K. M. University, India Christianity in the Land of Santhals: a study of Resistance and Acceptance in Historical Perspective(03U)

Kawamata, Toshinori

Urawagakuin High School, Japan

Succession of Faith in Pastor Wives(04P)

In many Christian churches in Japan, there are few members and we cannot say that they are economically rich. The pastor wife plays an important role of her church activity together with the pastor. It is not uncommon for pastor wives to support their pastor husband, even though they have their own qualifications as a pastor. It became clear from the result of investigation that so far, pastor wives have had many problems, such as an economic problem, a role conflict, child-rearing, and old age. A pastor wife receives what education she receives from parents or a senior, and a reporter examines concretely how it is told to the next generation based on a life history interview. I will discuss the problem of the faith succession in a pastor's home and I want to show how succession of Christianity faith is difficult in Japan.

Organized panel, English
Kawamata, Toshinori

Urawagakuin High School, Japan

The Life History Approach on the Present Challenges in Religious Studies(08J)

*chairperson

Organized panel, Japanese
Kawamura, Kunimitsu

Osaka University, Japan

Modernity, Religiosity, and the Issues of Mind: Japanese Intellectuals on "Kokoro"(04U)

*respondent

Organized panel
Kawamura, Leslie Sumio

University of Calgary, Canada

The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Violence. Aetiologies from Biblical Literature and Buddhist Psychology(*joint presentation with Eslinger, Lyle)(02C)

The appalling acts of Muslim fundamentalists leave no room to doubt that religion is a fertile ground for religious violence. Though embarrassing to many members of implicated traditions, religious violence provokes angry reactions from moderates and the non-religious, for whom it poses a threat. There is no obvious way to resolve this growing tension between ultra- and non-religious; scholarship can make a small contribution toward easing it by exploring its sources (psychological and classical). The authors of this paper propose to explore a classical story from the Bible that reflects on the conditions for violence to emerge from religion. Though Buddhism's nuanced reflexivity is a well-established perception (based on texts such as the Dhammapada) the Bible is better known as an ideological source of animosity and aggressive behaviour. Nevertheless, in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4), the Bible also includes at least one reflection on the nature of human violence. Using Genesis 4 as a topical focus, our paper offers an analysis of the roots of violence in religion.

Organized panel, English
Kawamura, Shinzo

Sophia University, Japan

"Iconoclasm" in the Sixteenth-Century Japan Mission: The Logic Justifying Destruction of the Shinto Shrines and the Buddhist Temples(01E)

The CNN World News image of destruction of the Bamian Buddhas by the Afghanistan Taliban Government on 12th of March in 2003 brought a shock to the world. Mr. Koichi Matsuura, the UNESCO Director, described this incident as "the Crime against Human Beings." This may be only one among many similar historical examples to which a religion considered the sacred statues of other religions as "idols" and has justified the destruction of them. The incident is enough to make us realize that this kind of religious mentality is not something only of the past. The historical records of Japan as well as European Missionary reports give testimony to the large number of records of destruction of Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples wrought by the Christians in the sixteenth-century in Japan. The most crucial issue to be considered here is to find out what the relationship is between the statement, "Christianity is the only universal mediator for salvation of souls" and the resulting act of destruction of other religions images. My concern is to consider the logic justifying the act of "iconoclasm" by the Christians in Japan, not as a doctrinal issue but as a logical conclusion of the middle kingdom barbarian cultural identity (Hua-Yi identity 華夷意識) of the European Missionaries.

