Jeff Wilson is associate professor of religious studies and East Asian studies for Renison University College, at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada . He has written several books and numerous articles about the interaction of Buddhism and various aspects of North American culture, and published pioneering research in the history of same-sex wedding ceremonies. Jeff teaches courses on religion in North America, East Asian religion, and theory and method in religious studies at the University of Waterloo. He is active in the American Academy of Religion, and does media appearances and radio interviews to provide an informed perspective on issues of religion in contemporary society. He is the current Numata Scholar at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and was the 2016 BSC Summer Session speaker.
Professor Wilson’s book, Mindful America, The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture (2014) is the first comprehensive exploration of the practice of mindfulness in America. It outlines how Buddhism influences and is appropriated and adapted by non-Buddhist cultures in the United States and elsewhere.