Secular Shrine Theory

{{Short description|Japanese idea on the separation of Church and State}}{{Shinto}}

Secular Shrine Theory or {{Nihongo|2=神社非宗教論|3=Jinja hishūkyōron}} was a religious policy and political theory that arose in Japan during the 19th and early 20th centuries due to the separation of church and state of the Meiji Government.{{Cite journal |last=Rots |first=Aike P. |date=2017 |title=Public Shrine Forests? Shinto, Immanence, and Discursive Secularization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44259466 |journal=Japan Review |issue=30 |pages=179–205 |jstor=44259466 |issn=0915-0986}} It was the idea that Shinto Shrines were secular in their nature rather than religious,{{Cite journal |last=均 |first=新田 |date=2020-08-10 |title=加藤玄智の国家神道観 |url=https://kogakkan.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&page_id=13&block_id=21&item_id=274&item_no=1 |journal=宗教法研究 |language=ja |issue=14 |pages=199–230 |archive-date=2023-05-20 |access-date=2022-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520175342/https://kogakkan.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&page_id=13&block_id=21&item_id=274&item_no=1 |url-status=dead }} and that Shinto was not a religion, but rather a secular set of Japanese national traditions. This was linked to State Shinto and the idea that the state controlling and enforcing Shinto was not a violation of freedom of religion. It was subject to immense debate over this time and ultimately declined and disappeared during the Shōwa era.{{Philosophy of religion sidebar}}

Linguistic debate

Translating the word "religion" into Japanese has been controversial from the beginning, with some scholars arguing it was a Christian concept that did not apply to Shinto.

Kozaki Hiromichi first translated the English word "religion" as {{Nihongo|2=宗教|3=shūkyō}}{{Efn|First character means "school; sect; purpose"; second character means "teaching"}}{{Cite book |last1=Kozaki |first1=Hiromichi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45717705 |title=Kozaki Hiromichi zenshū. |last2=小崎弘道 |date=2000 |publisher=Nihon Tosho Sentā |isbn=4-8205-4992-8 |edition=Fukkoku |location=Tōkyō |oclc=45717705}} Before that, Yukichi Fukuzawa translated it as {{Nihongo|2=宗門|3=shūmon}}{{Efn|First character means "school; sect; purpose", same as in shukyō; second character literally means "gate", also used to mean "school of thought; phylum (in biology)"}} and {{Nihongo|2=宗旨|3=shūshi}},{{Efn|First character means "school; sect; purpose", same as in shukyō; second character means "principle; decree"}}{{Cite book |last1=Fukuzawa |first1=Yukichi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/705869909 |title=Fukuzawa Yukichi shū |last2=福澤諭吉 |date=2011 |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |others=Hiroaki Matsuzawa, 松沢弘陽 |isbn=978-4-00-240210-9 |location=Tōkyō |oclc=705869909}} and Masanao Nakamura translated it as {{Nihongo|2=法教|3=hōkyō}}{{Efn|First character means "law"; second character means "teaching", same as in shukyō}}{{Cite web| title=A Chinese book | language=zh | url=https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/bunko11/bunko11_a1466/bunko11_a1466_0001/bunko11_a1466_0001.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429025319/https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/bunko11/bunko11_a1466/bunko11_a1466_0001/bunko11_a1466_0001.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-29}}

According to Genchi Kato:

{{Quote frame|There is no doubt that Christianity in Japan had the idea that Christianity is the true religion in the background when they proposed the Japanese translation of the religion. In Japan, however, Buddhism, a major world religion, existed before Christianity and had a considerable number of followers. There were many high priests and great scholars among the monks. No one, not even Christians, could ignore this fact, so when the translation of the word "religion" was disseminated, there must have been some thought that Christianity was the greatest of all religions, and that Buddhism could be added to it and included in the translation of the word "religion". In other words, the translation of the word "religion" was devised only for world religions and individual religions such as Buddhism and Christianity, and not for tribal religions, national religions, or group religions in religious studies.|Genchi Kato|A Reexamination of the Shrine Question: The True Meaning of Shinto and Education in Japan}} In other words, Shinto was not included in the translation of "religion".