Organized panel, English
Kawamura, Shinzo

Sophia University, Japan

A Comparative Study of the Integration and Division between "Universalism" and "Localism" in Christian Mission History: The Cases of Ethiopia, India, China, Japan, and Paraguay(01E)

How far did Christianity, in the course of its global development, ponder over or imbibe the indigenous features of the diverse regions it pervaded? Or, to what extent did it experience rejection? As a phenomenon, the mission activity of Christianity may be described as trans-cultural, in the sense that it surpassed boundaries and ingested elements both multi-cultural and mutually relative. Viewed from this standpoint, we seek to analyze the issues of Universalism and Localism, by a comparative study of cases from India, China, Japan, Ethiopia, and Paraguay. The shared feature in the areas chosen lies in the fact, that the research involved is based on existent Jesuit missionary records. The Jesuits missionaries carried out an unprecedented propagation of their faith after the 16th century. Yet, they were ceaselessly plagued by an inner conflict, arising from their conviction that Christianity was the sole universal road to salvation, and the reverence they were drawn upon to offer the numerous local religions and cultures. Such experiences were conveyed by them to future generations via massive historical records, and through a comparative analysis of these we seek to arrive at a suitable understanding of the term 'unity in diversity,' an understanding appropriate to the present-day world.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Kawase, Takaya

Kyoto Prefectural University, Japan

Jodo Shinshu Missionaries in Colonial Korea; Mission of Civilization?(12M)

My paper will deal with the religious policies of the Governor-General of colonial Korea during the 1910s and 1920s. Further attention will be paid to the missionary activities of Japanese Buddhism with a focus on the Jodo-Shinshu sect in the same locality. I will argue that the ideological foundation for the policies of the colonial regime and the activities of Japanese Buddhist groups was provided by ideas of "Buddhist Pan-Asianism" and the notion of a "civilizing mission" also found among many Christian missionaries.

Organized panel, English
Kawase, Takaya

Kyoto Prefectural University, Japan

Modern Japanese Buddhism and Pan-Asianism(12M)

The aim of our panel, which is entitled "Modern Japanese Buddhism and Pan-Asianism," is to investigate the activities of Japanese Buddhism in Asia and the discourses related to these activities from the early twentieth century to the closing days of the Second World War by taking a post-colonial approach. In particular, we will discuss Buddhist ideas of pan-Asianism that provided the ideological background to missionary activities in colonial Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, and the occupied territories of China. In this panel, we will pay special attention to the activities of the Nichiren and Jodo-Shinshu sects of Japanese Buddhism, interdenominational Buddhist organizations and religious policies of the Japanese colonial regimes. In this way, we hope to throw further light on the various forms of interplay between Japanese Buddhism and the Asian mainland.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Kawashima, Kenji

Keisen University, Japan

"Gefühl" as an Ecumenical Basis(11Q)

Friedrich Schleiermacher's "Reden" (1799) addressed people outside of the Christian Church, as the title "an die Gebildeten unter ihren Veraechtern" shows. He defended religion aggressively against the non-Christian world, but at the same time was working on the ecumenical problem of uniting two denominations in Germany: the Protestant Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church. What kind of a logical relation is there between his two positions? Such a question has been ignored in the past. In my presentation, I will show a logical relation between "Gefuehl" (a central concept of Schleiermacher's definition of religion in "Reden") and his ecumenical activities, which suggests the possibility that Schleiermacher's work offers for our own ecumenical movement today.

Organized panel, German
Kaya, Wataru

Kaya Clinic, Japan

Some Critiques on Winniccot's "Transitional Object" from the Pantheistic Point of View(10P)

Winniccot formulated the word "transitional object" as a technical word of psychoanalysis especially to explain child development. It contains the Judeo-Christianity point of view in the background. Therefore, I think it does not always fit in with people who live in pantheistic belief. I want to discuss this through the cases.

Symposium, English
Kazashi, Nobuo

Responsibility for Being-Time: Reading Dogen together with Merleau-Ponty and Jonas(17P)

Organized panel

Kazmina, Olga Yevguenievna

Moscow State University, Russia

Negotiating Proselytism in 21st Century Russia(06H)

In the 1990's many new denominations appeared in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church felt anxiety about that competition. It provoked sharp discussion on proselytization. In the mid-1990s religion became politicized. The issue of proselytization permeated political discourse and election campaigns. Simultaneously, in the mentality of the population there was a transition toward more nationalistic tendencies. In late 1990's the ROC strengthened its positions and the religious situation became more stable. In the last few years, the discussion on proselytization moved from more general discourse to the sphere of proper inter-denominational relations and the problem of religious education. This paper will be mainly focused on late 1990's-early 2000's and will analyze the views of different denominations on proselytization, the coverage of the problem of proselytization in the religious and secular press, and the state attitude to this problem.

