战后日本社会变迁中的新宗教

New Religions in the Transition of Japanese Society in the Postwar Era

日本战后初期的生活困难、社会混乱导致国内出现第一次新宗教高峰,新宗教的迅速发展是在经济高速增长时期,而20世纪70年代的经济危机以及80年代的泡沫经济是日本第二次新宗教高峰产生的背景。新宗教的特征包括创始人大多为普通人出身且宣称具有某种神奇能力、扩大再生产式发展成员、信徒自主加入教团、追求现实利益、在家传教等。新宗教适应工业化或后工业化社会的发展,既有在组织边缘群体基础上推动社会、政治发展的积极作用,也带有容易与现有体制发生矛盾及冲突的消极因素。

The life difficulties of the people and social disorder in Japan in the early days of postwar resulted in the first boom of “new religions ”, which further became popular in the period of rapid economic growth. The economic crisis in the 1970s and the period of Japanese bubble economy in the 1980s were the background of the second boom of those new religions. As for the characteristics of new religions, their founders are mostly ordinary people who own some “superpower”, and they attract members in a way of expanding reproduction. The believers join the organizations of the new religion voluntarily, pursuing realistic benefit and doing missionary work at home. New Religions have adapted themselves to the development of industrial or pest - industrial society, playing a positive role in promoting social and political development by organizing the marginalized social groups. However, they also have negative influence in causing conflicts with existing social system on certain occasions.