Soka Gakkai International:
A New Religious Movement on the Information Superhighway
Paul Ohri
Dr. Mark MacWilliams, Faculty Mentor
A McNair Research Project
This project explores the lay Buddhist religion Soka Gakkai. It is argued that because the religion is web based, it is a cult. There is an explicit difference between the meaning of cult and that of a new religious movement, yet both descriptors are commonly associated with Soka Gakkai. Only one is correct. Simply stated, Soka Gakkai is a new religious movement. By using a literature-based review of the sources, proof of Soka Gakkai’s history and traditional practices will be presented to verify its basis as a religion. By demonstrating the differences between a religion on-line and an on-line religion, this research will show how the two concepts are easily misinterpreted, and how Soka Gakkai is religion online. Information about how Soka Gakkai has evolved from another religion will connect it directly to Soka Gakkai International, the organization using the information superhighway to display facts and practices of the religion.