Christian Wedding Ceremonies: "Nonreligiousness" in Contemporary Japan

Christian wedding ceremonies have, since the mid-1990s, displaced the Shinto rite and continue to remain Japans wedding ceremony of choice. In apparent contrast, the vast majority of Japanese individuals claim to be "nonreligious" or mushūkyō. Using the Christian wedding ceremonies of cont...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese journal of religious studies
Main Author: LeFebvre, Jesse R. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Nanzan Institute [2015]
In: Japanese journal of religious studies
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Japan / Wedding rite / Wedding ceremony / Christianity / Irreligiosity / Spirituality
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AG Religious life; material religion
AX Inter-religious relations
BL Buddhism
BN Shinto
CB Christian life; spirituality
KBM Asia
Further subjects:B Buddhism
B Religious rituals
B Faith
B Christianity
B Cultural Identity
B Marriage
B Pastors
B Weddings
B Prayer
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Christian wedding ceremonies have, since the mid-1990s, displaced the Shinto rite and continue to remain Japans wedding ceremony of choice. In apparent contrast, the vast majority of Japanese individuals claim to be "nonreligious" or mushūkyō. Using the Christian wedding ceremonies of contemporary Japan as a context, this article explores the way in which claims of "non-religiousness" are used to both reject and affirm religious behaviors. Most typically, nonreligious attitudes reject religious positions perceived as abnormal, foreign, unusually intense, deviant, or unhealthy while simultaneously affirming the importance of religion to affective acts of belief. Furthermore, nonreligious individuals tend to rely heavily on religious professionals and to vicariously entrust specialized acts of prayer and ritual to religious authorities when desirable and appropriate.
Contains:Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies