For his doctoral degree at UC-Santa Barbara, Jonathan departs thematically from his Master's work on the topic of God in the Classical Yoga tradition. His current research traces the history of nonviolence in South Asia, specifically concerning the human use and consumption of nonhuman animals. His interdisciplinary research is based in Religious Studies and the history of South Asia, but also invokes orbiting disciplines such as Applied Ethics, Animal Rights, Ethology, Anthropology, and Food and Ritual Studies.