I called the temple and explained the situation. I left my number and they forwarded it to a member in my area. I thought for sure that I would be bombarded by calls. But it took a week for that member to call me. We spoke, and I was surprised that she didn't make any effort to reel me back in. She offered to pick it up at my convenience/meet somewhere - and that works well for me. I told her I'd let her know my schedule and would call her back. She hasn't called since. All in all, I'm good with the arrangement. Shoot! She didn't even invite me to a meeting. That's pretty cool in my book.

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meh
Ironically, sporatica, I thought TaP's comments were directed towards me . . . I think perhaps they were for both of us, since we're in agreement about so much of how we've decided to handle this whole thing. I like your idea about handing the gohonzon over to a stranger; I'm going with the anonymity of the postal service. I don't "know" any strangers (little oxymoronic there), and I don't want to put any of the members I still have relationships with in an awkward position.

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I am not resigning from anything. Even when I was in NSA, there was no need for "resignation," as I was not an employee.

The purpose of officially resigning one's former membership is to do whatever is possible to get one's personal information out of that organization's books and to stop that organization from claiming one as a member (and thus inflating their membership rolls). If they continue to use your personal information after you have officially resigned, you have grounds for filing a lawsuit against them and there have been $$,$$$ judgments against religious organizations that refused to honor former members' resignations. If anyone is interested in the legal precedents: [www.mormonnomore.com] [www.mormonresignation.com]

There are a lot more issues (financial) involved in being a documented member of a particular religious group in some European countries than in the US, where it's more about privacy issues and falsified statistics.

The Mormons, for example, keep any member on the books until that member's 110th (some say 120th) birthday (calculated from the birthdate on the member's data). Even if that member has joined another religion. Even if that member has made it clear that s/he is completely done with the Mormon church. It's supposedly so that, if and when that member comes back, they will be ready to move him/her right back into active status. Yeah, right. It's all about propping up their collapsing numbers, and the SGI is in the same boat. In about 2007, I was at a Soka Spirit meeting up in LA, and one SGI staff member - either an older YWD national leader or recently graduated - got up to speak. "I have introduced over 400 people to this practice and helped them get gohonzon!" she said. Much applause. "Do you know how many are still practicing? TWO." That's the reality the SGI is facing, though you'll rarely hear it acknowledged.

The only way to get your name off the Mormon church's books is to send them a letter of resignation. They are then required to send back a confirmation - the SGI has not sent me my letter of confirmation yet so I'm getting ready to send a follow up letter. Of course, no one knows what's going on behind their closed doors, as religious corporations are not subject to audit and we all know they'll do *ANYTHING* to continue to appear relevant.

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TaitenAndProud

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I am not resigning from anything. Even when I was in NSA, there was no need for "resignation," as I was not an employee.

The purpose of officially resigning one's former membership is to do whatever is possible to get one's personal information out of that organization's books and to stop that organization from claiming one as a member (and thus inflating their membership rolls). If they continue to use your personal information after you have officially resigned, you have grounds for filing a lawsuit against them and there have been $$,$$$ judgments against religious organizations that refused to honor former members' resignations. If anyone is interested in the legal precedents: [www.mormonnomore.com] [www.mormonresignation.com]

I really don't care enough to deal with correcting their membership numbers. To me, it matters not if they claim 200 members or 20,000,000 members. It's definitely not worthy of any expenditure of my time to draft a lengthy resignation letter. SGI means nothing to me, and I see no reason to waste the court's time and the taxpayers money filing suit over having my name on a list, especially when SGI has unlimited legal funds, which pretty much guarantees a long and drawn out court proceeding. It's not my job to save people from the evil cult.

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TaitenAndProud

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There are a lot more issues (financial) involved in being a documented member of a particular religious group in some European countries than in the US, where it's more about privacy issues and falsified statistics.

And as for their finances, so long as it's not my money, it's none of my business. I'm more concerned with the multi-trillion dollar debt accrued by the Obama Administration, than the sum total of donations collected by SGI. When I walked away, I made a clean break, which means their business is their business, not mine. Having my name on a list at SGI is nothing compared to the invasion of privacy that the Obama Administration has subjected every single American to, by compiling a multi-zetabyte database of phone, email, and social-networking activity. SGI pales in comparison. I'm of the mindset of choosing my battles wisely, and SGI is a total waste of my time.

So many great posts here the last days!

@TaP: You have to send the resignation letter directly to SGI? Is there not an districts authority that manages the resignation? What I want to say, that here in Eu it's a little different. You can go to your governmental webside about religious affairs and they provide a free download form, all short and easy. Send it to your districts authority, and for a charge of 16 € I've got the confirmation letter from the authority. No contact to SGI. Gohonzon mailed back in an envelope, no letter included. I do not owe them an explanation or excuse or anything else.
A potential lawsuit against the SGI would be the first thing for me, if I'd discover that they still have me or my children in their membership register and save my data.

