Interview with Ian Reader (part 1)
Dec 16, 2018
Intro :35
Religion in contemporary Japan since the publication of Religion in Contemporary Japan (1991) 4:15
Lack of evidence concerning “new spirituality movements”; the importance of considering decline in popularity of religion 5:45
Revisiting Agonshū since the death of the founder; work with religious studies scholar Erica Baffelli 11:39
Transformation of Agonshū founder and leader Kiriyama into “the second Buddha”; the aging of Agonshū 13:40
Problems with the category of Japanese “new religions” 15:15
Issues related to succession after the death of the founder; commemoration, veneration, and implicit nationalism in Agonshū 19:50
Work on Aum Shinrikyō and the impact of the Aum affair of 1995; religion and violence 25:05
Religions, mind control, and the “anti-cult” movement in Japan 28:08
Outro 28:36