Japanese Religion and Society

Winston Davis, Wilson-Craven Professor of Religion at Southwestern University, is author of Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan.

"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

• 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