In this episode, Allison Alexy talks with Prof. Levi McLaughlin, whose research focuses on religion in contemporary Japan. The conversation centers on his new book Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan, exploring Buddhist practices and beliefs among within the Soka Gakkai religious sect. Topics of discussion include: the history of Soka Gakkai, attitudes toward religion in Japan, social class and classism, stigma and prejudice, and doing ethnographic fieldwork. 

If you're interested in learning more about Dr. McLaughlin's work, please watch his presentation in the Center for Japanese Studies' lecture series.

Dr. Levi McLaughlin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University. You can find him on twitter @mclaughlin_levi.

Michigan Talks Japan is produced by Robin Griffin, Justin Schell, and Allison Alexy and is supported by the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan.