The research objectives have been addressed in five different phases: 1) preparatory work at Cardiff University; 2) first phase of fieldwork in South Africa; 3) mid-term review at Cardiff University; 4) second phase of fieldwork in South Africa; and 5) the thorough analysis of the fieldwork data at Cardiff University. The research results have shed light on the activities of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in South Africa, which a has been able to reach out to a significant number of black, and, to a lesser extent, Coloured and Indian/Asian members, thus contributing to the understanding of Buddhism’s interplay with a broader cross-section of post-apartheid South African society, and, secondarily, adding to the existing literature on this Buddhism-based Japanese new religious movement overseas. My analysis has focused on SGI South Africa’s main ritual, social, and missionary activities; its interplay with local religions; its attempts to establish a meaningful link with South African culture; and, finally, on the main themes emerging from the narratives of SGI’s South African members. Moreover, I have approached comparatively three major forms of East Asian Buddhism operating in the country: The Dharma Centre (Korean Sŏn), the aforementioned Soka Gakkai International (Nichiren Buddhism), and Foguangshan (Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhism). Besides providing a detailed analysis of these forms of East-Asian Buddhism in the country, through a comparative approach I tested the applicability of six themes that according to the authority in the study of Buddhism in Africa, Michel Clasquin-Johnson, underlie the development of the mainstream middle-class ‘Western Buddhism’ found in South Africa: lay practice, gender equality, adhesion to democratic principles, impact of Western psychology, social engagement, and creation of a nonsectarian tradition. In addition, I explored four more topics for the comparative study of Buddhism in South Africa: interactions with local religions, proselytization, hybridization, and the promise of worldly benefits.
The main research outputs of my research on East Asian Buddhism in South Africa are two articles currently under review by academic journals
Dessì, Ugo. “Soka Gakkai International in Post-Apartheid South Africa.” (under review).
Dessì, Ugo “Trajectories of East Asian Buddhism in South Africa: A Comparative Perspective.” (under review).
Moreover, the observations and theoretical/comparative reflections during this research have greatle contributed to a monograph that I published in 2019 with the Italian academic publisher Carocci:
Dessì, Ugo. Religioni e globalizzazione. Un’introduzione [Religions and Globalization: An Introduction]. Rome: Carocci editore, 2019.
I have disseminated the research results also through participation in several conferences and invited lectures in South Africa and the United Kingdom during the fellowship:
“Religions and Globalization.” Invited lecture, NIRC (Network of Italian Researchers in the Cape), Cape Town (October 11, 2019).
“Chinese and Japanese Buddhism in South Africa: A Comparative Approach.” Invited lecture, University of Cape Town (September 25, 2019).
“East-Asian Buddhism in South Africa: Some Preliminary Observations on Three Case Studies.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa (ASRSA), University of South Africa, Pretoria (September 4-5, 2019).
“Some observations on Foguangshan in South Africa.” Invited lecture at the Conference “Humanistic Buddhism,” Cardiff University (May 24-25, 2019).
