng’ang’a of NEM often testifies how at one time he was a cart pusher, a gangster and the many times he had been jailed. He also testifies that he is a class three dropout but the glory of God has covered him that nobody notices. Bishop Margaret Wanjiru of JAM also testifies how she used to be a simple hotelier and the many times they slept hungry with her other siblings. She now claims that God has uplifted her to a great height to serve Him. Many other preachers of the NCMs in Kenya have taken this trend as they try their luck. In many times such preachers always get followers.

In late 2010, however, Mackenzie’s sermons began to receive considerable scrutiny and criticism. The sermons became fiery, contentious, and laced with End Times apocalyptic messages (Okwembah 2023; Mackenzie and Feleke 2023). Despite his controversiality, Mackenzie’s popularity increased when he launched a TV station and YouTube channel, enabling him to reach a wider audience beyond Kenya (Maombo 2023).

However, just a few years after Mackenzie’s popularity was peaking, in 2017 his ministry began a downward spiral as he faced a succession of investigations, arrests and prosecutions. [See, Issues/Challenges] Most significantly, Mackenzie was arrested but released on four times for his controversial sermons, but acquitted after every time due to lack of evidence.  However, in one such incident in October 2017, police took custody of ninety-three children in the group and charged Mackenzie with “promoting radicalization.” 2019 was a pivotal year as Mackenzie announced in one of his YouTube sermons that Christ had informed him that the End Times messages he had been preaching at Christ’s instruction had come to an end. As Mackenzie recounted: “I followed the voice that told me that I had finished the work” (Reuters 2023). Mackenzie then announced closure of his church, sale of the property to Ezekiel Odero of the New Life International Ministry, and a move to the area just outside of Malindi known as Shakahola Forest with a small number of followers to restart his mission (Report of the the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:48).

This was a transformative moment in the group’s history, symbolized by the End Time pronouncement and the withdrawal from conventional society into a remote and secluded existence. It is clear that the group radicalized during this time. There was another dramatic change in 2023 when authorities discovered that two children had died from what appeared to be starvation, and the dramatic investigations, exhumations, and prosecutions began. [See, Issues/Challenges]

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

Mackenzie’s message was essentially a bricolage of elements drawn from his personal history and his surrounding environment. These included apocalyptic endtime, genealogical polarization, contemporary conspiracy theory, and accelerationist components. Most of the elements of his teachings (and derivative rituals) can be found in many groups through history (apocalypticism, endtime prophecy, withdrawal from conventional society, exclusive path to salvation, spiritual healing practices, avoidance of established medical treatment, exorcism, fasting, personal and group sacrificial acts, ingestion of dangerous substances). In addition, Mackenzie has incorporated elements of the “deep state” conspiracy theories to symbolize impending evil. Most distinctively, he has linked extreme, protracted fasting, which resulted in mass deaths within the group, as a necessary accelerant to bring on promise Endtime events.  Essentially, Mackenzie has taught followers that the world around them is very dangerous indeed, that the Endtime is upon them, that his ministry is the only path to safety, and that a great sacrifice is required to accelerate the arrival of the Endtime.

Mackenzie’s teachings were significantly influenced by a fringe Christian doctrine proposed by William Branham, who emerged as a significant figure in the New Order of the Latter Rain movement that appeared after World War II, drew on several major revival events. and was quite influential through the 1960s. The movement was subsequently rejected by mainstream Christian denominational groups and mainstream Pentecostal groups. However, Branham’s doctrines did influence the founders of some new religious movements, such as Peoples Temple (Collins 2023; Collins and Duyzer 2019). There is some evidence that Mackenzie obtained some of Branham’s broadcasts through Voice of God Recordings, based in Jefferson, Indiana, and rehearsed them in his own voice as part of his ministry (Kiser 2024).

One important element of Branham’s thought was what has variously been termed “two-seedline” or “serpent seed” theory. There have been numerous, nuanced strands of this doctrine across its circuitous history, with various assertions of even which historical groups constitute the actual “seeds.” The generic two-seedline doctrine offers a putative biblically based account of the Garden of Eden in which Eve consummated a sexual relationship with the serpent, and the offspring of this relationship was Cain. Eve subsequently bore Adam’s child. The result of these two sexual unions was the creation of two opposed seedlines that are understood to have been in conflict throughout human history. This interpretation stands in opposition to mainstream Christian doctrine that everyone were born with original sin, but everyone can become children of God through conversion to Christianity.

Mackenzie was influenced by some elements of the New Latter Rain tradition and some that were more directly drawn from Branham’s thought. Mackenzie’s central teachings evolved around his apocalyptic “end time” messages, which he promoted on his YouTube channel, that “the end is not near anymore; THE END IS HERE!” (End Times Breaking, 2019a). A banner on the channel proclaimed “We are about to win the battle… let no-one turn back… the journey is about to be accomplished” (Mwai, Barrow and Njoroge 2023). Mackenzie appears to have also picked up on other doctrinal material scattered through Branham’s doctrines. Most significantly, Branham delivered a sermon toward the end of his life in which he warned listeners that “no one wants to die” but that some among them would have to “die in martyrdom” (Hardy 2023). There was an accelerationist element as well in the “atomic power” doctrine (adopted from Franklin Hall’s book Atomic Power with God, Thru Fasting and Prayer, 1946) that spiritual progress could be achieved through forty days of fasting and prayer. The sacrifice theme became central to Good News Ministries once the group had isolated in Sakahola Forest. The Endtime was expected in August 2023 (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:48; Standard Team 2023).

