Meiji Religious Policy, Sōtō Zen, and the Clerical Marriage Problem
One of the most significant legal changes for the Buddhist clergy in the wake of the Meiji Restoration was the decriminalization of clerical meat eating and marriage (nikujiki saitai). The end to state enforcement of the prohibition against marriage by the Buddhist clergy sparked a prolonged debate...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[1998]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 1998, Volume: 25, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 45-85 |
| Further subjects: | B
Clerics
B Abbots B Buddhism B Meiji period B Religious Studies B Government Regulation B Sectarianism B Decriminalization B Government officials |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | One of the most significant legal changes for the Buddhist clergy in the wake of the Meiji Restoration was the decriminalization of clerical meat eating and marriage (nikujiki saitai). The end to state enforcement of the prohibition against marriage by the Buddhist clergy sparked a prolonged debate over that practice within the Buddhist world. This article examines the range of responses to the decriminalization measure by the Sōtō clergy and traces the spread of clerical marriage within the Sōtō denomination. Despite ongoing resistance to clerical marriage from the denomination's leadership, the majority of Sōtō clerics eventually married, forcing many institutional adaptations. The de facto acceptance of clerical marriage, however, failed to resolve the fundamental doctrinal issues concerning that practice, which remains problematic for some Sōtō clerics today. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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