Interview with Ian Reader (part 1)

Asian Ethnology Podcast

Intro :35

Religion in contemporary Japan since the publication of Religion in Contemporary Japan (1991) 4:15

Lack of evidence concerning “new spirituality movements”; the importance of considering decline in popularity of religion 5:45

Revisiting Agonsh? since the death of the founder; work with religious studies scholar Erica Baffelli 11:39

Transformation of Agonsh? founder and leader Kiriyama into “the second Buddha”; the aging of Agonsh? 13:40

Problems with the category of Japanese “new religions” 15:15

Issues related to succession after the death of the founder; commemoration, veneration, and implicit nationalism in Agonsh? 19:50

Work on Aum Shinriky? and the impact of the Aum affair of 1995; religion and violence 25:05

Religions, mind control, and the “anti-cult” movement in Japan 28:08

Outro 28:36