My problems are still the phone calls and texts I receive, an invitation for WD meeting with barbecues,pleas for chanting for an ill child and the friendship-tric calls... I ignore that but it comes all from private. Private persons on their own mission, no official SGI affairs.No higher ups than to districts leaders. They are annoying and slimy but they are not stupid.

Edit: the governmental authority's conformation is a must have, otherwise you can't go to justice.
And I have no confirmation letter recieved from SGI. That's the actual proof of respect they give to a 13 of years member.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2013 04:51AM by sixtyseven.

I have a similar story to the craigslist butsudan. The territory/area leader Mr.X made a big tohubohu about a Gohonzon hanging in one of his neighborhoods living-room. Guess he had seen the scroll by chance (not to say by pry) and he had checked with the residents, they had bought the buddhist scroll at a garage sale in street xy. Obviously the ex member who practiced on his own ( he had a lot of problems with t/a leader) had sadly passed away and nobody of the orgs so lovely members had noticed. However, the leader Mr.X insisted upon the neighbours that they had to return the Gohonzon because it's property of SGI! I don't know how the story ended cause I left in the meantime. He probably bought it back!
It is so disgusting and without respect to behave like this, I still feel so sorry for the member who died so sudden in the age of 52 and maybe he had no chance to arrange his belongings. When you find a gohonzon at the fleemarket or at ebay, well there are always different kind of stories.

Hopefully, TaP, you won't mind me responding to sixtyseven's question about the resignation letter?

here I the US, you have to send a letter of resignation to organizational headquarters; I only received a letter of confirmation letter because I followed up with them a few weeks after not receiving my requested confirmation of data removal. Unfortunately, the US government doesn't offer any support; when you can provide sufficient evidence that your request has been disregarded (continued harassment, for instance), you could move forward legally.

I'd suggest to you that if you're still receiving calls and texts, they are still using your personal information. Once again, based on US law, personal information is your name, address, phone number, email, social security number, banking information - that kind of thing. District leaders are representatives of the organization and have no business contacting . . . once again, based on US laws.

They really are disgusting and slimy . . . pretty much any negative adjective you care to apply.

Thank you meh for your response. I like your posts and enjoy your funny style of comments, I think humor is a good way to deal with the fear the cult implanted to our brains.
I have to check that , district leaders are representatives of the organization, I'm not sure if they are in a legal sense the representatives. SGI has governmental acceptance as a religious group under protection/ as a group member of the Buddhist association. The Authority extends warrantly your religious freedom and assists you in leaving.
The contacting is based in law as harassment "the stalking paragraph". I would have to prove that her phone calls are not privately, that Sgi gave the order to call me. Hmm, let me check that, I will call the Buddhist umbrella organization, they surely offer a legal service about a group they are protecting.

meh gave a good summary of the situation. The US is still the Wild Wild West in this regard; the Mormons, after much conflict, have set up an on-line arrangement of some sort where you can resign right there, I think, if memory serves, but there's no standard, no rules, no regulations, no requirements, and no oversight. That's why I chose to address the national HQ - they've got control over all the worker bees and hives, after all.

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I would have to prove that her phone calls are not privately, that Sgi gave the order to call me. Hmm, let me check that, I will call the Buddhist umbrella organization, they surely offer a legal service about a group they are protecting.

If you write a letter specifying that you do not wish to be contacted *at all* about anything SGI, that covers it in the US. You can also stipulate that you expect your wishes to be communicated through the leadership channels so that all the leaders and all the members know that you have stated that you are not to be contacted any more. Furthermore, I'm sure you could add a clause that you will consider any further contacts from SGI members, however supposedly innocent, to be evidence that the SGI has kept your personal information on file and is continuing to use it despite your clearly stated demand that all your personal information be removed from SGI files. And that you have spoken with a lawyer about defending your rights to privacy and (not being stalked/harrassed) with regard to this situation.

If you were to state it that explicitly, I think you would see the calls end abruptly :)

Plus I will send them a short story, here it is: Aesop Fable and ask them if they really know about the true nature of SGI.

I might mistakenly be equating a "religious" org like sgi as being similar to a corporation in that it has a certain responsibility for the conduct of its leaders when they are acting as members. When I sent in my letter of resignation, each of my local leaders received a copy of it as well. Interestingly, I got a perky little greeting card from the ywd district leader yesterday - she said she missed me. Awwwwww. Funny that in the three years we practiced together that she never reached out to me in any social way before. She's also the one who called me 10 times over the weekend after I announced my departure; I also spoke last week with a young woman who informally left a few months ago. This same leader called her afterwards and read her the mystic law riot act and bugged her for weeks. I'm going to email her and remind her that I requested no contact; since she's also the keeper of the member-card box that she return my card to me.

Sixtyseven, I love the fable!