On Being Nonreligious in Contemporary Japan

‘Religion is in a precarious situation in contemporary Japan. Temples and shrines are closing, religious engagement is declining (even within new religious movements), the ‘spiritual boom’ appears to over, and ‘religion’ has increasingly become part of a negative narrative. In this book, Ian Reader and Clark Chilson provide a compelling analysis of the field of ‘being nonreligious’, offering insightful observations and critical discussions. Highly recommended for all students and scholars of religion in Japan!’ * Jørn Borup, Aarhus University, Denmark * ‘This book is a timely treatment of why the majority of Japanese today identify themselves as mushukyo (nonreligious). In parsing this term, the authors’ examine the role of mass media and popular culture in shaping the negative perception of religion as something dangerous (abunai), which helps us understand the well-documented patterns of disaffiliation and institutional decline.’ * Mark Mullins, University of Auckland, New Zealand * ‘This book offers a masterful survey of the decline of religion in contemporary Japan. What does it really mean when Japanese say they are not religious? Reader and Chilson brilliantly argue that the hostility toward what many Japanese perceive to be toxic religions is a major factor behind increasing secularization and the rise of religious ‘nones’ in Japan.’ * Mark MacWilliams, St Lawrence University, USA * ‘Reader and Chilson have contributed much over the past few decades to our understanding of religion in Japan. Now they have combined their expertise and perspectives for a fresh look at the current situation, with a balanced analysis of controversial anti-religious themes such as cults, mind-control, and financial shenanigans. There is much food for thought here, relevant to the role (and decline) of religion in societies around the world.’ * Paul Swanson, Nanzan University, Japan * ‘Chilson and Reader take aim at one of the most persistent questions in the study of modern Japanese religions namely, “Are the Japanese religious?” Reader’s early work looked to answer this question by seeking religion in the daily practices of people. He argued then that, while Japanese may claim to not belong to a religion, we could be confident that they still were religious in some broader sense of the term given the many ways in which they turned to religious practices in their daily life. In this new work, Reader and Chilson approach the question from the point of view that even this more general sense of religious belonging has mostly disappeared in Japan today. Here they lay out a series of arguments in support of two major reasons for this decline – the increasingly negative attacks on religion that come from all directions (lawyers, academics, neoliberal capitalist economic policies) and from “a recurrent narrative of ‘religions behaving badly’.” These two factors lead many Japanese to dislike religion which in turn helps to explains the growing number of people who see themselves as “mushukyo” or non-religious. This is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the religious world of contemporary Japan today.’ * Stephen Covell, Western Michigan University, USA * ‘This is a landmark study of widespread popular attitudes of antipathy towards religion as a factor driving estrangement from religious activities and organizations in contemporary Japan. Reader and Chilson, two leading scholars with decades of experience in the field, offer a necessary and timely perspective for understanding the declining popularity of religion through richly detailed case studies of pressure groups, the media, and scandals involving clergy and religious organizations. This insightful book is sure to stimulate a long-overdue reconsideration of secularization in Japan, and anyone interested in contemporary Japanese religions or the rise of religious “nones” must reckon with its argument.’ * Adam Lyons, University of Montréal, Canada *