Open AccessA MULTI-DIMENSIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC RELIGION: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE YASUKUNI SHRINE
Author(s) -
寛文 津城,
ヒロフミ ツシロ,
Hirofumi Tsushiro
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
politikologija religije
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1820-659X
pISSN - 1820-6581
DOI - 10.54561/prj0401056h
Subject(s) - viewpoints , politics , civil society , institution , state (computer science) , sociology , scope (computer science) , political mobilization , political science , law , political economy , public administration , social science , computer science , art , algorithm , visual arts , programming language
In considering religio-political problems, the term public religion has been utilized by not a few scholars during the last decade. The Yasukuni Shrine, the largest memorial institution for the war dead in Japan, is a typical case in the discourse on public religion, which has been discussed from various viewpoints in many contexts. I propose to analyze the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine in a triangular scheme that relates three realms of the social: politics, religion, and culture. Manifestations of public religion in the broadest sense can be analyzed as forms of inter-mobilization between these three camps. Further, mobilization occurs within several spheres, i.e., the state, political society, civil society, folk society and global society. This wide scope allows analyzing the so-called Yasukuni problem as well as other religio-political problems multi-dimensionally. This approach, supposedly, leads to a better understanding of the issue and, ultimately, to a more stable situation.