RITUALS/PRACTICES

Mackenzie adopted ritual practices characteristic of some new Pentecostal groups in and around Kenya. A central theme in his “word-based teachings, preaching, and prophecy” was apocalyptic “end time” messages, which he spread on his YouTube channel, saying that “the end is not near anymore; THE END IS HERE!” (End Times Breaking, 2019a; (Good News Ministry website n.d.). Most of his impassioned sermons included his making prophetic announcements by himself or members of his church, and videos from older sermons often showed how his prophecies were fulfilled, sometimes in less than one day (End Times Breaking, Mackenzie 2020a). Mackenzie also often performed healings, including exorcisms, in which “followers – often women – writhe around on the ground while he ‘torments’ the demonic forces within them” (Mwai, Barrow and Njoroge 2023).

Children, whom he referred to as “End Time Kids,” frequently appeared on the TV channel, reciting verses from the Bible or talking about the doctrines they had learned (End Times Breaking, 2019b). Once Mackenzie had moved to Sakahola Forest, announced the Endtime was imminent, and began preparing for the sacrificial starvations, he determined that the ordering of the deaths would be children, followed by women, followed by men, followed by himself (Higgins 2023). The Report of the Ad Hoc Committee (2023:50) described the process in the following way:

Based on witness accounts and their own investigation, the KNCHR submitted that Paul Makenzie had recruited a group of armed militia (both men and women known as “enforcers”) who were to supervise and enforce the starvation and eventual death of the followers. The “enforcers” dug shallow graves where they buried those who had succumbed to starvation. Those who defied the directive to fast or attempted to escape were either strangled or clobbered to death by the “enforcers”.

Subsequent exhumations and autopsies confirmed causes of death: “The autopsies revealed that the majority of victims died of starvation, while some had signs of manual strangulation and blunt trauma injuries” (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:55).

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

Good News International, like a number of other emerging religious groups in Kenya, challenges a range of institutions and practices in their host societies. As Comaroff (2015:227) observes, these movements

do not merely question, from below, the tenets of liberal modernist knowing and being. They aim, also, to counter the social organization synonymous with the modernist world-view canonized, above all, in the liberal nation-state, with its secular civic sphere clearly separated from the realm of sectarian culture and private belief. In late modern times, born again faiths have tended to strive – albeit in distinctive ways – to reshape this sociology of modernity; to challenge the authority and neutrality of state law, and the secularism of the market. Many late modern faiths work to unify the fragmented realms and plural cultures of liberal modern societies, thus to reclaim the profane reaches of everyday life as vehicles of divine purpose.

Mackenzie, who was referred within the group as “Servant of God” or “Servant P.N. Mackenzie” (Good News Ministry website, n.d.), claimed to have spiritual prophetic power and the ability to see apparitions of Jesus (Hussein and Kalama 2023c). He used his leadership position to challenge a range of Kenyan institutions, such as public education and secular medicine. He also attacked the emerging global order.

Formal education is rejected as unbiblical, with an emphasis on the connection between education and sexual education and sexual education as promotion of alternative sexual expression. As he has put it, “I told people education is evil…. Children are taught gayism and lesbianism.” As for educators, “They know education is evil. But they use it for their own [financial] gains” (Mwai, Barrow and Njoroge 2023; End Times Breaking 2020).

Mackenzie’s policies concerning medicine can be linked to COVID. COVID-19 arrived in Kenya in March of 2020. The Minister for Health invoked the Public Health Act to authorize state action to control the spread of the virus. The responses by religious groups varied widely (Muchui 2020:1). Mackenzie used Covid to reinforce his opposition to conventional medical practice, including pregnancy check-ups, hospital care, and vaccination of children, as physicians “serve a different God” and are “part of the evil Babylonian system” (Muchui 2023).

More broadly, Mackenzie has positioned his ministry in resistance to the emerging world order and has supported conspiratorial explanations for its emergence. He has preached that powerful satanic forces that have captured major global power centers, which he terms the “New World Order.” These global elites have sought to wrest control over nation states and form an authoritarian world government. He has specifically targeted the Roman Catholic Church, the United Nations, and the United States as members of this global conspiracy. One video, for example, “Kisha Nikaona” (Then I Saw), shows images and signs of the Illuminati, the Catholic Church, the World Trade Organization, and Barack Obama portrayed as a devil)….At the same time, he has also targeted the government of Kenya, particularly for its plan to create individual identification numbers for citizens (huduma namba), which he has claimed are the “mark of the beast” (Mwai, Barrow, and Njoroge 2023).

Once Mackenzie had announced the closure of his church in Malindi, he sold his church building, vehicles, and the television station that hosted his ministry broadcasts. Mackenzie and a group of several hundred followers then sought to re-establish his ministry in Shakahola Forest, located in Chakama (Koech 2023). [Image at right] A 100,000-acre Chakama Settlement Project had been established by the Kenyan Government in the 1960s as a place to resettle landless people, but little progress had been made with resettlement. While the area contains numerous small villages, much of it is sparsely populated and has been beset by squatters and landgrabbers, which has led to land disputes and occasional violence. Mackenzie reportedly sold small pieces of the 800-acre tract to which he claimed ownership to followers who resettled with him. Mackenzie also divided the tract into districts with biblical names like Nazareth, Judea, Jericho and Jerusalem. MacKenzie named the section in which he lived Galilee, the area in which Jesus lived through much of his life (Higgins 2023).

