Update: Controversies at Soka University in California

May 2, 2003

Source: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week635/feature.html

On May 2, 2003 Religion & Ethics Newsweekly reported that "a couple of years ago, in California, a new college opened its doors. It's new in more than one sense: its teaching is based on Buddhism, and it's run by a powerful, sometimes controversial Japanese religious sect... Opened in 2001 by a powerful Japanese religious sect called Soka Gakkai International, the $226 million school is the first college campus in the United States whose academic values and teaching principles are inspired by Buddhism... However, not everyone believes that Soka Gakkai has lived up to the virtues and values this campus is supposed to represent. Critics of the movement say that in the past, it has too often acted like an intolerant religious cult, more concerned about accumulating power than promoting spiritual enlightenment."