is a term used in
Japan to describe
new religious movements. They are also known as in Japanese, and are most often called simply
Japanese new religions in English. Japanese theologians classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as "Shinshūkyō". Thus, the term refers to a great diversity and number of organizations. Most came into being in the mid-to-late twentieth century and are influenced by much older traditional religions including
Shinto,
Buddhism, and
Hinduism. Some are
syncretic, some share similarities with
fundamentalism, and many claim they are not influenced by other religions.
Many regard the Shinshūkyō as cults, and warn against associating with them, as a result of being nervous about their beliefs, their methods and goals, and their methods of persuading others to join them. Modern usage of the terms 'cult' or 'sect' is usually associated with negative aspects of such groups, so many people have a negative image of organizations labeled as cults or sects. Even though some new religions have been found to be dangerous, there is no evidence of danger in most of the new religions. In the West, the best-known Shinshūkyō is probably Aum Shinrikyo, the group which released a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.
In the 1860s, Japan began to experience great social turmoil and rapid modernization. As social conflicts emerged in this last decade of the
Tokugawa period, known as the
Bakumatsu period, some new religious movements appeared. Among them were
Tenrikyo,
Kurozumikyo and
Oomoto, sometimes called
Nihon Sandai Shinkōshūkyō (lit. Japan's three large Shinkōshūkyō), which were directly influenced by
Shintō (the
state religion) and
shamanism.
The social tension continued to grow during the Meiji period affecting religious practices and institutions. Conversion from traditional faith was no longer legally forbidden; officials lifted the 250-year ban on Christianity, and missionaries of established Christian churches reentered Japan. The traditional syncreticism between Shinto and Buddhism ended, and Shinto became the national religion. Losing the protection of the Japanese government which Buddhism had enjoyed for centuries, Buddhist monks faced radical difficulties to sustain their institutions, but their activities also became less restrained by the governmental policies and restrictions. During the Meiji period, some Buddhism-influenced Shinshūkyō also appeared, including Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, an organization based on Nichiren Buddhism which would later be renamed as Soka Gakkai.
The Japanese government was very suspicious toward these religious movements and periodically made attempts to suppress them. Government suppression was especially severe during the early 20th century, particularly from the 1930s until the early 1940s, when the growth of Japanese nationalism and State Shinto were closely linked. Under the Meiji regime, lèse majesté protected not only insults against the Emperor and his Imperial House, but also some major Shinto shrines which were believed to be tied strongly to the Emperor. The government strengthened its control over religious institutions that were considered to undermine State Shinto or nationalism, arresting some members and leaders of Shinshukyo, including Onisaburo Deguchi of Oomoto and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi of Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, who typically were charged with violation of lèse majesté and the Peace Preservation Law.
Shinshūkyō after World War II
Background
After Japan lost World War II, its government and policy changed radically during
occupation by Allied troops, whose core was United States military personnel. The official status of State Shinto was abolished, and Shinto shrines became religious organisations, losing government protection and financial support. Although the
Occupation Army (GHQ) practiced censorship of all types of organizations, specific suppression of Shinshūkyō ended.
GHQ invited many Christian missionaries from the United State to Japan, through Douglas MacArthur's famous call for 1,000 missionaries. Missionaries arrived not only from traditional churches, but also from some modern denominations, such as Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witnesses missionaries were so successful that they have become the second largest Christian denomination in Japan with over 210,000 members; the largest is Catholicism with about 500,000 members. In Japan, Jehovah's Witnesses is tend to be considered Christianity based Shinshūkyō, not only because they were founded in the 19th century as same as other major Shinshūkyō, but also their way of missionary with door-to-door visiting and frequent meetings.
Despite the influx of Christian missionaries, the majority of Shinshūkyō are Buddhist- or Shinto-related sects. Major sects include Soka Gakkai, Rissho Kosei Kai and Shinnyo-en.
Influence
After World War II, the structure of the state was changed radically. Prior to WWII, the
National Diet was restricted and the real power lay with the executive branch, in which the prime minister was appointed by the emperor. Under the new
Constitution of Japan, the Diet had the supreme authority for decision making in state affairs and all its members were elected by the people. Especially in the
House of Councillors, one third of whose members were elected through nationwide vote, nationwide organizations found they could influence national policy by supporting certain candidates. Major Shinshūkyō became one of the so-called "vote-gathering machines" in Japan, especially for the conservative parties which merged into the
Liberal Democratic Party in 1955.
