Soka Gakkai in a Globalized World

Karel DobbelaereI

N this paper, I investigate first the so-called global character of Soka
Gakkai; then I give some reasons to explain why SGI spread throughout the Western World; and finally I discuss the relationship between
religion and society—focusing on the social activity of religious organizations.
We frequently hear or read about globalization; but, what dopeople mean when they refer to globalization (see Voye, 1998: 71–72)?
Wallerstein has a Marxist vision. He refers to a worldwide economy that
capitalism has developed: a market economy that has augmented theinequalities between regions and countries which the States aren’t able
anymore to control. Think, for example, about the de-localization ofindustries; they are moved to countries with low salaries, with less rigid
laws on pollution, etc. Luhmann, another sociologist, refers to the global
system of communication: we are in a globalised world since we cancommunicate all over the world without limits. Internet is a good example. I have organised an international conference in Zagreb, Croatia,
sitting on a chair in front of my personal computer in a little village in
Belgium, communicating daily with colleagues all over the world,
Japanese, Australians, Latin and North Americans, Eastern and Western
Europeans. As suggested by Giddens—another sociologist who analyses
globalization—our social relations are liberated from the constrictionsof time and space. It is easy to see that in such communications space isof no importance, but more, we communicate independently of the timezones. And as a consequence, there is a global dependency which meansthat what happens in one part of the world has repercussions all over theworld. Think about 9/11 or pollution and the Kyoto norms. However,sociologist Robertson also points out that globalization means that it
stimulates regional particularism. We see in Europe that regionalism is
an important factor in politics: integrated in a larger context, Europe,
many regions want an integration on a lower level as a reaffirmation of
their specific identity, rooted in history and culture. For example: independence of the Basque region in Spain, greater autonomy for Flanders
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SOKA GAKKAI IN A GLOBALIZED WORLDin Belgium, for Wales and Scotland in Great Britain, to mention a few. I
will use these four approaches in analysing Soka Gakkai in the globalised world.
On the level of religions, the notion of globalization has been used bysome movements to promote their own ideology as the basis for global
governance of the world. Jim Beckford (2003: 111–112) points out that
Jehovah’s Witnesses insist “that the benefits of global thinking and cooperation will necessarily remain elusive until a truly global order isestablished,” by a government “inspired by God and based on biblicalprinciples,” and the world order envisaged by the Baha’is reject representative democracy as “an appropriate model for the politics of a global
civilization;” such a world order should rest, instead, “on a deliberate
conflation of religion, politics and law—all governed by what they claim
to be universal principles of ethics.” This makes Jim Beckford (2003:
113) conclude rightly that such forms of globalization “seem to owe lessto diversity than to an imposed form of unity.”

What about Soka Gakkai?
A core concept in Soka Gakkai’s religion is the notion of “human revolution,” based on the philosophy developed in Nichiren’s writings. Sucha revolution would promote peace and sustainable development by people who have acquired buddhahood through chanting and guidance. In
analysing the practice, I have insisted on the fact that it stimulates selfanalysis in a framework of social support. In fact, it incorporates selfinduced psychiatry, during chanting, combined with social psychiatry,among other settings, in the Zadankai. However, one should not reduce
the practice to these two forms of psychiatry: “to do so would be toignore the obvious sacred element—the chanting of a religious mantra
in front of a religious object—which creates a sacred mood and a sacredatmosphere for the auto-analysis and its social support” (Dobbelaere,
2001: 55).
In support of this human revolution, SG has created programmes of
education—from kindergartens to universities—cultural centres—not
only in Japan but also among other countries, in England, France, Italy
and Germany, and research centres, like Boston Research Center for the
21st Century, whose goal is to find a common philosophical basis fromwhich people can prevent war and promote respect for life and the environment. President Ikeda publishes each year his Peace Proposals,
insisting on disarmament, dialogue, and the need for international law,sustainable development, and a global ethic. To promote such an ethic,

