Seichō no Ie is a syncretic, monotheistic, New Thought Japanese new religion that has spread since the End of World War II in Asia. It emphasizes gratitude for nature, the family, ancestors and, above all, religious faith in one universal God. Seichō no Ie is the world's largest New Thought group.[1] By the end of 2010 it had over 1.6 million followers and 442 facilities, mostly located in Japan.[2]
In 1930, Masaharu Taniguchi, working as an English translator, published the first issue of what he called his "non-denominational truth movement magazine", which he named Seichō no Ie to help teach others of his beliefs. This was followed by forty volumes of his "Truth of Life" philosophy by 1932. Over the next forty years, he published an additional four hundred–odd books and toured many countries in Europe, South America, and North America with his wife Teruko, to lecture on his beliefs personally. Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, and his brother Fenwicke were of great assistance to Taniguchi. Fenwicke traveled to Japan and co-authored several books, with one called The Science of Faith becoming a cornerstone of the denomination.[3]
Taniguchi died in a Nagasaki hospital on June 17, 1985, at the age of ninety-one.[4] Today the president of Seichō no Ie is Masanobu Taniguchi.
In the 2000s, Seicho-no-Ie Fundamental Movement seceded from HQ. As of 2017, there are three factions of the original movement. The two largest factions are led by Masanobu Taniguchi, the president of Seichō no Ie; a group of elder teachers of Seichō no Ie known as Manabushi leads the other faction.