عنوان

Secularization, Deprivatization, and the Reappearance of 'Public Religion' in Japanese Society

شماره

LA116680

زبان متن نوشتاري يا گفتاري و مانند آن

انگلیسی

عنوان اصلي

Secularization, Deprivatization, and the Reappearance of 'Public Religion' in Japanese Society

نام عام مواد

[Article]

نام نخستين پديدآور

Mark R. Mullins

محل نشرو پخش و غیره

Leiden

نام ناشر، پخش کننده و غيره

Brill

متن يادداشت

Sociological theories about the fate of religion in modern societies originated in Europe and were initially based on the history of Western Christianity. Whether or not these theoretical perspectives are useful for the analysis of other religious traditions in non-Western regions of the world has been the focus of considerable debate for decades. This article engages some of the familiar theories of secularization in light of major developments in Japanese religion and society over the past two centuries. While it has been widely assumed that modernization inevitably brings with it a decline in religion, the first phase of this process in Japan was accompanied by the creation of a powerful new form of religion-State Shintō-that served to unite the nation around a common set of symbols and institutions for half a century. This was followed by the rapid and forced secularization of Shintō during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952), which essentially privatized or removed it from public institutions. Since the end of the Occupation, however, there has been an ongoing movement to restore the special status of Shintō and its role in the public sphere. Even though recent case studies and survey research indicate that individual religiosity and organized religions are facing serious decline today, the reappearance of religion in public life and institutions represented by this restoration movement also needs to be taken into account in our assessment of secularization in contemporary Japan. Sociological theories about the fate of religion in modern societies originated in Europe and were initially based on the history of Western Christianity. Whether or not these theoretical perspectives are useful for the analysis of other religious traditions in non-Western regions of the world has been the focus of considerable debate for decades. This article engages some of the familiar theories of secularization in light of major developments in Japanese religion and society over the past two centuries. While it has been widely assumed that modernization inevitably brings with it a decline in religion, the first phase of this process in Japan was accompanied by the creation of a powerful new form of religion-State Shintō-that served to unite the nation around a common set of symbols and institutions for half a century. This was followed by the rapid and forced secularization of Shintō during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952), which essentially privatized or removed it from public institutions. Since the end of the Occupation, however, there has been an ongoing movement to restore the special status of Shintō and its role in the public sphere. Even though recent case studies and survey research indicate that individual religiosity and organized religions are facing serious decline today, the reappearance of religion in public life and institutions represented by this restoration movement also needs to be taken into account in our assessment of secularization in contemporary Japan.

تاريخ نشر

2012

توصيف ظاهري

61-82

عنوان

Journal of Religion in Japan

شماره جلد

1/1

شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها

2211-8349

اصطلاح موضوعی

deprivatization

اصطلاح موضوعی

Liberal Democratic Party

اصطلاح موضوعی

public religion

اصطلاح موضوعی

secularization

اصطلاح موضوعی

Shintō Seiji Renmei

اصطلاح موضوعی

Yasukuni Shrine

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Mark R. Mullins

شماره بازیابی

10.1163/221183412X628442

نام الکترونيکي

فرمت انتشار

p

نوع ماده

[Article]

کد کاربرگه

275578

سطح دسترسي

a

تكميل شده

Y