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he enters into dialogue with politicians, scientists and philosophers
all over the world and publishes these dialogues. With its periodic
journals, Soka Gakkai promotes these causes which are reprinted andfurther developed in local SGI journals—some specifically for themembers, others for a general public, like in Italy respectively Il Nuovo
Rinascimento and Duemilauno. SG also promotes the causes of peaceand human rights by exhibitions all over the world, in collaboration with
the UN and UNESCO, and by organising festivals (for details see
Dobbelaere, 2001: 60–75). I stress it here to come to a first partial conclusion: in so doing, we may call SG a global religious movement, using
a global system of communication to which Luhmann was referring in
defining globalization.
However, referring to Robertson, I should say that SG is also characterized by tensions emerging from particularism. In spreading all over
the world and establishing itself in countries with a different cultural
background, problems emerge between the traditional Japanese way ofworking, organising and thinking and the indigenous culture. Locallythis has promoted tensions that have forced SGI to accommodate to
local culture (Dobbelaere, 2001: 28 and 78–79). The Japanese practicekneeling in front of the Gohonzon, a way of sitting they have exercisedsince early childhood; this way of paying respect to the Gohonzon is difficult for Westerners who often do it sitting on chairs. In Great Britain,
the organizational separation according to gender, typical of Japan, hasbeen abandoned in some chapters, and this segregation is a major problem not only there but also in Canada and other European countries.
According to a study done in the USA by Hammond and Machacek(1999: 34 and 96–101), during the early years, SGI-USA replicated theJapanese model: higher-ranking officials appointed leaders, aggressive
proselytising (shakubuku) was undertaken, and massive public demonstrations were organized. Now the US leadership is chosen through aprocess of “nomination, review, and approval that involves both peers
and leaders.” Qualified women are no longer excluded from positions ofresponsibility. High-visibility activities such as parades and festivals are
now replaced by more neutral publicity campaigns such as the sponsorship of arts and cultural exhibits. In Germany, where membershipreached a ceiling—new members simply replacing those lost throughbacksliding—members have complained about the organizational styleof some Japanese leaders and the lack of consultation with local members, a criticism that was also expressed by members in Italy, which
threatened to result in a partial breaking away of a substantial numberof members, who did not, however, question the core of the philosophy.

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SOKA GAKKAI IN A GLOBALIZED WORLDIn Germany, the practice of “guidance” has also had the effect of turning members away in the light of Germany’s recent historical past
(Dobbelaere, 2001: 78).
These small changes that I have mentioned, indicate that national
branches enjoy some autonomy in certain matters. However, control
over SG rests in Japan and the leadership of the movement is almost
exclusively Japanese. These aspects make me state that SG is rather a“transnational movement,” thus confirming Beckford’s analysis and conclusion (2003: 115). If SG wants to become a global movement, it
should organizationally “de-Japanese,” if I may say so, allowing othercultures to do it their way, and also stimulate its study centres, such as
the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, to search for the core of Nichiren’steachings divesting it from Japanese cultural idiosyncrasies. This way
SG could realize glocalization, which combines a global thinking with alocal expression. And this is not only essential for Soka Gakkai, it isapplicable to all would-be global religions, like Catholicism, for example, that calls this problem “enculturation.” We may thus conclude thefirst section by stating that SG is a transnational organization with a
global reach.

How to explain SGI’s success in the Western World?
Wallerstein’s approach to globalization points out the negative effects ofa capitalist global economy: loss of jobs, stress, psychological uncertainty, fear for the future, etc., which make people look for help.
According to the research done by the late Bryan Wilson and myself in
Great Britain, people coming to SG were not “religious seekers;” they
searched for a solution to their everyday problems. Shining women andmen, members of SGI, attract people searching for a solution to theirproblems. In SGI these seekers learn a philosophy and a practice. The
law of cause and effect, which is at the heart of the philosophy, emphasizes human responsibility. What happens to human beings is the resultof what they have done in the past; however, this law insists furthermore
on the fact that it is possible to improve one’s situation. During the practice, people analyse their problems and look for the causes of them, and,since they cannot accuse others, they are forced to look to themselves
for the solutions. The practice is really not magic, it forces the practitioners to ask questions like: “Why are there these problems? What is itthat prevents me from moving forward?” This exercise is very well
adapted to the posture of post-modernity that stresses the realization of
the self and the necessity of reflexivity. The practice also strengthens the

