Reddit mentions of Buddha in Daily Life, The: Introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin

SGI does get a bad rep here a lot. I think it's cause of two things :

1. Unlike most Western Buddhism , it is essentially a Japanese organization. Different branches seem to have evolved different styles of doing things. In some places traditional Japanese elements like obedience and lack of transparency are evident , in other places it's the opposite. I've witness both.
   
2. SGI is a lay organization so some members, not necessarily the most devote but certainly the loudest, do not have a very deep understanding of Buddhism. Some members would criticize other forms of Buddhism without having a real understanding of those forms or indeed of Nichiren Buddhism itself. This is regrettable and gives the SGI a bad name.
   
   To OP, ultimately it's up to you to make the decision. Only you know whether chanting has made your life better or not. I'm not sure how knowledgeable people are in your community, so for theory I would recommend this books The Buddha in Daily Life which , in my opinion, is better than many of the publications or Ikeda's writing (!). I would recommend to keep chanting and try to understand the teaching through observing your own mind while chanting. Take what you can from the community , but don't do anything that you are uncomfortable with. All the best

The Buddah in Daily Life is a great introduction.