Though Mackenzie’s followers occupied several hundred acres of Shakahola forest, it is unclear whether Mackenzie owned the property. The Shakama Ranching Company Limited, which has claimed ownership of the larger 100,000-acre tract asserted that no contract had been completed and no payment had been made (Citizen Team 2023; Ostiento 2023). Mackenzie therefore may well have profited from the sale of property he did not own and potentially face legal charges.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

Mackenzie’s ministry began to face challenges just a few years after its founding. He initially did deliver sermons that were considered inspirational, established branch congregations (notably in Nairobi), and gained a substantial following through the internet. However, he began to attract opposition in 2010 for his contentious and apocalyptic sermons. His legal difficulties escalated dramatically in 2017. The focal issue was legally related to the deaths of his adherents, but he also faced potential charges over his financial dealings and property ownership claims (Higgins 2023).

The challenges facing Good News Ministries and Mackenzie personally mounted dramatically beginning in 2017. In March of that year Mackenzie was accused of “radicalizing children,” and the church was raided in October when he was charged with violation of the Basic Education Act for offering education at an unregistered institution. Additional charges were filed for failing to take his own child to compulsory primary and secondary education and failing to provide the right to education for a child (Obar 2023). Over ninety children were taken into custody in the raid. He was briefly arrested and then released for radicalization and promoting extremist beliefs in October under laws that had been passed to counter terrorism (Higgins 2023). In 2018, residents living near one of his churches who opposed his preaching demolished one of his churches and razed the home of one of his pastors (Njoki 2023). The following year Mackenzie was arrested for possession and unauthorized public distribution of films and for operating a film studio without a Kenya Film Classification Board valid licensing from the KFCB (Mtalaki 2023).

Mackenzie closed his church and moved to the Sakahola Forest in 2019. Formal legal against the group resumed and escalated in 2023. The police came to suspect that the parents within the group had starved and suffocated their children, as instructed by Mackenzie, and had buried two children in a shallow grave on March 16 and 17 of 2023 (Kithi 2023). Mackenzie was then arrested on March 22, and the Malini Court ordered the exhumation of the bodies. In the wake of these developments, a group of armed locals from the neighbouring village began attacking people they believed to be followers of Mackenzie in Shakahola Forest (Hussein and Kalama 2023b). This incident marked the “turning point” for investigators as some victims of the attack slowly shared information on the secret activities happening in the Shakahola encampment (Kimmanthi 2023). What followed was the discovery of mass graves, which led to an extended process of grave marking, exhumation, autopsy and identification (Hussein 2023e). [Image at right]

On April 15, 2023, Mackenzie was arrested, along with thirteen other suspects who police announced would be detained until the investigation was complete (Kalama and Hussein 2023). Hundreds of individuals have remained listed as missing (Ocharo 2023c). As the investigation progressed, police reported that some of the dead fasted until they starved to death, and some were bludgeoned, suffocated, or strangled. Before their deaths some members were held coercively, physically restrained, and controlled by armed guards (Kithi 2023).

The rapidly developing investigation into the fate of those who had been living in Shakahola Forest, the massive and rising death toll, the unresolved cause of death for many of those exhumed, and the large number of individuals who could not be accounted for sent shockwaves through Kenyan society. In the short term, the area around Shakahola Forest has experienced a steep economic decline as the thriving tourist trade has evaporated while the area has been flooded by friends and family searching for hundreds of missing persons (Rubadiri 2023). More significant are the longer-term issues that Kenya faces. Given the various ways in which individuals perished, there is a question of who will be legally culpable (Badurdeen 2023a). In addition to the virtually unanimous condemnation of Mackenzie, there is a debate over whether the government should be held accountable for lax regulation of religious entities.  Given the Kenyan constitution, there is the question of how can a balance be struck between freedom of religious expression and regulatory responsibility (Badurdeen 2023b). Existing law also creates the possibility that Mackenzie could be charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2012. To what extent can religious groups be self-regulating given an open religious economy (Badurdeen 2023a).

There has already been some governmental response to the Good News case. Five churches, including Good News, were de-registered by the government. A governmental task force has been commissioned to develop a legal framework for scrutiny and self-regulation of religious institutions (Anyango 2023). The Kenya Parliament issued a 175-page report in September 2023 listing some twenty-one causes of action against Good News and Mackenzie. These include (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee 2023:17, 74-80):

(1) recruited hundreds of vulnerable people through agents in different parts of the country who systematically lured followers to their death through deceptive recruitment tactics which he intensified during the uncertainty and anxiety occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic;
(2) manipulated his followers by promising them land and financially exploited them by requiring them to sell their assets and hand over the proceeds to him;
(3) created an armed gang which he employed to violently enforce his starvation doctrine by attacking and killing followers who changed their minds about willingly starve themselves to death;
(4) set up a makeshift court where he held mock trials of followers who had refused to comply with starvation orders. The orders from this makeshift court would be enforced by the armed gang;
(5) exploited the vulnerability and impressionable minds of children who had no agency and subjected them to painful and slow death by starvation;
(6) violated the fundamental human rights and freedoms of his followers including the right to life, right to human dignity, freedom and security of persons, subjected them to physical and psychological torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, denied them access to health care, shelter and food in clear violation of Articles 26, 28, 29, 43, 53 of the Constitution

A coalition of religious groups has also responded with the formation of the Code of Conduct and Governance Guidelines for the Church in Kenya led by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Chairman Bishop Emeritus David Oginde. This initiative was to self-regulate and avoid governmental oversight (Olale 2023). As one of the members of the Steering Committee put the matter: “Let the congregants hold their leaders accountable. When they see me doing the contrary, let them stand up and say ‘that is not right, we will not agree, and we will not allow you to do that.” There are seven  principles in the guidelines:

1. Integrity and ethical conduct are central to Biblical teaching and practice.

2. The church shall promote and enhance the wellbeing of the brethren and of society as a whole in accordance with Christian beliefs and convictions, and refrain from any conduct that undermines the constructive role that churches play in the society.

