Soka Gakkai in Italy: Success and Controversies
Italy is the Western country with the highest percentage of SokaGakkai members. This success needs to be explained. In its first part, the article discusses the history of Soka Gakkai in Italy, from the arrival of the first Japanese pioneers to the phenomenal...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of CESNUR
Year: 2019, Volume: 3, Issue: 6, Pages: 3-17 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Southern Italy (motif)
/ Sōka-Gakkai
/ Sūkyō Mahikari
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| RelBib Classification: | AZ New religious movements BL Buddhism KBJ Italy |
| Further subjects: | B
Soka Gakkai
B Japanese religious movements in Italy B Buddhism in Italy B Japanese religious movements B Soka Gakkai in Italy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Italy is the Western country with the highest percentage of SokaGakkai members. This success needs to be explained. In its first part, the article discusses the history of Soka Gakkai in Italy, from the arrival of the first Japanese pioneers to the phenomenal expansion in the 21stcentury. It also mentions some internal problems, the relationship with the Italian authorities, and the opposition by disgruntled ex-members. In the second part, possible reasons for the success are examined through a comparison with another Japanese movement that managed to establish a presence in Italy (although a smaller one), Sûkyô Mahikari. Unlike Sûkyô Mahikari, Soka Gakkai proposed a humanistic form of religion presented as fully compatible with modern science, and succeeded in “de-Japanizing” its spiritual message, persuading Italian devotees that it was not “Japanese” but universal. |
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| ISSN: | 2532-2990 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of CESNUR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.26338/tjoc.2019.3.6.1 |