Practices and the Significance of "Cultivation of Mind" in the Oxford Group Movement(<Special Issue>Religion and Ethics)

Abstract

I will consider the significance of a moralist movement, the Oxford Group Movement. This movement changed its name from "Moral Rearmament." It offered venues for international youth exchanges among various nations in addition to the West, including Asia and Africa. Therefore government officials, statesmen, businessmen, artists, and academics welcomed and supported it enthusiastically. However, it also had certain favored religious practices. In this paper, I will describe two of its practices, "Surrender to God" and "Guidance," which is said to be a way of communication with God. These two practices organize the incongruence between peoples' moral life and their religious and moral traditions, and reconnect them with each other. People who have experienced a "life change" through these practices have made a commitment to religious activities, the international exchange, and their professions.