3. The church shall respect, protect and preserve life and shall refrain from any conduct that devalues, dehumanizes or destroys life.

4. The church shall endeavour to uphold the sanctity of life.

5. The church individually and collectively, shall respect and uphold the dignity of every person and shall not abuse or exploit any person, or do anything to violate or degrade that person.

6. The church values children, born and unborn, and shall act in their best interest when under their care by protecting them.

7. The church shall respect the right of every person to join any faith or religion of other choice without bullying, harassment, intimidation or victimization.

The Report of the Ad Hoc Committee (2023:99-109) actively debated self-regulation and government regulation in the wake of the Good News episode. A major consideration has been the viability of self-regulation in a nation with an estimated 4,000 religious groups, absent any mandatory enforcement mechanism, and with opposition by the large number of the new, independent groups (Orindey and Chiba 2023).

The future of Good News International Ministries appears to be uncertain at best as members living in the Shakota Forest have been uprooted, the group lacks a physical location as it did not legally possess the land it occupied. Mackenzie and over two dozen of his followers have been held in police custody for an extended period, and more serious criminal charges and prolonged time in custody are in the offing (Nation Team 2023; Mwangi 2023). Indeed, “A Senate report has accused Paul Makenzi of being the mastermind of the Shakahola massacre and recommended he be charged for the death of at least 429 people” (Sanga 2023). On November 10, 2023, Mackenzie was convicted of showing films on his Times Television program without the approval of the Kenya Film Classification Board (Igunza 2023). Mackenzie is currently incarcerated while awaiting new court proceedings (Ocharo and Kalama 2023). On January 31, 2024 Good News International Ministries was declared to be an organized criminal group. Mackenzie and a number of followers therefore face charges of murder, child torture and “terrorism.” Additional charges and prison sentences appear to be a distinct possibility. Mackenzie and his incarcerated followers have responded with hunger strikes that have left them physically debilitated (Mghenyi 2024). The movement  may survive in some form in the near term; the most likely possibility is a small, fringe group with a precarious existence.

IMAGES

Image #1: Paul Mackenzie.
Image #2: Cover of Franklin Hall’s Atomic Power with God.
Image #3: Shakahola Forest.
Image #4: Exhumation of bodies in Shakahola Forest.
Image #5: A coalition of religious leaders seeking to establish a code of conduct for religious organizations.

REFERENCES

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Andrew, Divinah. 2023. “The Impact of Globalization on the Traditional Religious Practices and Cultural Values: A Case Study of Kenya.” International Journal of Culture and Religious Studies 4:1–12.

Aniche, Ernest. 2018. “Africa’s big men in the continent’s democratic experiments.” Pp. 236-55 in  Africa’s big men: Predatory state-society relations in Africa, edited by K. Kalu, O. Yakob-Haliso and T. Falola. London: Routledge.

Anyango, Manny. 2023. “Shakahola deaths: Justice Lessit to chair inquiry commission.” The Star, May 5. Accessed from https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-05-05-shakahola-deaths-justice-lessit-to-chair-inquiry-commission/ on 9 August 2023.

Atetwe, Carolyne. 2023. “Shakahola cult: Paul Mackenzie’s wife released on bond.” Nation. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/news/shakahola-cult-paul-mackenzie-s-wife-released-on-bond-4292450 on10 August 2023.

Badurdeen, Fathima A. 2023a. “Convergence of cults and religious extremism: what do we learn from the Shakahola mass suicide endeavour?” Horn International Institute for Strategic Studies. Accessed from https://horninstitute.org/convergence-of-cults-and-religious-extremism-what-do-we-learn-from-the-shakahola-mass-suicide-endeavor/ on 10 October 2023.

Badurdeen, Fathima A. 2023b. “Kenya cult deaths: a new era in the battle against religious extremism.” The Conversation. Accessed from https://theconversation.com/kenya-cult-deaths-a-new-era-in-the-battle-against-religious-extremism-205051 on 10 October 2023.

Citizen Team. 2023. “Shakahola land battle: Chakama Ranch directors claim ownership, say Mackenzie encroached.” Citizen Digital, June 1. Accessed from https://www.citizen.digital/news/shakahola-land-battle-chakama-ranch-directors-claim-ownership-say-mackenzie-encroached-n320815 on 19 September 2023.

Collins, John. 2023. “The impact of William Branham’s UFO Theology on Peoples Temple.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple. Accessed from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=110982 on 7 August 2023.

Collins, John and Peter Duyzer. 2019. “The Intersection of William Branham and Jim Jones.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple. Accessed from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=61481  on 7 August 2023.

Comaroff, Jean. 2015. “Pentecostalism, ‘Post- secularism,’ and the Politics of Affect: In Africa and Beyond.” Pp. 220-47 in Pentecostalism in Africa, edited by Martin Lindhart. Leiden: Brill.

“End Times Breaking –  Mackenzie.” 2020, May 1. Apple Promo 2. [Video] You Tube. Accessed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6SlvIWIO4  on 5 August 2023.

“End Times Breaking –  Mackenzie.” 2019, August 28. Wonderful Praise Moment on 28^th July 2019 [Video] You Tube. Accessed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A-aDk55K8M on 5 August 2023.

Gathogo, Julius. 2022. “The shifting landscape of African-Pentecostalism in Kenya.” Theologia Viatorum, January 13. Accessed from https://theologiaviatorum.org/index.php/tv/article/view/121/312 on 16 September 2022.

Gez, Yonatan, Yvan Droz and Hervé Maupeu. 2021. “Religious tribalism, local morality and violence in Christian Kenya.” Pp. 101-20 in Themes in Religion and Human Security in Africa, edited by Joram Tarusarira and Ezra Chitando. London: Routledge.

