In the Wake of Aum: The Formation and Transformation of a Universe of Belief
The purpose of this article is to consider Aum Shinrikyō as a religion, and to clarify the defining characteristics of its universe of belief. Asahara Shōkō was a member of Agonshō, one of the New New Religions, and spent several years diligently practicing that faith before founding his own religio...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[1995]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Religious Practices
B Vajrayana B Religious Studies B Mahayana B Yoga B Gurus B Karma B Satori |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The purpose of this article is to consider Aum Shinrikyō as a religion, and to clarify the defining characteristics of its universe of belief. Asahara Shōkō was a member of Agonshō, one of the New New Religions, and spent several years diligently practicing that faith before founding his own religious group in 1984. He emphasized intense ascetic practices for the achievement of gedatsu (emancipation) and the teaching of a worldrenouncing enlightenment. The tendency towards an introspective faith, seen broadly in the New New Religions, is especially striking in Aum Shinrikyo. The group fell into conflict with the surrounding society because of its push to rapidly increase the number of its world-renouncing members, adopting a style of proselytization common to previous New Religions aimed at mass mobilization. Rather than trying to resolve the tensions peacefully, Aum adopted an aggressive position, and especially after 1989 its isolation deepened and headed towards violent introversion. Although its destructive violent nature only became evident in 1994, the roots of that violence were already present from the group's beginning. Elements that invite an eruption of violence, such as a conception of the human person as a mass of data that can be manipulated, a distorted understanding of Buddhism as justifying violence as a means and perceiving reality as an illusion, and an intense leader worship, were all present in Aum's universe of belief. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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