Seicho-no-Ie, is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic religion, one of the new religious movements in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II. It emphasizes gratitude for nature, the family and the ancestors and, above all, faith in one universal God. It inherits its basic characteristics from Buddhism, Christianity and Shinto. Seicho-no-Ie is the world’s largest New Thought group.

In 1930, Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, working as an English translator, published the first issue of what he called his non-denominational truth movement magazine, which he named Seicho-no Ie to help teach others of his revelations. 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 revelations personally.

Founder of Religious Science, Ernest Holmes, and his brother Fenwicke L. Holmes, were of great assistance to Dr.Taniguchi. Fenwicke L. Holmes traveled to Japan and co-authored several books, one cornerstone book being the Science of Faith.

Seicho-No-Ie is a way of life worshiping all creations such as plants, animals and minerals, as manifestations of Buddha based on the idea of being grateful to everything in the universe. Today, in the face of global environmental issues, it is believed that practicing Seicho-No-Ie teachings has significant meaning for our times. Based on this conviction, Seicho-No-Ie actively promotes measures for global environmental conservation through widely disseminating the teachings of “All is One.”

Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was founded in 1927 by Ernest Holmes. It is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. Ernest Holmes stated that Religious Science is a correlation of the laws of science, opinions of philosophy, and revelations of religion applied to human need and the aspirations of mankind. He also stated that Religious Science or Science of Mind is not based on any authority of established beliefs, but rather on what it can accomplish for the people who practice it.

Religious Science should not be confused with Christian Science or Scientology. While Christian Science and Religious Science share a common root in history they are not the same teaching, and neither of these organizations have any connections with Scientology. One major difference between Christian Science and Religious Science is that Christian Scientists do not believe that traditional medical practices are compatible with their philosophy, whereas Religious Science believes that all proven healing practices are part of the whole, so that the practice of Spiritual Mind Treatment can be performed supplementally with medical practices.

The Religious Science teaching generally incorporates idealistic and panentheistic philosophies. It teaches that all beings are expressions of and part of Infinite Intelligence, also known as Spirit, Higher Consciousness, or God. It believes that, because God is all there is in the universe, Its powers can be used by all humans to the extent that they realize Its presence. Ernest Holmes said said that God is not a person, but a Universal Presence, already in our own soul, already operating through our own consciousness.

Religious Science believes that people can achieve more fulfilling lives through the practice called Spiritual Mind Treatment, or Affirmative Prayer. Spiritual Mind Treatment is a step-by-step process, in which one states the desired outcome as if it has already happened. In that way, it differs from traditional prayer, since it does not ask God for assistance. It declares human partnership with God to achieve success.

Treatment is to be stated as personal, positive, powerful, and present. The goal is to gain clarity in thinking that guides action to be consistent with the desired outcome. Spiritual Mind Treatment is believed to set off a new chain of causation in Mind that leads one to act according to the good for which one is treating. Spiritual Mind Treatment, as currently taught in Religious Science centers, contains five steps: Recognition, Unification, Realization, Thanksgiving, and Release. Some adherents also use supplemental meditation techniques, including visioning.

Although Holmes was criticized for not focusing much on Love, he did say that Love points the way and Law makes the way possible. The Law of Cause and Effect simply states that every action has a consequence and is good, bad, or neutral. It can be described as whatever goes around comes around. It differs from the Hindu and Buddhist definition of karma in that it is not related to reincarnation and that it happens in this life as well as the next. Personal responsibility is a major tenet of Religious Science.

Ernest Holmes did not originally intend for Religious Science to be a church, but rather a teaching institution. In that spirit, many member organizations have traditionally referred to themselves as centers. The mental healing work of Dr. Phineas P. Quimby was a source of inspiration to much of the New Thought movement, including Religious Science. Ernest Holmes was especially strongly influenced by Emma Curtis Hopkins, and by the writings of Judge Thomas Troward and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as he developed his own synthesis, which became known as Religious Science.

Upon publication of his seminal book in 1926, The Science of Mind, which is based largely on the teachings of Jesus, Holmes established the Institute for Religious Science and School of Philosophy in Los Angeles. This organization would later become the Church of Religious Science. Holmes had previously studied another New Thought teaching Divine Science. He saw humans as being open to evolutionary improvement of consciousness in all areas of life. This concept has inspired Religious Science organizations and their teachings to evolve over the years.

As stated in the book New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality, New Thought still is evolving; it may yet be the point at which religion, philosophy, and science come together as the most effective combination to move the world to greater peace, plenty, health, and harmony. Many believe it might be the quintessential spirituality for the next millennium. His teachings attracted famous celebrities of his time, including Cecil B. De Mille, Peggy Lee, and Cary Grant.