Who\u27s The Boss?: The Soka Gakkai\u27s Legitimation of Authority in its Sect to Church Transition

In 1991, the SÅka Gakkai, a Japanese new religion (shinshÅ«kyÅ), was excommunicated from its parent religious organization, the Nichiren ShÅshÅ« school of Buddhism. This paper explores the effects that this excommunication is having on the SÅka Gakkai\u27s current development. As a result of the split with Nichiren ShÅshÅ«, the SÅka Gakkai is transitioning from a sect to a church. According to Jan Shipps, a sect is defined by its contention with an ecclesiastical authority and a church is an institution that serves to uphold traditions. Now that the SÅka Gakkai is functioning outside of the authority of Nichiren ShÅshÅ«, it has the ability to make this transition from an organization defined by its disagreements with the Nichiren ShÅshÅ« priesthood to an independently functioning religious institution. This paper will analyze the ways the SÅka Gakkai is making this transition using Max Weber\u27s three ideal types of legitimate authority (bureaucratic, traditional and charismatic). Since the split, the SÅka Gakkai has reframed a number of its beliefs and practices to account for the loss of the authority of the Nichiren ShÅshÅ« priesthood. These reframings provide the SÅka Gakkai with authority that was lost with the split from Nichiren ShÅshÅ«. Based on the progress the SÅka Gakkai has made in legitimizing its authority in each of Weber\u27s three types of authority, this paper will provide an analysis of the SÅka Gakkai\u27s progress in its transition from a sect to a church