The global COVID-19 pandemic needs to be considered thoroughly by anthropologists conducting fieldwork on religion. The purpose of the present study is to examine, based on research on several areas in Africa, the methodological problems that researchers in the anthropology of religion may be confronted with when they investigate the relationships between religion and infectious diseases. Based on a case study of the Duruma in the coastal areas of Kenya, we first examine the influence of Christianity on the ideas of witchcraft and possessive spirits, which are closely concerned with the illness experience. Here the paper demonstrates that Christianity regards possessive spirits as an enemy of God, while it omits the process of clarifying the cause of misfortunes. We then examine the cases in several areas in Africa. Here I argue that HIV/AIDS is more likely to be connected with witchcraft than malaria. In particular, I focus on the point that it is relatively easy to understand the cause of Malaria and to trace the process of treatment, whereas the experience of HIV/AIDS is more ambiguous. Finally, it is suggested that urban hospitals are not merely places for medical services but venues where witchcraft discourses can be activated.

All over the world, many people died of COVID-19 during the past years. Caring for the patients proved to be very difficult, and funeral ceremonies could not be conducted as normal. Everyday religious events and rituals had to be canceled or limited in scope. Some dying patients could not receive sufficient medical help and religious care. Others lost their income and livelihood, and some even saw no other way but to commit suicide. This pandemic is a catastrophic disaster that threatens the human community. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, there were many opportunities to mourn the loss of human lives together through religious rituals and other practices of commemoration. However, facing the disaster of COVID-19, in Japan there have not been many occasions for collective mourning. In some other countries, ritual events have been performed for those who died of COVID-19. In contrast to traditional religious responses to disasters, a new perspective on religion emerges in reevaluating the practice of medical workers. Expressions of respect and gratitude honoring medical workers and others involved in providing care in the face of unbearable suffering may resemble a religious response.

This paper focuses on the cholera epidemics of the 1870s, which had a major impact on modern sanitation policy in Japan. First, I review the epidemics since the end of the Tokugawa era and popular religious responses to them, and then I explain why I dealt with the cholera epidemic of 1879 and beyond. It is noteworthy that the Ministry of the Interior mobilized official instructors (kyōdōshoku) to raise awareness of cholera prevention. I examine several texts of the time on this topic. In so doing, I confirmed the characteristics of discourses that promoted self-help efforts for hygiene in accordance with the government's policy, yet without denying the protection by Shinto and Buddhist deities.

During the pandemic that began in early 2020, religious gatherings were seen as the epicenter of the outbreak. This paper draws on a variety of case studies, statistical data, and academic papers to show the relationship between religion and infection, and to discuss how religion is transformed in the process. From basic statistics, the high mortality rate in Christian countries in Western Europe and North and South America is obvious. This is due to a combination of factors, including the influx of people into global cities, ethnic groups living in dense populations, etc., but not due to Christianity alone. However, it was found that in the United States, except for the states surrounding New York City, worship attendance roughly correlated with mortality. Next, I argue that religion undergoes a threestage rite of passage process through the pandemic: demonization of COVID-19, stigmatization of religion, and re-purification of religion. Applying this three-stage process to Japan, we can see that many religions have adapted to scientific countermeasures against infection and have not experienced much demonization or stigmatization. The re-purification such as virtualization of worship or leadership in the community was also insufficient. This can also be seen as a sign of stagnation of activity in the long run.

Nihon MTL (henceforth MTL) or the Japanese Mission to Lepers, established in Tokyo in 1925, was the first Christian organization concerned with lepers run by Japanese. Though the group claimed its aim was to “save lepers,” MTL promoted segregation policy against the lepers through its journal, lectures, and every means that Japanese Christians could support. Urging them to enter national leprosaria was not to “save lepers” but rather to “save Japan,” a country which had more patients relative to other “advanced” countries at that time. This article explores the relationship between three key persons of MTL, namely the first chairperson Kobayashi Masakane who engaged in social welfare, Christian social activist Kagawa Toyohiko, and non-Christian medical doctor Mitsuda Kensuke. Mitsuda, the most significant figure in making policies regarding leprosy before the end of WWII, dominated this group though he did not have faith in Christianity. Kobayashi and Kagawa accepted Mitsuda's segregation policy since they had devoted themselves to social reform. Mitsuda took advantage of MTL as he knew MTL in Europe and the United States accomplished remarkable achievements.

Modern perspectives on disease are considered antithetical to a healthy body and there is a tendency to place value on bringing the body closer to a healthy state through medical treatment. On the other hand, in ancient and medieval Japan, a different perspective on disease existed.

In this essay, I consider the phrase “disease is a good friend (zenchishiki 善知識, Skt: kalyāṇa-mitra)” by Eikan (1033-1111), a Jōdo (Pure Land) monk during the late Heian period. Zenchishiki refers to a method guiding religious awakening or spiritual enlightenment in Buddhism. Usually, it refers to a noble priest who is highly trained, but it is also a word that broadly refers to a person or thing that leads to enlightenment. With this as the key, this paper analyzes the motifs of disease depicted in the Miraculous Origin of Kokawadera, a legend illustrated on a twelfth-century scroll that clarifies the actual conditions that give birth to the “positive value” of zenchishiki leading to a person's awakening. I then clarify the historical background of “positive value” ascribed to disease by exploring the tradition of making Buddha statues in ancient Japan.

In the Old Testament, plagues are described not as a natural phenomenon but as being brought from God to humans as well as animals. They are exclusively associated with God Yahweh. As a manifestation of the power of God, a plague was one of the most serious disasters for the ancient Israelites. Along with war and famine, plagues were a typical cause of suffering. With the development of monotheism and the understanding of Yahweh as the unique god, plagues were frequently and increasingly considered to be caused by mankind's own sin. It was exclusively a punishment for failing to adhere to the law of God Yahweh. At the same time, the Old Testament was aware of the fundamental problem of this connection between act and retribution. As plagues keep reminding us of our limitations as human beings, it is an undeniable reality that epidemics weigh heavier on socially disadvantaged people. It is our own responsibility to redress this social inequality.

This paper aims to focus on the fact that religious events were held during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920. Furthermore, it intends to elucidate the factors that rendered these events possible. For this reason, the study constructed a chronological table based on a database of newspaper articles and contrasted the activities restricted by the Spanish flu with those that were held as usual, such as religious events. At the same time, this study examines the records of the Imperial Family and the prime minister who were affected by the Spanish flu, as well as essays, novels, and diary entries regarding the Spanish flu. The results indicate that various activities were restricted and controlled; in schools, hospitals, army cantonments, and factories, which were institutions that symbolized modern spaces. In contrast, various activities were held during religious events, celebrations, and entertainments in areas considered traditional spaces. By referring to articles on festivals and Bon events, it is also suggested that traditional spaces displayed the public character of society (seken), which differed from that of modern spaces and exhibited flexibility by including even the acceptance of death.