The Vestiges of Japanese Spirituality: Challenging the Standard Model of Religious History

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By positioning Japan within a wider global perspective, this work challenges the black-box approach to psyche that dominates studies in the history of religion.

Brian J. McVeigh employs a cultural psychological analysis by first highlighting the conceptual obstacles hindering an informed psychology of religion, such as neglecting sociohistorical forces that shape mental processes. Next, by exploring shamanism, oracular activities, and the tradition of mountain asceticism or Shugendo, he presents the historical background of Japanese religion. He argues that the current practices of Japans new religions are relics of an earlier mentality that have been heavily renovated, creatively renewed, and dynamically re-adapted for the present-day. This is demonstrated by investigating present-day spirit possession, which is a vestige of an obsolete neurocultural arrangement. Unlike other works, this book treats possession as a legitimate phenomenon in and of itself, requiring explanatory analysis rather than dismissing it as a mere epiphenomenon. This genuinely interdisciplinary work transcends established, mainstream academic fields and will appeal to readers interested in Japanese and Asian religion, the psychology of religion, and the history of spirituality.

Author Bio

Brian J. McVeigh Brian J. McVeigh received his PhD in anthropology from Princeton University, USA and is now training in mental health counseling at the University at Albany, SUNY, USA. The author of twelve books, his latest publications include Nationalisms of Japan: Managing and Mystifying Identity (2003), Interpreting Japan: Approaches and Applications for the Classroom (2014), and How Religion Evolved: Explaining the Living Dead, Talking Idols, and Mesmerizing Monuments (2016).