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that does not automatically become more objective the greater the distance
between the two. I would argue that a closer relationship between the experi-
ence and the rational account of it need not be less objective, but
'
insider
objectivity
'
is likely to be di
erent from the more obvious
'
outsider objectiv-
ity
, where the interpellation of subjects are made prominent to account for
the production of subjects proper in a particular objectivist form. Any
'
'
gaze
'
is created and presents its own inherent political and ethical dimensions.
In this way, the ethnographic method, to paraphrase Battaglia (1999: 118),
finds its greater purpose in its struggle against the heavy current of totalising
theories that usually are ideologically driven. I take these young people
s
motivation at face value and as stemming from a sense of goodwill based on
a deeper
'
not
straightforward, of course, in this huge and sometimes bureaucratic organi-
sation. This is explored in the chapters to come, and perhaps is particularly
contentious as the focus is on religious people
'
Buddhist
'
understanding of the mutuality of self and other
-
is successful involvement with
organised politics. Politics as a pursuit of power in the state is invariably
analysed as a pursuit of self-interest. I have tried to stay true to the way in
which my interlocutors approached their engagement with politics. This means
taking young people
'
s religiously inspired desire to create a more humanistic
society for real, and taking their political activities to represent attempts to
e
'
s particular political world. This includes evidence to
the contrary, and the often contradictory dynamics of these objectives. Yet,
from my perspective, Soka Gakkai is not a collectivist culture, but rather a
kind of individualism where one
ect change in Japan
'
'
s mental and cultural orientation places self-
esteem at the height of one
s
own ability to defend that position. However, it is individualism that fosters
political, collective action, which is where the controversy escalates and the
signi
'
s judgement and that stresses self-reliance or one
'
cance begins.
political involvement of a religious group
Religion cannot be viewed as some
(Asad 1993: 29)
that exists as a social constant and timeless phenomenon. It is rather part of
ever-changing social and political processes where what people understand to
be religion and religious change over time. What position do we unknowingly
adopt as social researchers when we apply a typology such as
'
trans-historical essence
'
'
new reli-
gion
'
in a Japanese context? The choice of typology that emphasises either
'
new
religion
'
,
'
civil society
'
or something else, at least partly is due to the descri-
ber
s assumptions about such organisations. I use the latter framework to
understand better one religious group. This framework will not work for all
so-called new religions. However, as a priori assumptions became striking in
the context of exploring
'
first-hand the political participation of the large
religious group Soka Gakkai, de
nitional boundaries just as easily became a
hindrance as a conceptual aid. The nature of conceptual boundaries about
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