One Foot in Helsinki, One Foot in Mayapur: iskcon Finland as a Glocal European Religion

Abstract

iskcon is traditionally studied as a new religious movement (nrm) or an instance of diasporic Hinduism. I argue here that an examination of the Finnish branch of iskcon can be conceptualized as a case of a glocalized (global-local) religious movement wherein members have created amalgamated identities straddling the borders between nation states and cultures. Members have created a hybrid religious community appealing to both native-born Finns seeking to challenge and redefine the notion of Finnishness and Europeanness, and Indian immigrants seeking to bridge the boundaries between their new Finnish social-religious context and their Indian social-religious heritage. It offers a powerful example of the way in which members of a religious community have utilized their religious identity to situate themselves within the contemporary context of a secularized neoliberal European state.