Is Mindfulness Anti-Christian?

“Mindfulness” can be loosely equated with meditation, but there is a subtle distinction. A simple way of explaining it is to say that mindfulness involves directing a high quality of attention to one object at a time, while meditation involves sustaining this single-pointed attention over a longer period. In the Buddhist system, mindfulness and concentration comprise the seventh and eighth elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. I take this to mean that mindfulness practice is a direct way of cultivating the concentration required for deeper levels of meditation.

In the past 40 years or so, a lot of research has been done on mindfulness practice, and there is a substantial body of evidence attesting to its effectiveness in allaying conditions like depression and anxiety, and boosting performance levels. For this reason, many companies, institutions, and schools offer mindfulness programs.

When I first started teaching mindfulness in elementary schools in the 2010’s, I was surprised at the hostility I sometimes encountered from parents. Typically, the parents with the most concerns identified as Christians, and were worried that mindfulness would “indoctrinate” their children away from the church. I knew from experience that this was not true. I was raised Christian myself, and can say with complete conviction that there is nothing about mindfulness that is inherently antithetical to the tenets of Christian faith. If anything, mindfulness practice opens us to a deeper appreciation of the mystery of life. And when teaching children, I am particularly careful to present mindfulness completely free of religious content or ideology of any kind.

Over time, as parents and children got to know me and experienced the positive benefits of mindfulness, the hostility tapered off and was replaced by a genuine sense of affection and community.

Public school meditation class, 2012

But the lessons learned during this period stayed with me. In today’s world of AI deep fakes and sophisticated disinformation campaigns, people are rightfully concerned about any activity that “gets inside your head” and purports to transform your perception of the world. Most people are deeply attached to their personal stories and narratives, especially as they concern tribal, religious, and national identity. These are the things that some people fight, kill and die for.

The paradox is that mindfulness is the antithesis of “indoctrination”. It is simply a high quality of dedicated, focused attention that can be cultivated by anyone and applied to anything, including one’s religious practice. At his meditation retreats, the late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh often said, “Don’t become a Buddhist. Take what you learn here, go home, and use it to refresh your own tradition.”

But this kind of ecumenical openness may in itself seem threatening to people who think of their religion in triumphalist terms. For those who deal in ideological certitudes, and who use religion chiefly as a way to distinguish “us” from “them,” deeper contemplation of the mystery of life may be seen as a path to perdition. In today’s polarized world, some who identify as Christians conflate the teachings of Jesus with worldly ideas like wealth, nationalism, political power, and even white supremacy.

In the Gospel of John, when Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you a king?” Jesus responded, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would have fought to prevent my arrest.” (John 18:36). Jesus had complete faith in a transcendental reality, and relied on that alone. He didn’t want his followers fighting worldly battles to create worldly outcomes in his name. This is why the early Christians regarded him as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy : “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 53:7). There is something profoundly compelling and paradoxical about a person who is completely fearless, and yet seemingly does nothing to defend himself or strike back at his enemies. This is the example that inspired the early Christian martyrs to lay down their lives.

Down the centuries, many have criticized Christianity for being impractical and unrealistic. How can we just turn the other cheek before our enemies, and allow ourselves to be crushed? The Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton pondered that question, and wrote, “The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and left untried.” In Chesterton’s view, most people who think of themselves as Christian are not even making a rudimentary attempt to follow Christ’s example. And this is especially true of people who use religion to justify and promote fear, hate, division, and discord.

In contrast, authentic Christian saints and mystics through the ages have always sought connection with the inner Christ through deep meditation and prayer. The following meditation instruction from St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century author of several classics of Christian mysticism including The Life of Teresa of Jesus, The Interior Castle, and The Way of Perfection, will sound familiar to any practitioner of Buddhist meditation:

“Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home.”

~ St Teresa of Avila