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person’s determination and makes him or her capable of altering circumstances: it invigorates them (Dobbelaere, 2001: 37–57). The members
also find support in the group for their efforts to change, and especiallyin the Zadankai. So, SG offers an esoteric means, a kind of looking
glass, to solve one’s problems and the members give mutual support.
However, before people search for solutions outside their own culture,
as in Buddhism, changes must have occurred within their own culture.
Which changes in Western culture may help to explain the success of
SGI in the West? The process of secularization that occurred in the Westsince the 1960’s has to a large extent diminished the impact of Christianity, the traditional religion of the West. The belief in God as a person, a core belief of Christianity, has become the belief of a minority;
instead, a great number believe rather in a higher force. Such a belief
certainly reduces the threshold for believing in the Mystic Law of Buddhism. And as the belief in an afterlife—whether of rewards in heavenor punishments in hell—has also diminished, so the disposition to get allthat is available out of the present life becomes a compelling preoccupation. In such a context, where there has developed a strong belief that
only in this world pleasure is available, the desire to perpetuate or repeat
earthly life has made conceptions of reincarnation increasingly attractive.
Not only beliefs, but also ethics have changed in the West. Christianity, that has informed the West, was better adapted to conditions ofscarcity and deprivation typical of the past. Its ethic stressed asceticism:
restraint was the virtual touchstone of the moral order in the life of theindividual. However, when a shift to a consumer economy occurred, thisethic, that stressed thrift, was less useful. Consumerism exists by stimulating demand, urging people not only to buy, but also to buy now. The
new order required the legitimization of consumption, i.e. an ethic that
promotes self-fulfilment and the pursuit of pleasure. In advertising andentertainment industries it found vehicles to promote exactly such avalue system. These agencies were themselves instrumental in undermining the message of traditional Christianity, and became, before long,
far more powerful than the Christian churches in their capacity for persuasion and in their control of the media.
SG, whilst drawing on ancient scriptures, none the less has a message
which claims special relevance for our times, perceived in its own terms
as the Latter Day of the Law. That relevance is manifest in the convergence of the general contemporary climate of economic and social permissiveness with SG’s relinquishment of moral codes and its espousal ofgeneral abstract ethical principles which leave adherents free to discover

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their own form of ‘taking responsibility’. Its ethic, its endorsement of
the search for personal happiness, and its emphasis on personal fulfilment are a virtual espousal of the secular ethos of the post-ChristianWest. That its members should so largely be drawn from those engaged
in the mass media, the entertainment industries, and from artistic pursuits, where personal freedom and the demand for self-expression are ata premium, reinforces the impression of a movement in which a new
ethic confirms the experiences and meets the needs of those who join.
SG is thus a movement in tune with the times in its stance regarding personal comportment (Wilson and Dobbelaere, 1994: 217–221).
Consequently, the answer to our second question, on the basis of ourresearch, is that SG offers an esoteric means to achieve control over
one’s life, which attracts people in need of help, and its beliefs andethics fill the vacuum created by the decline of Christian beliefs. The
decline of the Christian belief in a personal God predisposed many toadhere to a belief in the Mystic Law; and the decline of the belief inheaven and hell made the belief in reincarnation congenial to many.
Finally, its ethic is a virtual espousal of the secular ethos of self-fulfilment that expects reincarnation.

The Religious sub-system and the other sub-systems
If the ethos of SG stresses the fulfilment of the self, the attainment of
personal happiness, the development of the potentialities typical of theperson and the attainment of Buddhahood, SG also stimulates a positive
attitude towards the world, which one should ameliorate. We live now ina functionally differentiated society: the economy, the polity, the family,
the juridical system, education and the medical world, all these sub-systems function autonomously without reference to religious norms. Consequently, the religious system has lost its overarching function. That iswhat we call the secularization of society. In such a society, the religious
sub-system has lost its privileged position. It may, however, still befunctional for individuals, giving them meaning and rituals, including
those at the festive times of the year—think about the visits to the temples and shrines at New Year—, or the celebration of rites of passage,
among others, at the ages of 3, 5 and 7, “coming of age,” marriage, anddeath. But religion must also prove its importance for society, like othersub-systems have to do, e.g. science that has to prove its importance byrendering services to the economy and medicine. The only way of doingthat is indeed by rendering services to the other sub-systems of society.
The leaders of SG have understood that: this is why they render services

