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In the first part the article offers a preliminary synoptic approach to Buddhism in South America in general. The latter part is based on a combination of different kinds of references, including academic sources, official statistics of religion launched by governmental and research agencies Buddhist directories, estimations of the statistical relevance of Buddhism by continent, by country or in a city, and homepages run by Buddhists institutions active in South America. Since research on Buddhism in Brazil is well advanced, the reader can expect more details in the second part of this essay dedicated to a description and interpretation of the situation in the only Portuguese speaking country in South América.

Argues for an organizational perspective for social movement analysis that focuses on industries, families, & sectors of activism rather than on individual movements. It is argued that a movement or society's "protest potential" is strongly related to its "organizational potential;" the relationship between social movement organization & protest is discussed. Theories & methodologies from organizational research can illuminate how a social movement mobilizes participants & how its population changes over time, how its structure develops & evolves, & reasons for its successes & failures. The author's construction of a longitudinal database of 975 national women's & minority group organizations in the US, 1955-1985, demonstrates some of the dynamics of longitudinal data & design. Some alternative approaches that rely on published directories, movement-based resources, & organizational surveys to develop panel designs are also examined. The potential contributions of the macroorganizational approach are reviewed, along with some of its limitations. 1 Table, 51 References. K. Hyatt Stewart