RT Article
T1 The Sangha and political acts: secularization in a Theravada Buddhist society
JF Internationales Asien-Forum
VO 44
IS 3/4
SP 271
OP 297
A1 Tosa, Keiko
LA English
PP Heidelberg Berlin
PB Institution
YR 2013
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1563588293
AB The secularization thesis has been influential in social thought. Most Western andsome Asian countries including Japan, seem to confirm this thesis. However, inmost Southeast Asian countries religion remains important. In this paper, I focus on the monk demonstrations in Myanmar in 2007. First, I show the contradictions in the confrontation between religious ideals and the institutionalization of sangha (themonastic community of ordained monks and novices) in the modern political system.Then I discuss the institutionalization undertaken to unify the sangha and the relationship between sangha institutions and legal system and the secular world. After this contextualization, I examine the monk demonstrations as part of a social movement. This involves exploring the kinds of networks used by the monks and the levels at which the military government intervened in the movement. Finally, I consider the response of Japanese Buddhist networks, including some humanitarian associations, and the effect of the monk demonstrations on wider networks of Buddhists.
DO 10.11588/iaf.2013.44.1364