RT Article
T1 Soka Gakkai in Italy: Success and Controversies
JF The journal of CESNUR
VO 3
IS 6
SP 3
OP 17
A1 Introvigne, Massimo 1955-
LA English
YR 2019
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1724766872
AB 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.
K1 Buddhism in Italy
K1 Japanese religious movements
K1 Japanese religious movements in Italy
K1 Soka Gakkai
K1 Soka Gakkai in Italy
DO 10.26338/tjoc.2019.3.6.1