عنوان

Manufacturing Shintō as a "World Religion"

Number

LA116755

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Manufacturing Shintō as a "World Religion"

General Material Designation

[Article]

First Statement of Responsibility

Mark MacWilliams

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Leiden

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Brill

Text of Note

How is Shintō presented in Anglo-American world religions textbooks? While not included in the earliest of such survey courses, it regularly appears in such texts from the early 20th century to the present. Why is Shintō included as one of "great" or "world" religions given how greatly it differs from the likes of Christianity and Islam? Textbook authors include Shintō by constructing an image of it that reflects their own model of world religions, an image that is also based on the "Shintō" that Meiji Japanese officials and scholars invented for their own political-ideological purposes. The standard portrayal of Shintō in Western textbooks has remained more or less the same for a century: It is described as (1) an archaic religion; (2) centered on Japanese imperial mythology; (3) nature worship; (4) apolitical, emphasizing personal piety at shrines. While the most recent editions have tried to incorporate new scholarship in their portrayal, they still rely a world religions model of Shintō that is seriously misleading, failing to adequately present Shintō's complexities as a tradition. How is Shintō presented in Anglo-American world religions textbooks? While not included in the earliest of such survey courses, it regularly appears in such texts from the early 20th century to the present. Why is Shintō included as one of "great" or "world" religions given how greatly it differs from the likes of Christianity and Islam? Textbook authors include Shintō by constructing an image of it that reflects their own model of world religions, an image that is also based on the "Shintō" that Meiji Japanese officials and scholars invented for their own political-ideological purposes. The standard portrayal of Shintō in Western textbooks has remained more or less the same for a century: It is described as (1) an archaic religion; (2) centered on Japanese imperial mythology; (3) nature worship; (4) apolitical, emphasizing personal piety at shrines. While the most recent editions have tried to incorporate new scholarship in their portrayal, they still rely a world religions model of Shintō that is seriously misleading, failing to adequately present Shintō's complexities as a tradition.

Date of Publication

2018

Physical description

171-207

Title

Journal of Religion in Japan

Volume Number

6/3

International Standard Serial Number

2211-8349

Subject Term

Japanese religion

Subject Term

Shintōism

Subject Term

textbooks

Subject Term

world religions

Mark MacWilliams

Call Number

10.1163/22118349-00603005

Electronic name

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y