Current Appointments
• Holds the Navin & Pratima Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology title at Loyola Marymount University (LMU).
• Founded and directs the MA in Yoga Studies at LMU’s Center for Religion and Spirituality.
Academic Background
• Earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Religious Studies from SUNY Stony Brook (1976).
• Completed his M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1980) in the History of Religions at Fordham University.
Teaching & Leadership
• Taught Sanskrit, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Yoga at SUNY Stony Brook’s Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions before joining LMU in 1985.
• Co-founded LMU’s program in Asian and Pacific Studies, served as Department Chair of Theological Studies, and was Associate Academic Vice President.
Publications & Research
• Authored 20+ books and 100+ scholarly articles on Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Yoga, and Religion & Ecology. Notable titles include Karma and Creativity, Yoga and the Luminous, Nonviolence to Animals, Earth & Self, and Living Landscapes.
• Editor of the Brill journal Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology.
Advisory & Committee Roles
• Serves on advisory boards of these institutions: Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), Ahimsa Center (Pomona), Dharma Academy of North America (Berkeley), Jain Studies Centre (SOAS), South Asian Studies Association, and International School for Jain Studies (New Delhi).
Academic Focus & Contributions
• Core research themes: the renunciate traditions of India—Yoga, Jainism, Buddhism—and the integration of religion and ecology.
• Pivotal in developing LMU’s Yoga academic programs, including launching certificate programs (circa 2002) and the full MA in Yoga Studies (from 2013 onward).
Position Doshi Professor of Indic & Comparative Theology, LMU
Education B.A. (Stony Brook), M.A. & Ph.D. in History of Religions (Fordham)
Specializations Yoga, Jainism, Buddhism, Religion & Ecology, Sanskrit, Theological Studies
Major Works Books like Yoga and the Luminous, Living Landscapes, etc.
Editorial Role Editor, Worldviews journal
Leadership Founded MA in Yoga Studies; chaired departments; advisory roles
The PDF content discusses the book *Jainism, Proofs of Its Existence and Its Introduction*, edited by Christopher Key Chapple, which explores the concept of yoga within Jainism across historical and…
The book *Sallekhana: The Jain Approach to Dignified Death*, edited by Shugan Chand Jain and Christopher Key Chapple, addresses the controversial Jain practice of voluntary fasting unto death, known…
Yoga and the Luminous: Patañjali’s Spiritual Path to Freedom by Christopher Key Chapple
Christopher Key Chapple, Professor of Indic and Theology at Loyola Marymount University, offers a comprehensive…
1. Reconciling Yogas by Christopher Key Chapple
This volume is a modern scholarly re-examination and English translation of Haribhadra Sūri's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya, an 8th-century Jain text engaging…
2004Vol. 29 · No. 01pp. 91–103
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Looking for Evidence of Early Jainas Archaeology, Folk Religion, and Women
This article explores the potential connections between the early Jaina tradition and archaeological, folk, and gender-related evidence from India's ancient past. It compares the eternalist…