| Fetchwikidata: | ALL |
Marvin Harada (born 12 September 1953) is a Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist minister within the Buddhist Churches of America, and serves as its bishop since 1 April 2020. As bishop of BCA, he also serves as the superintendent of Hongwanji-ha's North American district.[1]
On 25 May 2021, he served as the representative of the Mahayana tradition in a celebration of Gautama Buddha's birthday (Vesak) arranged by the White House.[2] [3]
He was born in Ontario, Oregon. His grandparents, farmers from Hiroshima Prefecture and Yamaguchi Prefecture, emigrated to the United States in early 20th century.[4]
He majored in religious studies at University of Oregon, and received a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies from Institute of Buddhist Studies. After acquiring these degrees, he moved to Japan to study at Ryukoku University and the Honganji-ha seminary Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin. He received a M.A. in Shin Buddhist Studies from Ryukoku University.
Prior to becoming bishop, he served as a minister at Orange County Buddhist Church since 1986, and eventually became the head minister there. Alongside this, he has served as co-director of BCA Continuing Buddhist Education, and as supervising minister of Sacramento Betsuin and Vista Buddhist Temple.