Hall, Franklin. 2021 [1946]. Atomic Power with God, Thru Fasting and Prayer. Wings of Healing Press.

Hardy, Elle. 2023. “In Tragedy’s Wake, Kenya Grapples With How To Combat Dangerous Cults.” Newslines Magazine, September 28. Accessed from https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/in-tragedys-wake-kenya-grapples-with-how-to-combat-dangerous-cults/ on 3 October 2023.

Higgins, Andrew. 2023. “He Told Followers to Starve to Meet Jesus. Why Did So Many Do It?” New York Times, May 24. Accessed from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/14/world/africa/kenya-christian-cult-deaths.html on 16 September 2023.

Hussein, Farhiya (2023). “I started a church with Mackenzie, then he ruined our lives: Tale of fight for church and the rise of a cult leader.” Nation. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/news/i-started-a-church-with-mackenzie-then-he-ruined-our-lives-4218394 on11 August 2023.

Hussein, Farhiya and Alex Kalama. 2023. “Unmasking Paul Mackenzie, the preacher linked to children’s death.” Nation. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/kilifi/unmasking-paul-nthenge-the-preacher-linked-to-children-s-death–4171918 on 4 August 2023.

Igunza, Emmanuel. 2023. “Kenya doomsday cult leader found guilty of illegal filming.” ABC News, November 10. Accessed from https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kenya-doomsday-cult-leader-found-guilty-illegal-filming-104794722 on 11 November 2023.

Joshua, Stephen. 2019. “The Norwegian Pentecostal Mission’s work in Kenya between 1955 and 1984: A historical perspective.” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies. Accessed from https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5275  on 19 September 2023.

Kagema, Dickson and Millicent Maina. 2014. “Causes of the New Charismatic Movements (NCMS) in Kenya.” Global Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences 2:35-45.

Kiser, Margot. 2024. “Cult Leader Mackenzie’s Beginnings and Shakahola End-Times.” The Elephant, January 26. Accessed from https://www.theelephant.info/investigations/2024/01/26/cult-leader-mackenzies-beginnings-and-shakahola-end-times/ on 27 January 2024.

Kithi, Marion. 2023. “Survivors of Shakahola cult face stigma as they settle down.” The Standard, October 8. Accessed from https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/coast/article/2001483082/survivors-of-shakahola-cult-face-stigma-as-they-settle-down on 8 October 2023.

Kithi, Marion. 2023. “Detectives discover ‘214 torture chambers’ in Shakahola massacre probe.” The Standard, October 3. Accessed from https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/coast/article/2001482721/detectives-discover-214-torture-chambers-in-shakahola-massacre-probe on 10 October 2023.

Kimmanthi, Kennedy. 2023. “Shakahola deaths: Blunders…and how cult was discovered.” Nation. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/news/shakahola-deaths-blunders-and-how-cult-was-discovered-4214110 on 4 August 2023.

Kinyanjui, Moses. 2023. “Shakahola Massacre: Mackenzie, co-accused to be detained for 47 more days.” Citizen Digital. Accessed from https://www.citizen.digital/news/shakahola-massacre-mackenzie-co-accused-to-be-detained-for-47-more-days-n325272 Accessed on 9 August 2023.

Koech, Kevin. 2023. “Paul Mackenzie: Ownership Of 800-Acre Shakahola Land Revealed.” Who Owns Kenya, May 16. Accessed from https://whownskenya.com/paul-mackenzie-ownership-of-800-acre-shakahola-land-revealed/ on  16 September 2023.

Mghenyi, Charles. 2024.”Mackenzie, 94 co-accused too weak to talk as they arrive in court.” The Star, February 20. Accessed from https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2024-02-20-mackenzie-94-co-accused-too-weak-to-talk-as-they-arrive-in-court/ on 20 February 2024.

Mghenyi, Charles. 2023. “Why Shanzu court released Mackenzie’s wife.” The Star. Accessed from https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-07-03-why-shanzu-court-released-mackenzies-wife/ on 10 August 2023.

Mtalaki, Francis. 2023. “Paul Mackenzie in court for illegal distribution of films in 2029.” Citizen Digital. Accessed from https://www.citizen.digital/news/paul-mackenzie-in-court-for-illegal-distribution-of-films-in-2019-n322697 on 6 August 2023.

Muchui, David. 2023. “I got A- in KCSE, but my mother, a Mackenzie follower, disapproved my university education.” Nation. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/meru/-i-got-a-in-kcse-but-my-mother-a-mackenzie-follower-disapproved-of-my-university-education–4229396 on 4 August 2023.

Mwai, Peter, Deka Barrow and Rose Njoroge. 2023. “Pastor Paul Mackenzie: What did the starvation cult leader preach?” BBC, May 10. Accessed from https://www.bbc.com/news/worldafrica-65412822 on 4 August 2023.

Mwangi, Wachira. 2023. “Case against Paul Mackenzie in Malindi closed, to face fresh charges in Shanzu.” Nation, May 2. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/news/case-against-paul-mackenzie-in-malindi-closed-to-face-fresh-charges-in-shanzu-4220008 on 5 August 2023.

Nation Team. 2023. “Victims of Mackenzie cult were murdered, says State. Nation, May 3. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/news/mackenzie-and-his-followers-suffocated-victims-4220522 on 4 August 2023.

Ocharo, Brian and Alex Kalama. 2023. “Court jails Shakahola sect leader Mackenzie for a year and a half without fine.” Nation, December 1. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/kilifi/court-jails-mackenzie-for-year-and-a-half-without-fine–4450948 on 10 December 2023.

Ocharo, Brian. 2023. “Shakahola cult: State seeks to detain Mackenzie, 29 others for 180 more days.” Nation, September 18. Accessed from https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/mombasa/shakahola-cult-state-seeks-to-detain-mackenzie-29-others-for-180-more-days-4372816 on 18 September 2023.

Okwenbah, Nehemlah (2023). Paul Mackenzie: From taxi driver to pastor who lured faithful to starve to death. The Standard. Accessed from https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/national/article/2001471593/paul-mackenzie-from-taxi-driver-to-pastor-who-lured-faithful-to-starve-to-death 11 August 2023

Olale, Seth. 2023. “Church Leaders Roll Out Code Of Conduct To Put Rogue Preachers In Check.” Citizen Digital, August 30. Accessed from https://www.citizen.digital/news/church-leaders-roll-out-code-of-conduct-to-put-rogue-preachers-in-check-n326422 on 16 September 2023.

Orindey, Hillary and Asuyoshi Chiba. 2023. “’Abusing scripture’: The rise of Kenya’s Christian cults.” Newsbreak, April 26. Accessed from https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3004870564757-abusing-scripture-the-rise-of-kenyas-christian cults?noAds=1&_f=app_share&s=a3&share_destination_id=MTQyOTYwMTA1LTE2ODI1Mjg3NDk5MDM%3D on 16 September 2023.

Ostiento, Julius. 2023. “We never sold Makenzie our Shakahola land, owners say.” The Star, July 5. Accessed from https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-07-05-we-never-sold-makenzie-our-shakahola-land-owners-say/ on 16 September 2023.

Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate the Proliferation of Religious Organizations and Circumstances Leading to More Than 95 Deaths in Shakahola, Kilifi County. 2023. Parliament of Kenya, The Senate, September 10.

Reuters. 2023. “Kenya cult: How Mackenzie planned mass starvation of members.” The East African, May 4. Accessed from https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/kenya-cult-how-mackenzie-planned-mass-starvation-of-members-4223150 on 10 October 2023.

Sanga, Bernard. 2023. “Report reveals how Mackenzi’s Deceptive Tactics Lured Followers.” Standard, October 20. Accessed from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xta4Vg8nKwJ:https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001483828/report-reveals-how-makenzis-deceptive-tactics-lured-followers&hl=en&gl=us on 22 October 2023.

Standard Team. 2023. “Shakahola massacre: Search and exhumation of bodies suspended  Standard Media, December 31. Accessed from https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/coast/article/2001488135/shakahola-massacre-search-and-exhumation-of-bodies-suspended on 2 January 2024.

Publication Date:
19 October 2023

Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen is a post-doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen, Netherlands. She is also a lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya. She specializes in the fields of peacebuilding, religious peacebuilding, preventing and countering violent extremism, and gender. Since 2012, she has worked in Kenya as an academic and practitioner in the field of preventing and countering violent extremism. She has increasingly used ethnographic methods in PCVE research work. Prior to her work in Kenya, she worked as a researcher and practitioner in Sri Lanka in the fields of forced migration, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and post-conflict development. Most of her articles are available online. At present she is working on her postdoctoral study of the Joint Initiative for Strategic Religion Action (JISRA) project “Reimagining Religion, Security, and Social Transformation,” (2022-2025) which aims to provide input for policy and practitioners’ efforts to more comprehensively address the complex, nuanced role of religion in local development in Kenya and Indonesia.

Dr. Milda Ališauskienė is a professor of sociology of religion at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania.

PYRAMID MERKINĖ TIMELINE

1983:  The founder of Pyramid of Merkinė, Povilas Žėkas, was born in Alytus, Lithuania.

1990:  Žėkas received his first revelation and “signs from transcendence.”

2002:  The Pyramid of Merkinė was constructed.

2003:  A Roman Catholic bishop wrote a letter indicating that Pyramid of Merkinė was not connected in any way to the Roman Catholic Church.

2009:  A geodesic dome was constructed that covered the Pyramid.

2010:  An association to protect the Pyramid from Lithuanian state authorities was established.

2012:  The organization protecting Pyramid of Merkinė won the court case against Lithuanian state authorities. The legal road sign was constructed.

2015:  The Guardian Angel space opened.

2018:  The statues of the prophet Elijah and archangel Michael were constructed.

2020:  Liberation Hill paths and the Lighthouse of Hope were constructed.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

Povilas Žėkas (b. 1983) was raised as an only child in the southern Lithuanian city of Alytus. [Image at right] He spent much of his childhood on the homestead where the pyramid would be built with his maternal grandmother. Žėkas claimed that his grandmother was a devout person who taught him about Catholicism. The seven-year-old first heard his guardian angel’s voice on August 19, 1990, during Mass. That evening, he had a dream in which a column of light descended from heaven and landed in the midst of a meadow on his grandmother’s property. The angel described it as a special location, which Žėkas later explained was because of the energy created by the light column. As a child, Žėkas became accustomed to these kinds of conversations with his guardian angel and did not feel afraid, even when, in later revelations, he was told that these communications were actually with God.

Žėkas’ first vision in 1990 occurred when significant sociopolitical events were taking place in Lithuania. The nonviolent “Singing Revolution” was a part of the national awakening movements in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia between 1987 and 1991. This patriotic awakening in Lithuania, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990, included a religious renewal. At this moment, Roman Catholic churches were filled with people praying for their nation, and Žėkas remembered being in a church when he first heard his guardian angel’s voice. Many people converted, returned to being Catholic, or began engaging in intense Catholic and other religious practices in the context of the religious revival. The population of believers, especially Roman Catholics, grew quickly (Žiliukaitė et al. 2016).

