Paper short abstract:

The paper explores examples of civil religion in Japanese society. Highlighted are: (a) the interplay between civil religion and institutionalised religions, and (b) the distinction between civil religion and "primal religion" with its this-worldly benefits.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of “civil religion” has not been used very much in studies or discussions of Japanese religions, although it is in fact extremely relevant. In the introduction, therefore, I will briefly sketch the provenance of the concept and the way it is being used here. The central part of the paper will provide illustrative examples of some of the leading elements of civil religion in Japan such as annual events, fêted national figures, cultural symbols and national treasures. Theoretically, two aspects will be highlighted. First, it is notable that elements of civil religion emanate from and are promoted by secular institutions and technologized media, while organised religions in turn adopt leading elements of civil religion and mobilise them within their own systems. There is therefore a two-way symbolic traffic. Second, it is notable that civil religion sits almost seamlessly on that wider stratum of Japanese religious life which I refer to as primal religion. Care will be taken to indicate both the shared features and the differences between these two strata. The most striking difference is the lack of individual prayers for this-worldly benefits in civil religion, while these are prominent in primal religion. The patterns of primal religion are therefore more diversified, while civil religion has an even stronger claim on social obligation.