Symposium, English
Kega, Takeo

Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan

Edwin T. Iglehart and Methodist Mission Principle(10W)

Edwin T. Iglehart worked in Japan as a missionary from 1904 to 1941. He loved the Methodist mission schools and he loved the students. As a disciple, he taught the love of Jesus. During the war, he was requested to work for the military intelligent corps, as he was supposed to know Japan well and the Japanese people for through long career. He refused to take the work before the authorities, saying "I taught the Love of Christ to the Japanese youngsters. I cannot give my experience of preaching the Gospel to kill them." Iglehart, as well as Robert S. Maclay, the first missionary to Japan, believed the Japanese mission should be carried out by Japanese. He sent letters to the mission headquarters frequently that a missionary to Japan should have a good academic career and should be highly intellectual. The Methodist headquarters took this as their policy on Japanese missions.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kelbessa, Workineh

Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

War, Ethics and Indigenous Methods of Conflict Resolution(15E)

In this paper, I intend to show whether morality can be applied to war, and whether indigenous methods of conflict resolution which for the most part are based in a religious world view can be used to prevent war. Some writers argue that war is hell and that it is meaningless and pointless to apply morality to war. Others contend that morality and moral argument are just as relevant to war as to other aspects of human life. Although I don't endorse the pacifists view that fighting in war is ethically indefensible, I would argue that indigenous methods of conflict resolution can settle disputes between different social institutions or movements without recourse to war. I will show that they can contribute to durable peace, prosperity and mutual coexistence by referring to their role in the Ethiopian context. This study is based on some available documents, including oral literature and interviews.

Organized panel, English
Kemp, Daren John

Alternative Spritualities and New Age Studies Association, UK

New Age: Escapism or Activist New Socio-Religious Movement?(02I)

New Age is often criticised as an escapist worldview with little impact on modern society. Such critiques are briefly reviewed before analysing ways in which New Age can in fact be seen to be socially engaged with modern society. New Age is understood as a broad-based new socio-religious movement that is increasingly accepted in the mainstream, with links to, for example, holistic health movements, environmental movements, anti-capitalist movements and movements for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Examples of socially engaged activities undertaken by New Agers are given, with an emphasis on New Age influence on local, governmental and supra-national regulation. It is suggested that New Agers are playing an increasingly central role in contemporary society. The ways in which such activities may affect public perceptions of New Age is examined - especially in relation to current notions of New Age escapism.

Organized panel, English
Kerov, Vsevolod L.

People's Friendship University, Russia

Joachim of Flore, Apocalypse and Revolution.(05T)

In the Middle Ages, the idea of the Apocalypse was often the source of anti-church attitudes and rebellious calls to revolution. During this period, prophecies of the Apocalypse and millennial reign, and Old Testament Messianic prophecies belonged only to the Catholic Church. From the point of view of Augustine of Hippo, the Kingdom of God was the Catholic Church, and it was impossible to receive salvation without joining it. The image of the Apocalypse attracted the attentions of eminent philosophers and theologians, especially Joachim of Flore (c. 1132-1202), who influenced his followers in Europe and Russia. Beginning with Archpriest Avvakum, leader of the Old Believers, and continuing with Sergey Bulgakov, the ideas of the Apocalypse were the basis for judgment and revolutionary transformation of the world.

