Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in Québec. The Lotus and the Fleur de Lys

Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960s and the decline of the Catholic church had a profound effect on the spiritual life of the citizenry. Quebec became a largely secular society, but some turned to new religions. By the late 1990s, well over a thousand Quebeckers had joined the Soka Gakkai, a Japanese-based Buddhist organization with ten million followers worldwide. This study analyzes why an Asian Buddhist group would attract a respectable and devoted following in once-Catholic Quebec while other Buddhist movements have always failed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. Metraux presents a history of Soka Gakkai movement in both Japan and Canada, as well as interviews and testimonies from a large number of Quebec Soka Gakkai leaders and members.