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...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax Publ.
2021
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| In: |
Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 79-103 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Clarke, Peter B. 1940-2011
/ Japan
/ New religion
/ Culture
/ Spread of
/ Western world
B France / Tenrikyō / History 1970-1980 |
| IxTheo Classification: | AZ New religious movements KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Legitimation
B cult controversy B Japanese new religions B Tenrikyō B Peter Clarke |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13537903.2021.1889796 |