As the twentieth century gave way to a new millennium, the construction of the pyramid in 2002  coincided with a decade of socio-political and economic transformations, including the country’s engagement in international alliances such as NATO and the European Union. [Image at right] The Catholic Church participated in this public and political life, even while drawing boundaries to exclude those individuals and institutions that did not comply with Church teaching, including the Pyramid of Merkinė.

In the spring of 2009, seven years after the pyramid was built, Žėkas received a revelation that a glass geodesic dome should be created to cover it. Lithuanian authorities objected, claiming that such a building would be against the law in accordance with the laws governing construction in national park areas where the Žėkas homestead was built. Several thousand visitor signatures were obtained in favor of the dome’s construction, and the government opposition united supporters in the Pyramid of Merkinė community. Later that year, the geodesic dome was constructed, and the people who contributed to the project became officially recognized as a public association.

Following several court proceedings, the judge ruled that the geodesic dome might remain, temporarily resolving the conflict with the State that its construction had sparked. The pyramid was officially recognized as a place of cultural attraction in 2012 when an official road sign pointing in its direction was built on the nearby highway. This put an end to the legal battle for the pyramid’s survival.

In 2015, Žėkas opened a tiny chapel in honor of the guardian angel to fulfill the tasks outlined in his visions. [Image at right] Along with several hundred spectators, the inauguration ceremony attracted media members, whose descriptions of the Pyramid of Merkinė and its founder, which had started as soon as the pyramid was built, should not be underestimated. Reporters covering the discourse surrounding the 2012 Phenomenon (the expectation, according to a particular set of beliefs, that the world was to experience cataclysmic events on December 21 of that year) gave special attention to Žėkas’ recommendations on how to survive the apocalypse. In turn, Žėkas used the media, including websites and social networks, to disseminate his ideas and doctrines and provide information on the pyramid, including on appropriate behavior inside. He insisted, though, that experiences within the pyramid would differ according to the spiritual state of each person; hence visitors should act as they feel appropriate.

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

A 2004 book authored by Žėkas and his mother, Onutė Žėkienė, is one of the primary written sources about his revelations, though his website offers other materials about his revelations and his answers to visitors’ questions. His mother wrote Žėkas‘ biography, hich is presented in the book’s opening section within the format of a typical hagiography in the Christian tradition. It chronicles Žėkas life and several noteworthy incidents highlighting his peculiarity or holiness. Žėkas’ mother explained that she had to look up an astronomy book to find the answers to his inquiries because she was told that he was a unique youngster who was fascinated by the stars. Žėkas grandmother continued his education by teaching him about theology as she had the patience to explain complex concepts to young children. As is the case for other religious figures’ lives, hagiographical references to childhood emphasize and legitimize the person’s uniqueness and importance, making the leader distinctive in the eyes of believers and thus contributing to the constructed charisma. By all accounts, Žėkas seems to fit these normative accounts.

The book’s second section is divided into questions and answers, with God providing the answers to the questions posed by Žėkas. Although his mother’s account of creation differs somewhat from the two biblical versions in Genesis 1 and 2, she describes the stages of revelation and the pyramid’s role in saving humanity. She also uses many common Christian terms, such as God the Father, God the Son, Trinity, angels, guardian angels, hell, and revelation. Every section concludes with, “This is the word of God,” a declaration commonly used by Catholics after reading from the Bible during the liturgy. Such connections to Christianity might be interpreted as a legitimizing strategy in a social environment dominated by Catholicism. However, it is also true that Catholicism was predominant in Žėkas’ family and social milieu. An important part of Catholicism is the Virgin Mary, and apparitional visitations by Mary during difficult times, particularly during the Soviet period, were not extraordinary. This comparison notwithstanding, it should be noted that in his teaching, Žėkas does not emphasize her as an important figure, distinguishing his perception of Roman Catholicism from the one that is commonplace among people in Lithuania.

It is difficult to systematize Žėkas’ teachings, as he claims he still receives revelations from God. Following the typology of sociologist Roy Wallis (1984:9-39), the Pyramid of Merkinė and its doctrine may be located between world-affirming and world-accommodating, in accordance with its “orientation to the world.” World-affirming religious movements emphasize human potential and offer techniques that enable people to reach their aims in life. At the Pyramid of Merkinė, visitors are invited to strengthen their spiritual health and thus help themselves in everyday life. While the practices themselves do not directly enable people to reach their goals, they might be considered as enabling people to cope with everyday stress and anxiety. World-accommodating religious movements provide inspiration for inner (spiritual) life, but they have limited implications for the way this life should be lived. Throughout its existence, the Pyramid of Merkinė has encouraged interior life, and its loosely structured community and vague relations with visitors, including those who possibly have had experiences within the pyramid, place it closer to Wallis’ world-accommodating type of religious movement.

Two important aspects of Žėkas’ theology are the location of God and the perception of the end times. He explains that God is inside each person, and everyone can obtain a relationship with Him. At the end of time, souls will travel to one entity (God), reconnecting every soul to the Spirit. The Spirit will join the Lord of the Solar System (the Lord Christ), who will join the Lord of the Galaxy, who in turn will join the God of the World (who communicates with Žėkas), who will reunite with the God of Universe, who in turn will join God the Father.

In 2011, Žėkas’ dialogue with God was published on the Pyramid of Merkinė website (n.d.), followed by a text on virtues and vices with practical applications of teachings for everyday life. Žėkas asked God about Christian virtues and vices, and his answers clarified which actions ought to be regarded as wicked or would be affected by the operation of karma. Some of the teachings promoted monogamy, monogamous partnerships, and increased social awareness of homosexuality, none of which are obstacles to spiritual development. The essay condemns pedophilia as a sin and “societal illness,” while incest, homicide, alcoholism, drugs, and family violence should be opposed because they harm the soul. In general, Žėkas addresses sensitive issues also addressed by the Catholic Church, particularly with respect to sexuality and family life. His approach is more moderate and does not emphasize celibacy, stressing that family life does not impede spiritual development, and that there is no need for monasticism or clerical celibacy.