In the Taishō era (1912–1926), the origin of the word "religion" was traced back to Latin, which came from Christian studies.{{Cite journal |last=三上真司 |year=2013 |title=Religio 宗教の起源についての考察のために |url=https://doi.org/10.15015/00000206 |journal=横浜市立大学論叢. 人文科学系列 |language=ja |publisher=横浜市立大学学術研究会 |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=151–187 |doi=10.15015/00000206 |issn=0911-7717}} The classical etymology of the word, traced to Cicero himself, derives it from {{Lang|la|relegere}}: prefix re- ("again") + lego ("read"), where lego is in the sense of "go over", "choose", or "consider carefully". Modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell have argued that religio is derived from {{Lang|la|religare}}, as re- ("again") + ligare ("bind; connect"), which was made prominent by Augustine of Hippo, following the interpretation of Lactantius in Divinae institutiones, IV, 28.In The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light. Toronto. Thomas Allen, 2004. {{ISBN|0-88762-145-7}}In The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers, ed. Betty Sue Flowers, New York, Anchor Books, 1991. {{ISBN|0-385-41886-8}}

{{Blockquote|text=They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.|title=Acts of the Apostles|source=26:5}}

The word {{Nihongo|2=宗教|3=shūkyō}} comes from Buddhism, according to Buddhist scholar Hajime Nakamura . In Buddhism, it means "the teaching of the sect", that is, the "teaching" of the "sect", which means the ultimate principle or truth, and religion existed as a subordinate concept of Buddhism .岩井洋「日本宗教の理解に関する覚書」関西国際大学研究紀要第5号、2004年

Christian theologians have traditionally held that the meaning and wording of the word religion has been continued in its original meaning {{Request quotation span|text=from Latin|date=April 2022}}, which is the way it is used today.{{Cite journal |author=下野葉月 |date=2019 |script-title=ja:「宗教と科学」に関する歴史的考察 |url=http://www.iisr.jp/journal/journal2019/P155-P175.pdf |journal=現代宗教 |language=ja |publisher=国際宗教研究所 IISR |pages=155–175 |issn=2188-4471 |access-date=2021-07-20}}{{Verification needed|date=April 2022}} The Christian position in Japan has always been that Shinto is a religion since its introduction. In Japan, there was a deep-rooted sense of caution against foreign religions, and problems arose accordingly. Christian missionary activity, which began at the beginning of the Meiji era, was also divided into different denominations, and problems arose as a result.{{Cite book |last=藤代泰三 |date=2017-11-10 |publisher=講談社 |isbn=978-4-06-292471-9 |pages=469–484 |language=ja |script-title=ja:キリスト教史}}

It is believed that the Shinto side adopted the Secular Shrine Theory in part because they argued that Shinto is different from Buddhism and Christianity, that is, it is unique to Japan.{{Cite book |last=加藤玄智 |date=May 1933 |publisher=雄山閣 |pages=11 |language=ja |script-title=ja:神社問題の再檢討 : 神道の本義と我が國の教育}} On the contrary, from the Buddhist and Christian sides, the argument was that Shinto is a religion because it has an object of veneration.

Of course, during that time, the religious and non-religious nature of Shinto shrines was debated not as a legal issue but purely as a matter of religious studies. However, it never became a social or political issue that could move public opinion, because it was a debate within the realm of universities and academia, and never developed into a political movement.{{Cite book |last=神社新報社政教研究室 |date=1986-12-01 |publisher=神社新報社 |pages=191–192 |language=ja |script-title=ja:改訂新版近代神社神道史}}