Organized panel
Keta, Masako

Kyoto University, Japan

The Development of Keiji Nishitani's Philosophy of Emptiness(07E)

"Emptiness" in the core term in the development of Keiji Nishitani's thought. Although this term derives from Buddhism, he uses it freely, without being bound by its traditional interpretations. His thinking, which developed with this term as its core, was expressed in a well-defined way in the essay "The Standpoint of Emptiness" in the volume Religion and Nothingness, which belongs to the middle period of Nishitani's philosophical development. Although Nishitani's "emptiness" is heir to Nishida Kitaro's philosophy of "absolute nothingness," the former differs from "absolute nothingness" in that it derives from Nishitani's confrontation with nihilism. Hence Nishitani's philosophy of emptiness is distinct from Nishida's "absolute nothingness." In his confrontation with "nihility," Nishitani was forced to re-conceive the entire scientific, philosophical and religious traditions of Europe. His repeated attempts to do so provided the driving force behind the development of his thought, which crystallizes in his philosophy of the "desire in emptiness" found in the essay "Emptiness and Soku" written late in his life. In this panel, we want to consider the meaning of "desire in emptiness" and investigate how the philosophy of emptiness developed into this notion. Furthermore, we also hope to discuss the contemporary significance of Nishitani's philosophy of emptiness.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, Japanese
Ketelaar, James E.

Toward the Rediscovery of Non-sectarian Buddhism(02B)

*respondent

Organized panel, English
Ketelaar, James E.

Buddhism and Modernity in Nineteenth Century Japan(10M)

*respondent

Organized panel
Ketola, Kimmo

University of Helsinki, Finland

Anthropological Evidence and the Theory of the Modes of Religiosity(16U)

In a number of recent publications, anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse has put forward a new theory of religion, called the "divergent modes of religiosity". This theory proposes to identify and explain cross-culturally recurring patterns in which religious traditions may be transmitted and maintained. Since 2001 a large team of scholars, under the auspices of an international project, has evaluated Whitehouse's theoretical proposals. A number of critical volumes have now been published, where scholars from various fields have presented their appraisals and evidence bearing on the theory. Thus, since a wealth of critical evidence is now available, a more overall examination of the theory may be attempted. The present paper will focus especially at the ethnographical evidence presented in the volume Ritual and Memory: Toward a Comparative Anthropology of Religion, edited by Harvey Whitehouse and James Laidlaw (2004), and try to assess the theory's empirical fruitfullness in the comparative study of religious phenomena.

Organized panel, English
Keul, István

Free University of Berlin, Germany

Religious Persecution in East Central Europe: The Case of the Sabbatarians(12S)

Between 1550 and 1571 the Transylvanian Diet's legislation created the juridical framework for the Transylvanian denominations. Culminating in the tolerance act issued in Torda (1568) the legislation guaranteed the free practice of religion within the limits of the four recognized (receptae) denominations: Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran and Unitarian. However, in 1572, any further innovation in religious matters was banned and a movement like Sabbatarianism, a fusion of Judaism and Unitarianism which spread mainly among the Hungarian speaking Székely Unitarians was forced underground. During the next three centuries, the Sabbatarians were condemned and persecuted in various ways. In 1636 for instance they were ordered to convert to one of the four recognized denominations, and in 1638 (Complanatio Deesiana) more than 1000 adherents were sentenced to prison, their property being confiscated. By the middle of the 18th century only one congregation survived in the village of Bözödújfalu. The paper deals with the history of the Sabbatarian movement and aspects of religious conflict in the East Central European region of Transylvania.

Organized panel, English
Kgatla, Selaelo

University of Limpopo, South Africa

Bones that Speak: African Art and Rituals of Divination(16G)

Divinatory bones constitute a system of divination and play a considerable role in the life of many Africans. Rituals of divination are thus found throughout sub-Sahara African cultures. Sharing the universal concern of human suffering, African people have developed many divinatory rituals to deal with a variety of difficult conditions, such as bodily affliction and dying; social conflict; arbitrary destructive forces of nature; an uncertain future, ignorance, and moral perplexity in making decisions that will affect their future or safety. They also use rituals of divination to discover or predict a context of meaning for their destiny. With the upsurge of witchcraft accusations and their resultant killings in South Africa, rituals of divination always remained at the centre of witch-sniffing controversies. The divinatory bones played a central role in pointing out witches in the communities and how they could be eradicated. This paper attempts to analyse how bones are made to speak and point out witches. It is also argued in this paper that because African people live in closeness as extended families, clans and tribes, and as a tightly structured cultural entity, they share their experiences. Tensions, stereotypes, prejudices and seemingly evil intentions are bound to occur, and these have influence on the rituals of divination.

