From Secular Institution to Religious Organization: Shrine Shinto in Postwar Japan

The purpose of this project is to investigate how Shrine Shinto institutions in Japan have responded to stipulations on secularism in Japan’s postwar constitution.

Written during the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II, the constitution enforces a rigid secularism according to which the state must refrain from all ‘religious activity,’ while also prohibiting the use of public money for the benefit of ‘religious organizations.’ The project is divided into two stages.

During the first stage historical-archive research will be carried out to collect and analyse materials published by Shrine Shinto actors.

The focus will be on materials instructing priests-in-training in how to interpret the principle of secularism in their interactions with representatives of the government.

The research will also investigate how the categories of ‘religion’ and the ‘secular’ are created in these materials. The second stage of the project consists of fieldwork amongst priests at Shinto shrines.

This part of the project will shed light on how Shrine Shinto actors at the grassroots level act in their everyday lives to conform to Japanese law.

Despite its status a one of Japan’s major religions, contemporary Shrine Shinto remains an under-researched topic, and this project will contribute new knowledge about how Shrine Shinto works on an institutional level.

The project will also contribute to theoretical discussions about ‘religion’ and ‘secularism’ as universal categories.