Japanese Religions

Catalog description

This course examines the complex history of religions in Japan. Focuses include the various forms of Buddhism that came to Japan over centuries and how they interacted with the politicized animism and ancestor worship called Shinto. The course also addresses the way that modernity in Japan radically altered religious belief and practice, the relationship between post-1868 Shinto and nationalism, connections between Buddhism and imperialism, and post-1945 developments including the flourishing of new religions and religious cults. Offered Occasionally.