The Limits of Religious Tolerance in France: The Case of Soka Gakkai
Recognized since 1983 as a consultant NGO to the United Nations, SokaGakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist organization, aims at bringing about world peace through educational, cultural and spiritual activities. As such, it can be considered a form of engaged...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of CESNUR
Year: 2019, Volume: 3, Issue: 6, Pages: 32-47 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
France
/ Sōka-Gakkai
/ Religious tolerance
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AZ New religious movements KBG France |
| Further subjects: | B
Laïcité
B SGI-France B SokaGakkai International B Religious Tolerance B Shakubuku |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Recognized since 1983 as a consultant NGO to the United Nations, SokaGakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist organization, aims at bringing about world peace through educational, cultural and spiritual activities. As such, it can be considered a form of engaged Buddhism, which can be defined as “the application of the Dharma, or Buddhist teachings, to the resolution of social problems”. However, SGI originally adopted a missionary approach that led to accusations of intolerance. Its religious foundation, rooted in the teachings of Nichiren (a Japanese monk of the 13thcentury), first led the burgeoning Japanese organization to be actively evangelistic in its method and exclusivist in its theological point of view. This religious organization thus underwent several adaptations to Western society, notably the development ofa humanistic and pacifist ethos, in order to become the SGI we now know. But despite the tolerant and progressive values it promotes, Soka Gakkai France (SGF), SGI’s French offshoot, is, paradoxically, the victim of religious intolerance in a country famous for its separation of Church and State. Contrary to other European countries where SGI has established itself, various French authorities have considered SGI as a “cult.” Therefore, the objectives of this paper are twofold: (1) the first is to clarify how the evolution of SGI’s official discourse, from a certain religious exclusivism to universal tolerance, may be also a consequence of its acculturation to Western society, and to show to what extent this tolerance is practically implemented in France; (2) the second will be to offer an account of the difficult but perhaps changing relations between SGF and French society—be it with its political representatives, the media, or other French Buddhist organizations. |
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| ISSN: | 2532-2990 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of CESNUR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.26338/tjoc.2019.3.6.3 |