Publication details
Imagining Religion in Japan: Transformations of the Category of 'Religion' in the Japanese Context
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Seventh International Conference on Oriental Studies (Torchinov Readings): Metamorphoses, June 22 - 25, 2011, Part II |
| Citation | |
| Keywords | Study of religions; religions in Japan; religion; Japan; concept of religion |
| Description | The paper deals with the notion of "religion" in the context of Japan. The social sciences need general terms and concepts and the term "religion" is a generic term applied in the study of culture and in the academic study of religion under severe theoretical and methodological precautions. Without a doubt, the emic perspective constitutes an important element in studying a foreign culture, but it would be incorrect to consider it the very basis of the scholarly approach to a foreign culture. It is obvious that the perspective of the academic study of religions, of sociology or anthropology comes from the "Western" environment, but it is adopted in and it interacts with the non-Western environment. From this point of view, the general concept of "religion" should be maintained for the purpose of studying Japanese culture. It helps us to delimitate the field of our interest in order to better understand the phenomena we are about to encounter. |