Organized panel, English
Khan, Abrahim H.

University of Toronto, Canada

Interdependence of Religion and Mainstream International Diplomacy(10B)

This paper considers the relation between religious actors and mainstream diplomacy: Why are they systematically excluded when religion and culture play unquestionably a role in conflicts from the intra-personal to the global level? It argues for the position that in cross-cultural and global conflicts, religious texts and traditions of the lived religious communities inform far more of the collective self than members of the secular community acknowledge. As such the texts and correlative traditions constitute an irreducible marker of civilization to the extent that economic and class underpinnings are. Thus religious actors are in a position to offer a unique perspective on how to constructively intervene in global conflicts. Yet they continue to be excluded from the sphere of western international diplomacy as fitting awkwardly in foreign policy mold or even damaging to peace and security processes. How is this exclusion explained, given also that the sphere of diplomacy tends to accommodate as conversational partners in security and peace initiatives those who are morally unpredictable and questionable?

Organized panel, English
Khan, Abrahim H.

University of Toronto, Canada

Revisiting the Insider and Outsider Approaches to the Study of Religion(13K)

This panel considers whether there is a necessary interplay between the "insider" and the "outsider" (scientific study) approaches to studying religion. Wiebe's thesis is that the former is for the seminary setting and the latter for the modern academic institution. Are the two approaches completely separate? Or, is the insider approach indispensable for a full accounting of the phenomenon of religion that the scientific study of religion. Purportedly offers? Is dialogue a link between the two, and hence part of the methodology of either approach?

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Khanna, Madhu

Indira Gandhi National Centre for The Arts, India

The Goddess at War: A Hermeneutical Interpretation of War & Peace in Hindu & Tantric Myths(15S)

The epithet of a goddess as a heroic warrior queen who vanquishes the might of the demons at the time of a critical cosmic crisis is the locus classicus of a large bulk of narrative concerning the goddess. This paper offers an interpretation of two important goddesses of the Tantric pantheon namely the goddess Durga and Tripurasundari, both of whom are presented in mythology in their militant aspect. The goddess, Durga, for example, is constantly depicted as engaging in a war against anti-divine forces. Though serene and calm in her motherly manifestation, she is described in her Mahisasurmardini form as riding a lion, holding several weapons of destruction and piercing a trident into the chest of the demon Mahisha, who is shown emerging in human form from his buffalo body. At her feet lies the head of the slain Mahisha, stained with blood. The lower half of this image captures the moment of extreme violence that was necessary to repair the imbalance caused by the demons, who were out to undo the world. By exploring the themes of violence and peace in these myths, this paper seeks to identity a logic underlying the goddess metaphor.

Organized panel, English
Kiba, Akeshi

Otani University, Japan

Shugendo as a Combinatory Religion(07C)

Shugendo is a combinatory religion that formed in Japan. The elements that make up this combination include kannabi beliefs (primitive mountain beliefs where mountains were considered the residence of the kami), beliefs about the kami (native deities), Buddhism (particularly its esoteric form), and Yin-Yang divinatory techniques (Onmyodo). Recent Japanese research into Buddhist and Onmyodo history suggests that the kami-buddha combination so typical of Shugendo already existed in China and was introduced into Japan, and that Onmyodo itself was a popular religion that grew up in Japan. Though there is no doubt that Shugendo took its final shape in Japan, these findings encourage us to reconsider the process of its formation and of the combination of the elements that constituted it. This paper will discuss briefly the combination of Taoism and (esoteric) Buddhism within Onmyodo, and the development of Onmyodo in Japan, and then consider the logic upon which they, together with kami beliefs, became important constitutional elements of Shugendo. I will thus reconsider the formation of Shugendo, particularly in terms of Onmyodo as one of its constituents, a topic that has been little studied as a central concern in discussions about kami-buddha combination.

Organized panel, Japanese