That said, there are modern objections to this, and P. Burger, in The Sacred Canopy.{{Cite journal |last=場知賀礼文 |year=1990 |script-title=ja:宗教の定義について〔1〕：欧米の文献を中心に |url=https://archives.bukkyo-u.ac.jp/repository/baker/rid_SL001100000641 |journal=社会学研究所紀要 |language=ja |publisher=佛教大学社会学研究所 |issue=11 |pages=15–25 |issn=0285-4015}}{{Cite book |author=Berger |first=Peter L. |title=Holy Canopy: Sociology of the Holy World |date=July 1979 |publisher=新曜社 |isbn=4788500914 |editor=薗田稔訳 |pages=206–207 |id={{NCID|BN00186990}}}}

{{Quote frame|Since religion is a comprehensive phenomenon with diverse, complex, and multifaceted aspects, if we try to define religion by focusing on one aspect of its characteristics, other important aspects will be neglected. Therefore, if we take up one aspect of religion as a characteristic, other important aspects will be neglected. In this way, the way religion is perceived from a scientific standpoint is also divided into various views. Therefore, it should be said that there is still no single definition of religion that has been finally agreed upon by all researchers.|Peter L. Berger|Holy Canopy: Sociology of the Holy World}}

Meiji Constitution

The Meiji Constitution said that subjects will have freedom of religion as long as it does not inferfere with their duties as subjects,{{Cite web |date=1889-02-11 |title=Emperial Constitution of Japan |url=https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/gallery/0000000001 |access-date=2021-04-29 |publisher=National Archives of Japan}} this has been interpreted as making the Imperial Cult separate.

On January 24, 1882, a Home Ministry notice stated that shrines were not religious (Secular Shrine Theory).{{Cite book |last=Sai Ken |title=State and Religion --Modern and Contemporary Japan from the Perspective of Religion, Vol. 1 |date=2008-07-15 |publisher=Hozokan |isbn=978-4831881700 |editor=Sai Ken, Tanaka Shigeru |pages=Part 1: " Conflicts during the Formation of the "State Shinto" 1.Formation of the State Shinto |language=ja}} However, Shinto funeral rites under Prefectural shrines were allowed, and the priests of the great shrines were not considered clergy.{{Sfn|Ashizu|2006|p=71}}

It was argued that

{{Quote frame|Shinto shrines are an inherent belief of the Japanese people that has existed inseparably from the national identity since the beginning of Japan, and are the basis of the Constitution. It is only natural that there is nothing in the articles of the Constitution that provides for shrines, and the faith of the Japanese people in shrines should not be subject to the religious freedom provisions of the Constitution. The content of the Shinto rituals is a combination of Confucian moral and Buddhist religious thought and beliefs that are unique to the nation. This is not a complete shrine system.

The shrine system should be established by embracing the full range of the current situation of shrines, and in short, it should have a form unique to the empire and unrivaled in all countries, apart from the boundaries of translation law.{{Cite book|language=ja|script-title=ja:増補改訂近代神社神道史|date=1986-12-01|publisher=神社新報社|pages=194|author=神社新報政教研究室}}}}In the "On the Relationship between Religious Bills and Shrines", which appears to have been prepared by the Home Ministry Bureau of Shrines around 1930, it was stated that:

{{Quote frame|Shrines exist institutionally for the purpose of public rituals of the state. At the same time, individual citizens can obtain objects of worship through shrines, but this is not the original purpose of shrines in the system, but only a reflexive benefit that accompanies the system of shrines. Since the state, as a matter of principle, does not interfere with the faith of individual citizens (Article 28 of the Imperial Japanese Constitution), it is not necessary to explain again that it is not the purpose of the state to run shrines institutionally that shrines become the object of faith for individual citizens. If we assume that the existence of Shinto spirits is recognized, and therefore shrines must be treated as a religion, then we can say that shrines are the religion of our country.

