Journal of Dharma Studies: Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, and Culture
The mission of the Journal of Dharma Studies: Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, and Culture is to employ theoretical and empirical methodologies for the intersubjective understanding of, and real-world applications of the conceptual resources, textual sources, and experiential practices—including ritual, social, ethical, liturgical, contemplative, or communitarian—to foster critical-constructive reflections on Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions (what is now referred to as Dharma Studies). The journal seeks to contextualize these traditions in reference to the contemporary global era, with large diasporic populations affiliated with these religions to be found across the globe. It tries to uncover both the interconnected histories of these traditions and, simultaneously highlight the significant differences and rich diversity of philosophy and practice found within the Dharma Traditions. Its scope lies beyond purely descriptive, journalistic, methodologies and moves towards an expansion of Dharma Studies to intersect with emerging areas and disciplines with the aim of a robust and rigorous interdisciplinary discourse on Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, and Culture in engagement with areas including but not limited to: Sustainability Studies and Religions, Ecological Economics, Environmental Ethics, Social Equitability, Peace and Conflict Studies, Medicine and Religion, Contemplative Studies, Aesthetics and Semiotics, Consciousness Studies, Philosophy of Ritual, Theology and the Natural Sciences, Religion and Bioscience, Cross-Cultural and Diaspora Studies in Religion.
- Investigates, presents, interprets, and envisions the shared and distinct categories of the life-worlds of the Indic Religions globally
- Covers religious studies, philosophy, ethics, cultural studies, musicology, film, contemporary issues, sociology, anthropology, and the arts
- Offers methodological contextualization and investigative, epistemic, hermeneutical and evaluative perspectives from religious and cultural traditions
- Reinforces the inter-disciplinary approach of world’s religions and the concerns of our time
Editor-in-Chief
Pravina Rodrigues, Laura Dunn, Debashish Banerji
Managing Editor
Wolf Clifton
About the Editors
Dr. Pravina Rodrigues (Co-Editor-in-Chief) is Adjunct Faculty at Starr King School for the Ministry and the Graduate Theological Union. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics from the GTU Center for Dharma Studies, and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Her doctoral dissertation was recently published as a monograph, A Śākta Method for Comparative Theology: Upside Down, Inside Out (Lexington Press, 2024). She was Associate Editor of the volume Religion & Sustainability: Interreligious Resources, Interdisciplinary Responses (Springer, 2022), and has published numerous journal articles and two pūjā texts for Light of Vedanta Press. Her research interests include postcolonial and decolonial studies, Hindu-Christian comparative theology/religions, interreligious dialogue, comparative mysticism, ritual studies, and Śākta thealogy.
Dr. Laura Dunn (Co-Editor-in-Chief) is director of the Master of Theological Studies and Writing Program at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University and co-directs Open Education Global’s Open for Antiracism project. She holds a Ph.D. in Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion from the GTU Center for Dharma Studies, writing her dissertation on Visualizing Power: The Image of Śakti in Modern Day Trika Tantra. She is currently co-editing the volume Mindfulness, Movement, and Cultural Revitalization: Indigenous Contemplative Theories and Practices (Springer International, 2025). Her current research explores the ways in which embodied Indigenous epistemologies converge and diverge with somatic practices such as yoga āsana and how these practices are used to recover identity in post- and Neo-colonial contexts.
Dr. Debashish Banerji (Co-Editor-in-Chief) is the Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophy and the Doshi Professor of Asian Art at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Indian Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles, and also holds a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Louisville. He has written and edited several books on major figures of the Bengal Renaissance, including Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sri Aurobindo. His book Seven Quartets of Transformation: An Integral Yoga Psychology Based on the Diaries of Sri Aurobindo (DK Printworld, 2012) was awarded the DANAM Annual Book Award in Constructive Philosophy. His research interests also include posthumanism and cross-cultural approaches to Indian philosophy, psychology, and culture.
Wolf Gordon Clifton (Managing Editor) is a Ph.D. student in Theology and Ethics and Program Manager at the GTU Center for Dharma Studies. He holds a M.S. in Geological Sciences and certificate in Conservation Biology from Ohio University (2021). He is also the Executive Director of Animal People Inc., an animal protection nonprofit which advocates for plant-based food systems, biological diversity, and climate action in United Nations policy processes. He has published several journal articles and written a chapter on biodiversity protection in Purāṇic Hindu narrative theology for the volume Religion and the Wild Things: Religious Reflections on Animal Extinction (Claremont Press, forthcoming). His research interests include Hindu and Buddhist perspectives on ecology, sustainability, and animal ethics.