Caterina Bertoli \u2013 DREST (Italian Doctoral School for Religious Studies), DSAAM, Ca\u2019 Foscari University of Venice (2022\u2013present)
\nRecipient of a PhD scholarship funded by the UBI Research Center, with the project:\n\u201cTherav\u0101da, Mah\u0101y\u0101na and Vajray\u0101na: Texts, Rituals, and Practitioners\u201d<\/p>\n
This research focuses on the various ways of \u201cbeing Buddhist\u201d in Italy today, with particular attention to Buddhist groups that do not identify with\u2014or are not able to identify with\u2014the institutionalized Buddhism represented by the Italian Buddhist Union (UBI). Within this context, the study centers on Shinnyo-en, a Japanese-origin religious movement often classified as a New Religious Movement (NRM), less known than S\u014dka Gakkai but therefore even more interesting to explore.<\/p>\n
The main objective is to analyze in depth Shinnyo-en\u2019s positioning within the contemporary Italian Buddhist landscape, investigating its mechanisms of legitimation, identity strategies, and dynamics of institutional and spiritual recognition. The research also explores how Italian members of Shinnyo-en define themselves\u2014sometimes as Buddhists, sometimes simply as \u201cfollowers\u201d\u2014and their relationship to Catholic-rooted practices and beliefs.<\/p>\n
As part of the internship with the UBI Research Center, the project includes a comparative analysis with a Nichiren group active in Italy and affiliated with the UBI. This comparison highlights similarities and divergences between two communities that, while both rooted in Japanese Buddhism, differ substantially in terms of legal status, public recognition, and doctrinal references.<\/p>\n
Finally, the project opens up the possibility\u2014if conditions permit\u2014of expanding the investigation to the Japanese context, to examine how strategies of legitimation and identity formation differ or align across cultural settings.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
La ricerca si concentra sulle modalit\u00e0 attraverso cui si \u00e8 buddhisti in Italia oggi, con particolare attenzione a quei gruppi buddhisti che non si riconoscono<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3191,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categorie-buddhist-studies":[50],"class_list":["post-2442","buddhist-studies","type-buddhist-studies","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-buddhist-studies-ricerca"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n