However, since the state's own rituals of Shinto are unparalleled in all ages, it must be strictly distinguished from the so-called national religions of European countries. In short, regardless of the academic definition of religion, shrines are institutionally the rituals of our nation.{{Cite book|language=ja|script-title=ja:増補改訂近代神社神道史|date=1986-12-01|publisher=神社新報社|pages=196–197|author=神社新報政教研究室}}}}

Internal Shinto controversy

Originally, the Meiji government was aiming for a politics of "Unity of ritual and government" due to the "Proclamation of the Great Doctrine", but due to the conflict between the "Buddhist side" and the "Shinto side" over the teaching profession, "the joint mission of God and Buddha was prohibited". It begins with the transfer of each religious administration to the Ministry of Interior. The following is a description of the situation that led to the "separation of religious and political affairs" from the "Shinto controversy". The separation of religious and political affairs is said to have been proposed by the Shinto side, and was led by {{Interlanguage link|Maruyama Sakura|ja|丸山作楽}} and others.

Following the dissolution of the Great Teaching Institute, the Bureau of Shinto Affairs was established, and in 1881, the Shinto priests of the Ise sect, {{ill|Yoritsune Tanaka|ja|田中頼庸}} and others, and the priest of the Izumo sect, Senge Takatomi, argued over the ritual deity{{Cite book|last=藤井貞文|script-title=ja:明治国学発生史の研究|date=1977-03-01|publisher=吉川弘文館|pages=1–750|language=ja}} This led to an imperial request to Emperor Meiji.{{Cite book|last=岡本雅享|script-title=ja:千家尊福と出雲信仰|date=2019-11-04|publisher=筑摩書房|isbn=978-4-480-07270-2|pages=第2章|language=ja}} The Jōdo Shinshū side did not stand idly by and watch this chaotic situation, and following {{ill|Shimaji Mokurai|ja|島地黙雷}}, {{Interlanguage link|Atsumi Kaien|ja|渥美契縁}}, {{Interlanguage link|Akamatsu Renjo|ja|赤松連城}} and other theoreticians went out one after another to advise the government to cooperate.{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=64}} It was the successor to {{ill|Shimaji Mokurai|ja|島地黙雷}}'s theory that Shinto is not a religion, and the political powers that be were forced to confirm it, and to forbid all religious speech, teaching, and religious acts (such as funeral rites) by priests involved in state ceremonies. This would have completely blocked the way for "Shinto as a religious belief" to become the national religion.{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=64}}

It is not clear who the primary proponents on the Shinto side were. Originally, the word "{{Nihongo|2=宗教|3=Shūkyō}}" was a translation of the English word "religion", and there is no clear definition of the concept. The Shinto side referred to Shinto as the "national religion" or "main religion", but there was no such theory that Shinto was a part of a religion. The non-religious theory of Maruyama Sakura and others is thought to have been based on their concern about the situation in which Shinto was becoming divided due to ritual god disputes, etc., which resembled "religious theological disputes" in the new terminology of the time, and the fact that Shinto could not maintain its national status without stopping such divisions.{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=65}}

According to Yoshio Keino of Keio University, the government did not originally present the theory of non-religious shrines, but it was actively promoted by the Buddhist side. This is because the situation at the time was that the definition of religion was "proselytizing and conducting funerals.{{Cite book|last=中村勝範編・著|script-title=ja:近代日本政治の諸相 : 時代による展開と考察|date=May 1989|publisher=慶應義塾大学出版会|isbn=4766404238|pages=147|language=ja}}

Among them, Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of the Interior, adopted the theory of non-religious shrines presented by the Shinto side, including Maruyama Sakura.{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=63-75}}

Later, Senge Takatomi left the Bureau of Shinto Affairs in order to proselytize and founded the Izumo Taisha-kyo.{{Cite book|author=國學院大学日本文化研究所|script-title=ja:縮刷版神道事典|date=1999-05-15|publisher=弘文堂|isbn=433516033X|pages=20|language=ja}}

= Department of Divinities Reconstruction Movement =

After the Satsuma Rebellion, the Satsuma Domain and other Shizoku began to focus on the management of Shinto shrines dedicated to their Ujigami. And with that, the Priests emerged as the Freedom and People's Rights Movement.{{Cite web |last=澤大洋 |script-title=ja:士族選挙権論争と自由民権運動昂揚期の選挙制度論の進展 |url=http://ajih.jp/backnumber/pdf/22_02_08.pdf |access-date=2021-05-07 |publisher=日本思想史学会}}