Soka Gakkai has a particular influence to politics, thanks to their affiliated party Komeito, later New Komeito, since 1964.
Analysis
Most scholars agree that the post-war success of Shinshūkyō was partly caused by the spiritual void created by Shintoism's loss of official state endorsement that occurred during the occupation period. However, the reason of its success compared to other non-Shinto religions is still not clear. Neil McFarland has attributed the success to wide-spread use of
advertising by various Shinshūkyō, which range from simple flyers to radio and TV advertising. Worth Grant has further speculated on Christianity's failure to yet make a major impact in Japan; the faithful of Christianity reaches only one percent of the national population. Grant believes it was caused by its focus on education and intellectuals, an emphasis that was caused by severe restrictions on missionary activities in the late
Edo to early Meiji period. Additionally, some
evangelical Christian denominations, which have a greater focus on evangelism compared to other groups, greatly changed when they were introduced to Japan. For example, the Japan Baptist Convention, created by the
Southern Baptist Convention, gradually changed into a
liberal denomination under the influence of missionaries such as
E. Luther Copeland. Other people have pointed to the general
apathy of post-war Japan towards religion and the religious ignorance that emerged as a result. However, the true reason why various Shinshūkyō have been successful is still widely debated.
Judeo-Christian Shinshūkyō
Although most Shinshūkyō are based primarily on Shinto, Buddhism or shamanism beliefs and practices, some Shinshūkyō draw upon
Judeo-Christian concepts, history, and beliefs. A few consider themselves
Jewish or
Christian, though they are not recognized as such by the greater communities (or authorities) of these religions. Some Shinshūkyō subscribe to some version of the belief that the Japanese people are connected to the Jewish people, culturally if not ethnically. Some claim that Japan is the
Garden of Eden, that
Abraham,
Moses, and
Jesus were Japanese and are buried there, or that the Japanese people are descended from one of the
Lost Tribes of Israel. There are even some Shinshūkyō which believe in a Jewish conspiracy for world domination as described in
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Mahikari
Some scholars claim that
Mahikari, started by
Yoshikazu Okada, is a Jewish-inspired group whose members believe themselves to be descended from the
Levites, the priests of Israel and that according to their doctrine, the rest of the Jewish people have failed God and have been punished throughout history. One of the Okada-inspired groups, the
Sukyo Mahikari organization considers these views to be distorted, however, claiming that its use of the term 'levites' does not refer to the Jewish people of the Bible and that it is not anti-Semitic.
Makuya
The
Makuya, though not affiliated with any Jewish or Christian denominations or authorities around the world, consider themselves Christian, worshipping God and Jesus in much the same way they believe the earliest Christians would have, obeying Jewish laws, and ignoring secondary objects of worship, such as the
Christian Cross or the
Virgin Mary. They are strongly
Zionist, and make regular trips to
Jerusalem to worship at the
Western Wall.
Aum Shinrikyo
Although
Aum Shinrikyo does not claim to draw upon Jewish beliefs or principles, nor to have any ethnic connection to Judaism, its doctrine is based largely on the belief that an
apocalypse is coming, and that they are the shepherds who will guide humanity into a new age of light and peace. In
2000, they changed the name of the group to
Aleph, the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet.
See also
References
- Clarke, Peter B. (ed.), A Bibliography of Japanese New Religious Movements: With Annotations, Surrey, Japan Library, 1999 ISBN 1-873410-80-8
- Clarke, Peter B. (ed.), Japanese New Religions: In Global Perspective, Surrey, Curzon Press, 2000 ISBN 0-7007-1185-6
- Hardacre, Helen, Kurozumikyo and the New Religions of Japan, New Jersey & West Sussex (UK), Princeton University Press, 1988 ISBN 0-691-02048-5
- Wilson, Bryan R. and Karel Dobbelaere, A Time to Chant, Oxford, Clarendon/Oxford University Press, 1994 ISBN 0-19-827915-9
External links
