Americans United for Separation of Church and State nails it:
Transcending The Constitution?: Why TM Doesn’t Belong In Public Schools – Even If Ringo Wants It
(...) I like Lynch’s work, but I’m not a fan of his efforts to slip religion into the public schools. Lynch, backed by former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and some other celebrities, has been roaming the country looking to bring Transcendental Meditation (TM) into the schools through a Lynch-sponsored foundation. They recently held a big concert in New York City to raise money to promote TM to the public schools.
A suburban Chicago newspaper, the Daily Herald, talked about efforts by TM promoters there to build on the concert and push for TM in local public schools.
Lynch, McCartney and others say TM is a simple relaxation technique that reduces stress. I’m not so sure. Back in the late 1970s, Americans United litigated against the use of TM in a New Jersey public school. The court ruled in that case, Malnak v. Yogi, that TM is grounded in Hinduism. Students were assigned the name of a Hindu god to chant, and even went through a type of religious ceremony called a puja.
Has TM suddenly been secularized over the past 30 years? It seems unlikely. The fact is, TM practitioners have always argued that their beliefs are not religious. In 1978, an attorney for TM told the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that TM is a “true science.”
Today, TM’s Web site tends to refer to it as “a technique,” an “experience” or a “process.” But the site still refers to TM as a series of “Maharishi Vedic Science programs.” The site steadfastly denies that TM is a religion.
That doesn’t surprise me. Like advocates of creationism, TM devotees know that if they admit that their system is grounded in religion, it will be summarily ejected from the public schools. So they deny it and attempt to dress it up with scientific-sounding jargon. (...)
http://blog.au.org/2009/04/06/transcending-the-constitution-why-tm-doesnt-belong-in-public-schools-even-if-ringo-wants-it/ LINK