In June 1887, Shinto priests in Kyushu organized the Saikai Rengo-kai, which appealed to Shintoists throughout the country, arousing strong sympathy and emerging as a nationwide organized movement of Shinto priests .{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=98}} On November 17, 1887, representatives from each prefecture met at the Imperial Classic Research Institute, and each committee member formed an association of priests, and the movement to revive the Shinto priests was launched nationwide.{{Cite book |last=神社新報政教研究室 |date=1986-12-01 |publisher=神社新報社 |pages=99 |language=ja |script-title=ja:増補新版近代神社神道史}}

Also, in March 1890, rumors circulated in Shinto circles that Shinto was also included as a religion in order to restore it to its original state.{{Cite book |last=神社新報政教研究室 |date=1986-12-01 |publisher=神社新報社 |pages=101–102 |language=ja |script-title=ja:増補改訂近代神社神道史}}

{{Quote frame|In order to restore Shinto to its original state, at least the state structure must be changed, the Shinto priest must be restored, and the spirit and system of "Shinto is the ritual of the state" must be restored from this base.|{{ill|Uzuhiko Ashizu|ja|葦津珍彦}}|4={{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/675442862 |title=Kokka shintō towa nandattanoka |date=2006 |publisher=Jinja Shinpōsha |others=Uzuhiko Ashizu, 珍彦葦津 |isbn=4-915265-10-2 |location=Tōkyō |oclc=675442862}}}}

And behind the nationwide movement in the 1890s to revive the Shinto priesthood was a sense of "crisis" among Shinto priests and those involved in the Shinto religion against a government that was promoting a skeletonization of the "state's suzerainty" of Shinto shrines. When rumors of the religious ordinances began to circulate, a full-scale movement was launched to restore the Shinto priesthood by returning the teaching positions of the so-called "{{Nihongo|2=民社|3=Minsha}} priests" below the rank of prefectures and shrines.{{Cite journal |last=半田竜介 |year=2016 |script-title=ja:丸山作楽の神祇官論について : 雑誌『隨在天神』に注目して |url=http://meijiseitoku.org/pdf/f53-8.pdf |journal=明治聖徳記念学会紀要 |volume=復刊第53号 |pages=170–191}}

This movement was somewhat successful, and on April 26, 1899, the Shrine Division, which was only a division of the Bureau of Shrines and Temples of the Ministry of Home Affairs, was upgraded to the Bureau of Shrines.{{Cite book |last=國學院大学日本文化研究所 |date=1999-05-15 |publisher=弘文堂 |isbn=433516033X |pages=20 |language=ja |script-title=ja:縮刷版神道事典}} The Bureau of Religions also being split off to deal with other religions such as Sect Shinto.{{Cite web |title=Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms: S |url=https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/glossary/def_S.html#shaji_kyoku |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp}}

On June 13, 1913, the Bureau of Religions which was run under the Home Ministry, which had jurisdiction over religions other than Shinto shrines, was transferred to the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.{{Cite web |script-title=ja:文化庁月報平成25年9月号(No.540) |url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/pr/publish/bunkachou_geppou/2013_09/special_03/special_03.html |access-date=2021-04-21 |publisher=文化庁}}

The debate was whether Shinto shrines are "non-religious" or "religious". In particular, if shrines were religious, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture has jurisdiction over it, and if they were secular the Home Ministry would have had jurisdiction over them.{{Cite book |last=神社新報政教研究室 |date=1986-12-01 |publisher=神社新報社 |pages=187–190 |language=ja |script-title=ja:改定増補近代神社神道史}} Some have also arisen as a result of policies taken by the government to bring religious organizations under the rule of law.{{Sfn|葦津|2006|p=123-125}}