RITUALS/PRACTICES

The rituals and practices of the Pyramid of Merkinė phenomenon continue to develop as new revelations are received by its founder Povilas Žėkas, and additions to the place are made following these.

While pyramids believed to have spiritual powers are frequently square-based (and in Žėkas’ vision God the Father told him that the pyramid in Lithuania was a divine place with the power to heal both spiritually and physically), the Pyramid of Merkinė is triangle-based with triangular sides. It is constructed of aluminum, with two crosses made of a secret metal alloy, according to the information given to Žėkas during his revelations. According to Žėkas’ mother, this revelation caused difficulty because it meant that contractors could not use more readily available metals for the alloy and had to follow the revealed measurements and the angle of pyramid placement. Special attention was given to the cross inside the pyramid because, according to the revelation, it was surrounded by special sounds from nature.

The sides of the Pyramid of Merkinė are devoted to the three persons of the Trinity, and instructions in every corner explain what a visitor may feel in relation to each member of the Trinity at that spot. A holy water bottle with the purported ability to treat various ailments is located close to the wall consecrated to the Holy Spirit.

When Pyramid was erected Žėkas used to instruct the visitors about the practices in the Pyramid, how to behave in the place, to walk around the Pyramid, and stand for a while under the metal structure. As the place started attracting more and more visitors, the instructions by its founder were not sufficient; one could observe that people were following one another‘s behavior; some were taking shoes off and walking barefoot around the Pyramid, some were praying in a Catholic manner and kneeling down under the Pyramid. Later the stand was built by its owners, instructing visitors about the practices to be followed around the Pyramid. [Image at right] The Povilas Žėkas chanting in the Pyramid is yet another practice introduced, and  receives quite a lot of visitors‘ attention. As the place was developed further, adding the Liberation Path in 2020, instructions were also provided for visitors on the practices in this place, too.

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

The Pyramid of Merkinė followers are attracted to the place to receive spiritual healing and, from its founding, served as a cult place with shared knowledge about it via personal networks. When the conflict with state authorities took place, there was a need for a legal entity to participate in the court case to defend the Pyramid of Merkinė. The association “Pyramid of Merkinė“ was established in 2010 and continues to exist. Politician Algimantas Norvilas leads the association, and according to official information, four people are employees in the organization. There are no membership requirements in the organization, and the followers of the Pyramid of Merkinė and its founder, Povilas Žėkas, might be identified as a network rather than an organized group, although the existing association resembles the group with shared inner knowledge about the place development and funding not available to the outside inquiry.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

From its erection, the Pyramid of Merkinė has attracted the attention of the dominant Roman Catholic Church, which led to the official denial of the connection of the Pyramid to Catholicism issued in 2003 (Žeižienė 2003). Another challenge the Pyramid of Merkinė faced since its construction was the conflict with Lithuanian state authorities regarding the permission to construct the geodesic dome above the metal structure of the Pyramid. While the tensions with the Roman Catholic Church have continued, the relations with state authorities have eased as the place became a spiritual pilgrimage attraction and found its place among other places to be visited in Lithuania among spiritually minded people and not limited. This continuously contributes to the socioeconomic development of the region.

IMAGES**
** All images are the property of the author and are used with permission.

Image #1: Povilas Žėkas.
Image #2: Pyramid Merkinė,
Image #3: The Chapel at Pyramid Merkinė.
Image #4: Instructions for Pyramid visitors.

REFERENCES**
** Unless otherwise noted, material in this profile is drawn from Milda Ališauskienė. 2017. “Catholic Pyramid? Locating the Pyramid of Merkinė Within the Field of Religion and Beyond.” Nova Religio. Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20:36-56 and Milda Ališauskienė and Massimo Introvigne. 2015. “Lithuanian occulture and the pyramid of Merkinė: innovation or continuity?” Pp. 411-440 in Handbook of Nordic New Religions, edited by James R. Lewis and Inga Bårdsen Tøllefsen. Leiden: Brill.

Pyramid of Merkinė website. n.d. Pyramid of Merkine: The Place of Spiritual Experience and Healing. Accessed from https://merkinespiramide.lt/en/homepage/ on 15 August 2023.

Wallis, Roy. 1984. The Elementary Forms of New Religious Life. London: Routledge.

Žeižienė, Elvyra. 2003. “Laiškas kunigams dėl Česukų piramidės.” XXI amžius. 2003-05-02 d. Accessed from https://www.xxiamzius.lt/archyvas/xxiamzius/20030502/orae_03.html on 23 August 2023.

Žiliukaitė, Rūta, Arūnas Poviliūnas and Aida Savicka. 2016. Lietuvos visuomenės vertybių kaita per dvidešimt nepriklausomybės metų. Vilnius: Vilniaus Universiteto Leidykla.

Publication Date:
25 August 2023

Maria Hasfeldt Long is a Ph.D. candidate in the study of religion at Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden. She specializes in religions of the Sinosphere, specifically the Korean Peninsula. Her present research focuses on religious aspects in South Korean Neo-Confucian tradition, including ritual studies, philosophy of religion, and philology. She is also interested in Korean shamanism and its ceremonial processing of postcolonial narratives and traumas.

Hasfeldt Long received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Copenhagen University in Denmark and Sogang University in South Korea, and she is now conducting her research as a part of Linnaeus University’s Global Humanities Doctoral Programme.