Introduction - Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan - page 29

disappeared from the public sphere. While there was a signi cant growth in

popular religious movements, there was little in-depth discussion as to the
reasons for this, apart from portraying such people as delusional in their des-
peration to come to terms with modern and now

' rationally ' constituted

society.
However, the underlying assumption of sophistication of secular civil society,

as ' 'first and foremost an ethical edi ce ' (Seligman 1995: 205) is evidently

flawed. Herbert (2003) refutes the idea that national cultures have performed
the integrating role envisaged. The case under study is an example of the
importance of reconsidering the role religion often plays in fostering com-
mitment to and enthusiasm for democratic political participation (cf. Casa-
nova 1994; Herbert 2003). Western political and philosophical systems that
inform social and political organisation in Japan carry within them, as else-
where, perennial questions about what in

uences citizens and contributes to

civic engagement. One broad de nition of the Western ideal of civic culture is

that the political ideas and values of the citizenry are attuned to political
equality, political participation, ensuring that the government is trustworthy
and acting in the public interest. As we shall see throughout the topic, these
concepts are an intricate part of the ideals that inform these young people

' s

motivation for political participation.
The usual question about Soka Gakkai that focuses on how it is over-
stepping its religious boundary into the political sphere misses the more
important question about the extent to which religion can also facilitate par-
ticipatory democracy. Banerjee (2000), in a very di

erent context from the
Japanese one, argues that while the members of the Muslim movement of
Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God) were Muslims, their dedication was to
Indian nationalism (liberation from the British) rather than communal (reli-
gious) separatism. Banerjee (2000: 16) argues that it was a personal commitment
to an ethical way of constituting oneself in the political and social realms that
renounced violence and the ingrained cultural expectations of settling scores
which gave rise to for the people involved, as well

as to a non-violent political movement. As we shall see among young people
in this topic, while personal commitment is on one level about getting a par-
ticular party elected, which may raise further critical questions, on another
level it involves a much broader understanding and praxis of democracy as a
way of life. While here we see the blurring of boundaries in terms of identity,
as mentioned above, we also see commitment to secular public goals that are
not religious as such.
Many political scientists use the concept of civil society to assess the
autonomy of citizenry. The general portrayal of Japanese people has been of a
weak sense of ownership towards political processes. The fact that Japan

' profound social creativity '

s
civil society historically has been largely subsumed within the developmental
state (Garon 2003) could be seen as accounting for the relative lack of poli-
tical involvement. Abe et al. (1994), for example, argue that there has been an
absence in the sphere between state and society in Japan, and thus at the core

'