= 20th century =

Meiji Shrine priest and general Ichinohe Hyoe advocated categorizing Shinto as a religion{{sfn|新田|1995|p=221}}{{Quote frame|The world is advancing at a rapid pace. Academic research is gradually expanding its horizons. Since the nineteenth century, civilizations in both the East and the West have made rapid progress. The study of religion has come to the point where it is no longer possible to accept the position that Shinto faith, shrine Shinto, is not a religion. .... So nowadays, even among the priests of shrines, there is no one who does not admit that shrines and Shinto shrines are religions if they look deep into their hearts.{{sfn|新田|1995|p=221}}}}

Decline

As the wartime atmosphere became more intense through the February 26 Incident, May 15 Incident, etc., discussions on secular shrine theory were silenced.{{Cite web |title=Culture Agency Monthly Report 2013 September 2013 issue (No.540) |url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/pr/publish/bunkachou_geppou/2013_09/special_03/special_03.html |access-date=2021-04-21 |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs}}

After discussion and deliberation by the Religious System Research Committee established by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, a report was submitted to the legislature on the enactment of the Religious Organizations Law, with the aim of bringing religious organizations under the legal system and having them observe the rules that they have voluntarily established. However, it was repeatedly rejected by the majority.{{Cite book |last=文部省 |url=https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/others/detail/1317735.htm |date=1972-01-01 |publisher=帝国地方行政学会 |volume=第1巻:記述編 |pages=第5章:学術・文化第5節:宗教宗教団体法の制定 |language=ja |script-title=ja:学制百年史 |asin=B000J9MMZI}} However, through persistent persuasion, with the passage of the Religious Organizations Law by Law No. 77 of April 8, 1939,{{Cite book |last=文部省 |url=https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/others/detail/1318168.htm |date=1972-01-01 |publisher=帝国地方行政学会 |volume=第2巻:資料編 |pages=第1章:詔書・勅語・教育法規等教育法規第13節:宗教 |language=ja |script-title=ja:学制百年史}}{{cite web | url=https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=8863 | title=Religious Organizations Law | 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム | access-date=2023-09-16 | archive-date=2023-03-16 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20230316011119/https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=8863 | url-status=bot: unknown }} the legislature legally abandoned the 'Secular Shrine Theory'. Because Sect Shinto was now required by law to be designated and approved.

On November 9, 1940, the Ministry of the Interior reorganized its Bureau of Religions and established the Institute of Divinities, which was able to maintain "Secular Shrine Theory as the national religion".{{Cite book |url=https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/others/detail/1317735.htm |title=A Centennial History of the School System |date=1972-01-01 |work=Ministry of Education |publisher=Imperial Institute of Local Administration |volume=1: Description |pages=Volume 1: The Founding and Expansion of the Modern Education System, Chapter 5: Science and Culture, Section 5: Religion}} Also, in the Penal Code of the time, the Peace Preservation Law{{Cite web |title=Security Law, Original Signature, 1925, Law No. 46 |url=https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/das/image/F0000000000000029467 |access-date=2021-04-29 |publisher=National Archives of Japan}}{{Cite book |title=Criminal Law Association of Japan |editor=Criminal Law Society}} and Lèse-majesté to the Emperor of Japan and Jingu, especially the Special Higher Police{{Cite web |title=Assembly to Enact the Security Police Law and Abolish the Political Society Law, Original Signature, Meiji 33, Law No. 36 (O04291) |url=https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/das/image/F0000000000000018401 |access-date=2021-04-29 |publisher=National Archives of Japan}} suppression of other religions existed.{{Cite book |last=荻野不二夫 |publisher=不二出版 |year=1991 |language=ja |script-title=ja:特高警察関係資料集成復刻}}

With this shift secular shrine theory came to be replaced by a more authoritarian form of State Shinto.

Annotations

= Footnotes =

= References =

= Bibliography =

{{Cite book|last=葦津珍彦|script-title=ja:新版国家神道とは何だったのか|date=2006-11-01|publisher=神社新報社|isbn=9784915265105|ref={{harvid|葦津|2006}}|language=ja}}