Trajectories of East Asian Buddhism in South Africa: a comparative perspective

In this article I take my cue from Michel Clasquin-Johnson’s reflections on six main themes (lay practice, gender equality, adhesion to democratic principles, impact of Western psychology, social engagement, creation of a non-sectarian tradition) underlying the development of mainstream South Africa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dessì, Ugo (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Carfax Publ. 2022
In: Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 37, Issue: 3, Pages: 435-455
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Africa / Buddhism / Sŏn / Nichiren / Fo Guang Shan / Motif / Comparative religion / History 1965-2022
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AZ New religious movements
BL Buddhism
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B Foguangshan
B Kwan Um School of Zen
B South Africa
B Soka Gakkai International
B East Asian Buddhism
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In this article I take my cue from Michel Clasquin-Johnson’s reflections on six main themes (lay practice, gender equality, adhesion to democratic principles, impact of Western psychology, social engagement, creation of a non-sectarian tradition) underlying the development of mainstream South African Buddhism to explore three forms of East Asian Buddhism operating in the country: the Dharma Centre (Korean Sŏn)—a representative of mainstream South African Buddhism—and the local branches of two large new religious movements—the Japan-based Soka Gakkai International (Nichiren Buddhism) and the Taiwan-based Foguangshan (Chinese Pure Land/Chan Buddhism)—which include a more diverse section of the South African population. Besides providing a detailed analysis of these forms of East Asian Buddhism in the country, I test the applicability of Clasquin-Johnson’s themes to the case studies and explore four further topics for the comparative study of South African Buddhism: interactions with local religions, proselytization, hybridization, the promise of worldly benefits.
ISSN:1469-9419
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13537903.2022.2124684