Dynamism and the Ageing of a Japanese 'New' Religion by Erica Baffelli Ian Reader

Author:Erica Baffelli, Ian Reader [Erica Baffelli, Ian Reader]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, General Eastern Religions, Reference, Comparative Religion
ISBN: 9781136827822
Google: eet1DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

Ageing members, numerical problems and image restyling

These changing circumstances have had consequences for Agonshū. It is widely accepted that its main period of growth was during the 1980s, during which it probably increased its following more than tenfold. The figures it reported to the Bunkachō (Agency for Cultural Affairs) to be included in the annual Shūkyō Nenkan (Religions Year Book) showed 23,570 members in 1980 and 203,000 in 1985 – a figure that remained steady for many years thereafter. In recent reports to the Bunkachō, however, the figure has gone up to over 300,000 with a figure of 364,986 in the 2016 Shūkyō Nenkan (Bunkachō 2017: 97), which would appear to indicate a movement on the rise. However, there appears to be a discrepancy between this figures and the actual state of the movement. First, as has been mentioned before, scholars have repeatedly shown that assessing correct membership figures for religious groups in Japan is extremely difficult and that the data reported by religious groups is by no means a literal expression of the truth (Astley 2006: 96–8; Reader 1991: 195–6). In part this is because movements can be optimistic and inventive when reporting figures to the Bunkachō that will then be published. There are obvious promotional advantages to reporting high and growing membership figures, which serve as an attractive advertising tool, suggesting vibrancy and dynamism and refuting any notions of ageing and stagnation. This inventiveness can include (as some new religions have done) asking members to purchase multiple copies of a movement’s magazine so as to distribute it as a means of proselytizing, and then counting each magazine sent out as indicating a membership, or operating on the assumption that if one person from a household has joined, their whole family would also be members. Some groups appear to add new members but do not remove those who leave (or die) from their lists. At times, too, this may be because movements – especially when they enter periods of decline – do not have adequate staff to keep membership lists up to date.5 Examples of discrepancies abound. Kōfuku no Kagaku is one movement whose membership claims have been challenged by scholars. In the 1980s and 1990s it repeatedly claimed to be expanding rapidly, talking of a membership of several millions and even asserting that it was the largest movement in Japan, outstripping Sōka Gakkai, which is commonly acknowledged to be the largest single religious organization in the country (Ōkawa 1995a).6 Such claims were met with widespread scepticism; Shimada Hiromi (1995: 90–2) drew attention to the movement’s inability to fill arenas in which its leader held mass rallies, while Numata Ken’ya (1995: 193–6) commented on a gap between reported numbers and actuality. The general perception has been that the movement may pay more attention to the numbers of publications it sells than to the actual numbers who participate in its activities. Similar questions have been raised about whether Agonshū had as many followers as it reported in the 1980s (Reader 1991: 217, 258 fn.

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