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to the society through education, culture and politics. Most religions do
this: in Western Europe they offer education; organise movements forchildren, youth and adults; offer health insurance; run hospitals; etc.
New Religious Movements do that also: e.g. Scientology offers services
to drug addicts and prisoners. And sectarian movements like the Seventh
Day Adventists organise education and hospitals. Some also provide
smaller services like cleaning the highways by picking up garbage thatpeople throw out of their cars. When my wife and I go visiting her
mother, we read on a billboard “this section of the highway is cleaned
regularly by the Mormons.” If they “advertise” it, it means that theywant to be recognized for the services they render to the society in general.
SG renders a lot of services to society. I mentioned already their educational system and the instructive exhibitions on human rights and thehorror of wars that SG has organised. But, I could mention also emergency relief that is offered when an earthquake occurs, relief efforts andmedical care given in war-torn parts of Africa, and its environmental
concern, e.g. the Soka University Center for Environmental Researchthat in collaboration with Amazon National Researches Institute aims at
the restoration of the tropical forest along the Amazon River. SG alsooffers scientific books and equipment to schools and universities of poor
countries to help them to improve their education. It also gives grants toJapanese university students and sponsors international exchange programs. They are in line with SG’s aim to improve the life conditions ofmankind.
However, SG organises its service for society differently from mostReligious Movements. Besides a “corporate channel”—composed ofpresses, an educational system, cultural agencies and programs, andassociations for children, youth and adults, it is linked to a “politicalchannel” in Japan. Consequently, it is an institutionalised pillar, according to Stein Rokkan’s definition (1977), even if still embryonic compared with what we have in Europe. Over the past fifty years a Soka
Gakkai-related party has functioned on the local level and for forty years
on the national level to pursue politics characterized by an interest inpeace, disarmament, citizens’ well being, and religious freedom. Thisway, it has achieved political leverage for the corporate channel andSoka Gakkai as a religion; and the New Komeito has even entered into a
coalition government. It would be interesting to study the functionalityof this situation and for Soka Gakkai as a religious organization and for
its corporate channel. Finally the political engagement on the international level is mainly accomplished within the framework of the UN and112

SOKA GAKKAI IN A GLOBALIZED WORLDUNESCO. For example, as an NGO, it has participated in the U.N.
world summit in Rio de Janeiro on environmental problems and sustainable development. To prepare for this conference, SG organised a
preparatory conference in Taplow Court, Great Britain.
Whereas many other preparatory conferences focused on the political,
economic, scientific and technical methodologies envisioned to solvethese problems, the Taplow Court conference, true to SG’s vision, centred on the development of an ecological conscience and its declaration
stated: “the ethics of environmental concerns are at the heart of ourcommon future and shall abide though political movements fade, economic systems change and ideologies are eclipsed and forgotten.”Indeed, the declaration insists on the spiritual values and cultural contributions, inter-religious dialogue, and education for the development ofan ecological ethic, and on the important role that women and young
people should play in it. In his introduction to the published document,
President Ikeda underlined the role of local populations in implementing
environmental protection measures. All these recommendations are inaccord with the spirit of the “human revolution”—the major driving
force behind social change according to the SG philosophy.
We may then conclude that Soka Gakkai, as a religion, is a driving
force to promote peace and sustainable development. It is a trans-national organization with a global reach on the communication-level andthrough its international actions. It not only promotes its vision, SG also
has an organised workforce that helps to implement its vision.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beckford, J. (2003). Social Theory and Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Dobbelaere, K. (2001). Soka Gakkai: From Lay Movement to Religion. Salt Lake City:
Signature Books.
Hammond, P.E. and Machacek, D.W. (1999). Soka Gakkai in America: Accomodation
and Conversion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rokkan, S. (1977). Toward a generalized concept of ‘verzuiling’: a preliminary note, in
Political Studies 25: 563–570.
Voye, L. (1998). Sociologie: Construction du monde, Construction d’une discipline.
Paris/Bruxelles: De Boeck & Larcier.
Wilson, B. and Dobbelaere, K. (1994). A Time to Chant: The Soka Gakkai Buddhists in
Britain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.