Trans-European adaptations in The Diamond Way: negotiating public opinions on homosexuality in Russia and in the U.K.

This paper focuses on a Neo-Orthodox Tibetan Buddhist movement’s shiftingtrans-European positioning on the web and in its media self-representation withregard to public discourses around homosexuality. The analysis presented alsoproves methodologically relevant, exemplifying through reflexive ethnographyhow outsider/insider scholars can manoeuvre religious politics.As a global movement of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, theDiamond Way of the Danish lay teacher Ole Nydahl has been particularlysuccessful in its proselytising efforts throughout Eastern and Central Europe.Previous research has noted the selectively socially conservative and mildlyhomophobic tendencies of the Diamond Way (Scherer 2011; 2013). In the trans-European context, from Russia to the U.K., Nydahls and themovement’s mild homophobia/strained LGBT-neutrality appears to draw publiccriticism for either being too pro-LGBT or too anti-LGBT. The investigationhighlights the shifting public perceptions and socio-religious political frontlines inRussia and the U.K. and reveals a pattern of opportunism and (non-)negotiatingpublic opinions.