Buddhism, diversity and 'race' : multiculturalism and Western convert Buddhist movements in East London : a qualitative study
This study considers the development of convert Buddhism in multicultural environments. Its focus is on the encounters of people of colour (defined for the purposes of this study as people of African, Asian and Caribbean descent) with Western convert Buddhist movements, which tend to be predominantly white and middle-class. The study uses an ethnographic case study approach informed by feminist epistemologies. The case-studies are of two of the largest Western convert Buddhist movements in the UK â the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) and Soka Gakkai International-UK (SGI-UK) â and focus on their branches in the multicultural inner-city location of East London. The findings suggest that most Buddhists of colour in these movements come from the second generation of the diaspora. For the FWBO, there is an apparently hegemonic discourse of middle-class whiteness that people of colour and working class members of this movement have to negotiate as part of their involvement. In contrast, for SGI-UK, the ethos is one of a moral cosmopolitanism that encourages intercultural dialogue thus facilitating the involvement of a considerably more multicultural and international following. People of colour
Smith, Sharon Elizabeth
Buddhism, diversity and 'race' : multiculturalism and Western convert Buddhist movements in East London : a qualitative study. This study considers the development of convert Buddhism in multicultural environments. Its focus is on the encounters of people of colour (defined for the purposes of this study as people of African, Asian and Caribbean descent) with Western convert Buddhist movements, which tend to be predominantly white and middle-class. The study uses an ethnographic case study approach informed by feminist epistemologies. The case-studies are of two of the largest Western convert Buddhist movements in the UK â the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) and Soka Gakkai International-UK (SGI-UK) â and focus on their branches in the multicultural inner-city location of East London. The findings suggest that most Buddhists of colour in these movements come from the second generation of the diaspora. For the FWBO, there is an apparently hegemonic discourse of middle-class whiteness that people of colour and working class members of this movement have to negotiate as part of their involvement. In contrast, for SGI-UK, the ethos is one of a moral cosmopolitanism that encourages intercultural dialogue thus facilitating the involvement of a considerably more multicultural and international following. People of colour
buddhism diversity race multiculturalism western convert buddhist movement east_london qualitative_study study_considers development convert buddhism multicultural environment focus encounter people colour defined purpose_study people african asian caribbean descent western convert buddhist movement tend predominantly white middle_class study use_ethnographic case_study inform feminist epistemology case_studies large western convert buddhist movement friends western buddhist order international focus branch multicultural inner_city location east_london finding_suggest colour movement come second_generation diaspora apparently hegemonic discourse middle_class people colour work_class member movement negotiate part involvement contrast ethos moral cosmopolitanism encourage intercultural dialogue thus facilitate involvement considerably multicultural international following people colour