Aum Shinrikyō. Can Religious Studies Cope?

✍ Scribed by Michael Pye

• Book ID: 102620115
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 101 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0048-721X
• DOI: 10.1006/reli.1996.0020

✦ Synopsis

Aum Shinrikyo ¯looks set to becoming a textbook case for considering the relationship between a descriptivist approach to the study of religion and the need for critical awareness and evaluation. Using materials from the field in late 1995, Aum Shinrikyo īs characterized and set in perspective, for example in its misleadingly claimed relationship to Buddhism. The impact of the Aum shock on the current religious situation in Japan is assessed. In addition an evaluatory stance is adopted on various issues which arise, thereby illustrating how the Religious Studies specialist may proceed in a socially responsible manner without compromising the hard-won independence and integrity of the discipline.