CONTEMPORARY JAPAN: RELIGIONS Women and New Religions |
| In addition to the traditional religions of Shinto and Buddhism, Japan is also home to more than 600 “new religions” (shinko shukyo), which incorporate Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian elements. In this video series, Harvard University professors Theodore Bestor and Helen Hardacre discuss the impact of religious values and traditions on Japanese life. |
Helen Hardacre :: Many new religious movements have been founded by women, and in fact, the majority of the membership in new religious movements tends to be female. That is to say that women find many important and fulfilling outlets for their talents in new religious movements. Not only the aspects of faith and belief, which of course attract many people of both sexes, but it’s also the case that women can participate in new religious movements’ activities outside the home without giving up their primary roles as wives and mothers. This means that they are prominent as grassroots organizers in the new religions, and as proselytizers — as people who bring in new members to the new religious movements. |
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