Paper short abstract:

The objective in this presentation is to suggest a new framing of religious literacy in RE-research.I will argue that religious literacy should be understood as being closer to its origin in New Literacy Studies and to be uncoupled distinctively from other established concepts within RE-research.

Paper long abstract:

Communication in the field of Religious Education (RE) would benefit from adequate and distinct concepts. The opposite, wide-ranging and imprecise concepts, runs the risk of obstructing such endeavours. Religious literacy is a very popular concept in this field and has been for some time. It is undeniably a concept that is here to stay and something that must be taken into consideration. However, religious literacy is a ubiquitous term and has become too wide-ranging and inclusive. However, despite the lack of clarity, religious literacy is not a redundant term. Quite the opposite, religious literacy could be a most fruitful term in several areas of research. But if we want to recognize something, and study it, we need to know what we are looking for in the first place. The following rhetorical question arises: would we be better off with a more precise, agreed and demarcated understanding of religious literacy? This paper argues that we would.

The objective in this presentation is to elaborate on and discuss the predicament surrounding religious literacy in RE-research and to suggest a new framing that would help us to use religious literacy in a more cohesive and practical manner. I will argue that religious literacy, on the one hand, should be understood as being closer to its origin in New Literacy Studies (Street 1984, 1998) and, on the other, to be uncoupled distinctively from other established concepts within RE-research.

Paper short abstract:

Following the assassination of a former Japanese PM in 2022 by a self-proclaimed victim of the Unification Church, the Japanese media started anti-cult campaigns. Drawing on M. Introvigne’s 2022 EASR keynote, this paper analyzes popular and scholarly reactions and the government’s actions.

Paper long abstract:

Following the assassination of a former Japanese Prime Minister in July 2022 by a self-proclaimed victim of the Unification Church, the Japanese media started anti-cult campaigns rather than accusing the criminal. Drawing on Massimo Introvigne’s international comparison of anti-cultism/separatism presented in his 2022 EASR keynote lecture, this paper reports on and analyzes media representations and public discussions of the issue and their relationships with the government’s actions. It will also examine scholars’ reactions to the issue, comparing them with reactions to the Aum Shinrikyo affair in 1995.

Introvigne has also published a number of online articles (including the below) on the anti-UC campaign, which European scholars may find helpful.

Massimo Introvigne, “The Assassination of Shinzo Abe and the Unification Church,” The Journal of CESNUR, Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December 2022, pages 74-96.