Bishop

=== Buddhism ===
The leader of the [[Buddhist Churches of America]] (BCA) is their [[Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America|bishop]],<ref>Numrich, P.D., 2013. Local Inter-Buddhist Associations in North America. In: Queen, C., Williams, D.R. (Eds.), ''American Buddhism: Methods and Findings in Recent Scholarship''. Routledge. p. 128</ref><ref>Murphy, T.F., United States Bureau of the Census (1941). ''Religious bodies, 1936''. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC., p. 346 https://archive.org/details/religiousbodies10002unse</ref><ref name=":12">Ama, M. (2010) The Legal Dimensions of the Formation of Shin Buddhist Temples in Los Angeles. In: Williams, D.R., Moriya, T. (Eds.), ''Issei Buddhism in the Americas''. University of Illinois Press., p. 66-68</ref> The Japanese title for the bishop of the BCA is {{transliteration|ja|sochō}},<ref name=":12" /><ref>Willard, R. H., Wilson, C. G. & Baird, J. A. (1985). ''Sacred Places of San Francisco''. Presidio Press., p. 164</ref><ref>Quli, N. E. F. & Mitchell, S. A. (2015). Buddhist Modernism As Narrative: A Comparative Study of Jodo Shinshu and Zen. In: Mitchell, S. A. & Quli, N. E. F. (eds.) ''Buddhism beyond Borders: New Perspectives on Buddhism in the United States''. SUNY Press., p. 206</ref> although the English title is favored over the Japanese. When it comes to many other [[Buddhist Terms and Concepts|Buddhist terms]], the BCA chose to keep them in their original language (terms such as {{transliteration|sa|[[sangha]]}} and {{transliteration|sa|[[Dāna|dana]]}}), but with some words (including {{transliteration|ja|sochō}}), they changed/translated these terms into English words.<ref>Kashima, T. (1977). ''Buddhism in America : the social organization of an ethnic religious institution''. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press., p. 41</ref><ref>Seager, R. H. (2012). ''Buddhism in America''. revised and expanded edition. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 56</ref><ref>Fronsdal, G. (1998). Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In: Prebish, C. S., Tanaka, K. K., & Tanaka, K. K. (eds.) ''The Faces of Buddhism in America''. University of California Press., p. 169</ref>

Between 1899 and 1944, the BCA held the name Buddhist Mission of North America. The leader of the Buddhist Mission of North America was called {{transliteration|ja|kantoku}} (superintendent/director) between 1899 and 1918. In 1918 the {{transliteration|ja|kantoku}} was promoted to bishop ({{transliteration|ja|sochō}}).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ama|first=Michihiro|title=Immigrants to the Pure Land: The Modernization, Acculturation, and Globalization of Shin Buddhism, 1898-1941|date=2011|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0824834388|pages=32, 37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Seager|first=Richard Hughes|title=Buddhism in America|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0231159739|pages=54}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kashima|first=Tetsuden|url=http://archive.org/details/buddhisminameric00tets|title=Buddhism in America : the social organization of an ethnic religious institution|date=1977|publisher=Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-8371-9534-6}}</ref> However, according to George J. Tanabe, the title "bishop" was in practice already used by Hawaiian Shin Buddhists (in [[Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii]]) even when the official title was ''kantoku''.<ref>Tanabe, G. J. Jr. (2004). Grafting Identity: The Hawaiian Branches of the Bodhi Tree. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press., p. 84</ref>

Bishops are also present in other Japanese Buddhist organizations. [[Higashi Hongan-ji]]'s North American District, [[Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii|Honpa Honganji Mission of Hawaii]], [[Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada]],<ref>Ama, M. (2011). ''Immigrants to the Pure Land: The Modernization, Acculturation, and Globalization of Shin Buddhism, 1898-1941''. University of Hawaii Press., pp. ix–x</ref> a [[Jōdo-shū|Jodo Shu]] temple in Los Angeles, the [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] temple [[Koyasan Buddhist Temple]],<ref>Prebish, C. S. (2010). ''Buddhism: A Modern Perspective''. Penn State Press., p. 256</ref> Sōtō Mission in Hawai‘i (a [[Soto Zen]] Buddhist institution),<ref>Tanabe,  G. J. Jr. (2004). Grafting Identity: The Hawaiian Branches of the Bodhi Tree. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press., p. 97</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.sotomission.org/about-us|work=Soto Mission of Hawaii|access-date=2021-07-12|language=en-US}}</ref> and the Sōtō Zen Buddhist Community of South America ({{lang|pt|Comunidade Budista Sōtō Zenshū da América do Sul}}) all have or have had leaders with the title bishop. As for the Sōtō Zen Buddhist Community of South America, the Japanese title is {{transliteration|ja|sōkan}}, but the leader is in practice referred to as "bishop".<ref>Rocha, C. (2004). Being a Zen Buddhist Brazilian: Juggling Multiple Religious Identities in the Land of Catholicism. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 140, 158</ref>