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Explores how religion has shaped Japan's social structure, economic development, modernization, and national identity through a critical analysis of historical and contemporary Japanese society.
What role has religion played in the making of Japanese society? How have spiritual traditions influenced economic growth, social conflict, national identity, and modernization?
In Japanese Religion and Society, acclaimed scholar Winston Davis offers a compelling exploration of the dynamic relationship between religion and social life in Japan. Moving beyond stereotypes and simplistic theories of "Japanese uniqueness," Davis examines the institutions, beliefs, and cultural tensions that have shaped Japan's transformation into a modern nation.
Through insightful studies of pilgrimage movements, Buddhism and modernization, civil religion, secularization, and economic development, this groundbreaking work reveals religion not as a static tradition, but as an active force in social change.
Combining rigorous scholarship with engaging analysis, Davis challenges both Western and Japanese interpretations of Japan's cultural identity while opening new perspectives on the study of religion and society itself.
"It provides in one place and under one cover useful studies featuring the important interrelationship between religion and society, or — to put it more correctly— Japanese religio-social reality." — Richard B. Pilgrim, Syracuse University
"This is a solid piece of work, and the topic is significant, in fact, timely, in several regards. First, there is much attention today on Japan and the secret of its cultural and social makeup. Second, there is the question of whether to accept the 'uniqueness' argument of Japan's mystique (which Davis rejects), or if so, which theory is best able to account for the nature of Japan—to which question Davis provides some interesting insights. This book offers a thoroughly researched, carefully analyzed, and thoughtfully interpreted and sustained critical assessment of Japanese religion and the Japanese and Western scholarship on the subject. It not only opens up the Japanese phenomenon in an insightful way, but also raises interesting theoretical questions about the study of religion and society." — Byron Earhart, Western Michigan University
Winston Davis, Wilson-Craven Professor of Religion at Southwestern University, is author of Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan.
Illustrations
Preface
Part I: The Structure of Religious Groups
Chapter 1: Japanese Religious Affiliations: Motives and Obligations
Part II: The Dynamics of Social Conflict
Chapter 2: Pilgrimage and World Renewal
Chapter 3: The Cross and the Cudgel
Part III: The Dynamics of Social and Economic Change
Chapter 4: The Weber Thesis and the Economic Development of Japan
Chapter 5: Buddhism and Modernization
Chapter 6: Ittoen: The Work Ethic of a Buddhist Utopia
Part IV: Secularization and National Identity
Chapter 7: The Secularization of Japanese Religion
Chapter 8: Japan Theory and Civil Religion
Notes
Index