Legitimating a religion through culture: revisiting Peter Clarke’s discussion on the globalisation of Japanese new religions

Peter Clarke’s work on the globalisation of Japanese new religions in the West remains a primary point of reference in this field. Despite its ground-breaking contribution, there needs to be a re-evaluation of his conclusion, which considers Japanese cultural elements of these religious groups as a...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Kato, Masato (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Carfax Publ. 2021
Dans: Journal of contemporary religion
Année: 2021, Volume: 36, Numéro: 1, Pages: 79-103
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Clarke, Peter B. 1940-2011 / Japan / Nouvelles religions / Culture / Diffusion / Monde occidental
B Frankreich / Tenrikyō / Histoire 1970-1980
RelBib Classification:AZ Nouveau mouvement religieux
KBM Asie
Sujets non-standardisés:B cult controversy
B Légitimation
B Japanese new religions
B Tenrikyō
B Peter Clarke
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé:Peter Clarke’s work on the globalisation of Japanese new religions in the West remains a primary point of reference in this field. Despite its ground-breaking contribution, there needs to be a re-evaluation of his conclusion, which considers Japanese cultural elements of these religious groups as a hindrance to local adaptation in the West. This article revisits his claim by strategically focusing on a religious group known as Tenrikyō, which has been described by Clarke as a primary example of unsuccessful Japanese new religions in the West due to its strong association with Japanese traditional culture. This study highlights the group’s approach to use Japanese culture as a resource for increasing its public visibility and legitimacy in France, an initiative which coincided with a period of growing interest in the Japanese language and popular culture as well as the cult controversy in the country. By analysing the promotion of Japanese culture as a non-religious strategy of legitimation, if not competition, this study argues that the implications of particular cultural elements associated with a religious group need to be assessed in the light of the social dynamics of legitimation and delegitimation in a given context.
ISSN:1469-9419
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13537903.2021.1889796