“Many in Body， One in Mind”: The Journey of Soka Gakkai in America

The Soka Gakkai is the most well-known and the largest of new religious movements (NRMs) in Japan. This book analyzes the Soka Gakkai’s evangelizing in the United States from a sociological perspective of religion. How did the Japanese Soka Gakkai come to be accepted by Americans and take root in American society in the United States, a country with a very different culture and religion? How did a Japanese-style organization transform itself into a culture so different from Japan’s? How were the teachings and concepts translated and localized? Why, how, and for what purpose do the members of the U.S. continue their faith? The authors’ 15 visits to the U.S., in which they participated in local events of the organization and interviewed more than 70 Soka Gakkai International members in the U.S., revealed these questions from the perspective of the sociology of religion, using life history method, conversion theory, organizational theory, and the concept of cross-cultural translation. This book is the English translation of the Japanese book “‘Itai-Doshin’ in Soka Gakkai-USA”(2018, Shinyosha Ltd.).Publisher: Osaka University PressAuthor:Dr. Akira KAWABATA is Professor of Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University in Japan. He studied religion and social research method at Osaka University and obtained his Ph.D. in Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University in 2003. He is the author of several English papers and Japanese books on religions and social research methods. Dr. Keishin INABA is Professor of Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University in Japan. He studied religion at the University of Tokyo and obtained his Ph.D. in sociology of religion at King’s College, University of London in 2000. He is the author of several English and Japanese books on religions and altruism.