From Salvation to Spirituality Popular Religious Movements in Modern Japan

by Shimazono, Susumu; Shimazono, Susumu

• ISBN13: 9781876843137
• ISBN10: 1876843136
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-01
• Publisher: Trans Pacific Press

Summary

Susumu Shimazono, one of Japans foremost sociologists of religion, deals with the development of popular religious and spiritual movements in Japan in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. At present, it is estimated that more than ten percent of Japans total population are members of the so-called New Religions. While Buddhist and Shintoist influences remain pronounced, there are many other features common to modern Japans popular religious thinking. Through a careful study of these features, the author examines classical concepts and theories of religious studies, proposes alternative approaches, and reconsiders religion in modernity in the context of Japanese cultural heritage.

Table of Contents

Tables	vi
Figures	vi
Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction	3	(24)
Part I Japan's New Religions in the Broader Scheme
New Religions and the Sociology of Religion in Japan	27	(13)
Religious Influences on Japan's Modernization	40	(13)
On Contemporary Salvation Religion	53	(18)
Part II Popular Buddhist Movements and Nationalism
Crisis of Authority and the Lotus Sutra-Based New Religions	71	(20)
Popularism Derived from the Lotus Sutra Tradition	91	(18)
Soka Gakkai and the Modern Reformation of Buddhism	109	(22)
Part III Perspectives on Religious and Spiritual Movements
Millennialism	131	(33)
Spirit Belief	164	(14)
Conversion Stories	178	(16)
Alternative Knowledge	194	(18)
From Religion to Psychotherapy	212	(17)
Part IV Religious and Spiritual Movements after 1970s
The Post -1970 Situation	229	(8)
The Expansion of New Religions Overseas	237	(24)
New Religions and This World	261	(13)
New Spirituality Movements and the Spiritual Intellectuals	274	(19)
`New Age Movements' or `New Spirituality Movements and Culture'	293	(13)
Notes	306	(12)
References	318	(18)
Index	336