Socially Inclusive Buddhists in America

Abstract IN the last twenty years Soka Gakkai has become the largest and most racially diverse Buddhist organization in North America. While various studies have focused on its national policies and activities, none has examined the details of how this growth took place in individual regions. To fill in the picture, this chapter reviews the diflerent trajectories taken by Soka Gakkai in three major centers: Los Angeles, where Soka Gakkai first began conducting meetings in English; Chicago, where African Americans first embraced Soka Gakkai in large numbers; and Miami, where Hispanics have recently emerged as a dominant force.