After the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, the “cult problem” once again attracted public attention. Amid the media frenzy, discourse on the rights of children born into religious families spread quickly by use of the terms shūkyō nisei (a second-generation member who was born into a religious family) and shūkyō nisei mondai (issues related to these second-generation members). These highly effective and socially significant buzzwords contributed to the rediscovery of a latent problem in society. But what about their use as academic concepts?

In this paper, I look at the academic definition of the terms shūkyō nisei and shūkyō nisei mondai as defined by Tsukada Hotaka and examine whether or not these definitions can be established as academic concepts.

Furthermore, this paper discusses the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which can be used as a counter-concept challenging the idea that the religious freedom of a religious group or the parents is absolute. The Convention on the Rights of the Child can function as a basis for objections to such ideas. At the same time, considering other rights that relativize the religious freedom of children, it cannot be used as a basis to solve the problem all at once.

How are social norms defined in Japan? What is the conflict between religion and society? General propositions can be explored by examining specific issues. This paper considers how the Unification Church has caused conflict with social norms in Japan, that is, the social construction of the Unification Church issue. The second part outlines the history of the Unification Church in relation to criticisms of the religious organization and the study of religion. In section three, I summarize the relationship between politics and religion in Japan and then present examples of rent-seeking activities by the Unification Church from the Diet records and the case of Asahikawa City in Hokkaido, Japan. Finally, I will confirm that the Unification Church, as a political religion, was used as an agent to promote strategic cooperation between the US and East Asia in the Far East region.

Fifty years of political inaction and media indifference have left the Unification Church issue unresolved. With the murder of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, Japanese society has once again realized the depth of the problem. Can Japanese religious studies and the Japanese religious community offer a perspective on social norms beyond the limited context of legal restrictions?

This paper discusses the internal relationship between faith and evil, with reference to various interpretations in contemporary philosophy of religion regarding Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling (1843). Kierkegaard suggested the possibility that faith can cancel ethics under the concept of “the teleological suspension of the ethical.” Buber and Levinas sought to invalidate this concept, and to find a way for faith and ethics to coincide. Derrida, on the other hand, offered an interpretation that for the sake of an ethical relationship to one other, one must sacrifice an ethical relationship with different others. While this interpretation is meaningful, it has the disadvantage of flattening the relationship to the other. De Vries, on the other hand, notes that Kierkegaard speaks of the demonic alongside the divine and adds a non-ethical aspect to the other. Following this interpretation, a faith (or belief in general) can have an internal contact with the unethical at the same time it tries to be ethical.

Joseph B. Soloveitchik, one of the most influential leaders of Orthodox Judaism in America, presented a new understanding of halakhah (rabbinic law). In Halakhic Man (1944), he explained the concept of “ideal halakhah” as an a priori cognitive framework and argues that its goal is to practice repentance as individual self-actualization. In The Lonely Man of Faith (1965), he further described a “covenantal community” between God and man for their mutual faith, and argued that halakhah, by integrating the sacred and secular realms, should play a significant role in realizing the community. Soloveitchik's philosophical inquiries into the essential nature of halakhah have influenced a variety of movements in modern Judaism, of which critical feminist philosophical arguments in Orthodox Judaism are remarkable examples. Blu Greenberg and Tamar Ross critically consider Soloveitchik's concept of “ideal halakhah” and his idea of covenant, and describe halakhah as a more dynamic system of laws to explore a new model of norms for the self-responsibility of women in their religious lives.

In Japan, Islam is often perceived as a “strict” religion, deeply rooted in societal norms. This perception corresponds with Western views that label Islam as “non-secularized,” among other descriptors. This understanding is crucial, because it transcends general discourse in highlighting a key characteristic of modern Islamic studies. The notion that Islam or Muslim society does not adhere to the theory of secularization has long been considered as almost axiomatic. However, given the extensive timespan since the theory of secularization was last thoroughly reviewed, it warrants a reevaluation. This paper delves into the evolving norms within today's Muslim societies, focusing on Saudi Arabia as a case study. Traditionally seen as emblematic of a “strict” and “non-secularized” Muslim society, Saudi Arabia is under-going political challenges that some interpret as a process of de-Islamization.

La loi 21 sur la laïcité de l'État adoptée au Québec en 2019 implique l'interdiction du port du voile par les enseignantes musulmanes. En cours de contestation devant les tribunaux, elle a déjà eu des impacts importants sur divers secteurs de la société. Cet article a pour but d'expliquer les particularités de cette loi, les enjeux fondamentaux de l'affaire judiciaire, et d'analyser les controverses et conflits engendrés par cette législation. La thèse principale de l'article suggère qu'il est insuffisant d'opposer simplement la laïcité de l'État et de la société aux croyances des personnes religieuses. Cette opposition présuppose un affrontement inéluctable entre les normes sociales et les normes religieuses. Afin de mieux comprendre ce qui se passe réellement, il faut tenir en compte au moins des trois conflits suivants qui caractérisent le contexte québécois d'aujourd'hui : celui entre le gouvernement provincial et le gouvernement fédéral canadien ; celui au sein même des musulmanes autour de la question de savoir si la religion constitue un élément de l'intersectionnalité ; enfin, celui des interprétations de l'idée d'intolérance religieuse dans la société.

Publié le 5 octobre 2021, le rapport final de la Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE) a profondément bouleversé la société française. Dans le cadre de ce numéro spécial consacré aux «Conflits entre religions et normes sociales», cet article se propose d'explorer l'interaction entre le catholicisme et les normes sociales dans la France contemporaine, en mettant en lumière les révélations du «rapport Sauvé» et leur réception par les catholiques et l'Église en France. Bien que l'Église catholique, à l'ère dite «post-séculière», connaisse une «déprivatisation» comme porteuse de valeurs symboliques et éthiques, elle se voit contrainte de céder le pas à la République lorsqu'un conflit survient. Ce principe de la supériorité de la norme républicaine sur celle de l'Église se manifeste clairement dans le rapport Sauvé et sa réception. Parallèlement, la mise en suspens de la division binaire entre religieux et séculier nous permet de lire ce rapport comme un appel interne à un renouvellement profond de l'Église.

V. D. Savarkar is recognized as the pioneer in explicitly defining “Hindutva,” which lays the ideological foundation for the modern Hindu nationalism movement in India. This paper explores the evolution of his thoughts leading up to his seminal work, The Essentials of Hindutva (1923), by categorizing the process into early, middle, and late phases and analyzing them chronologically. Initially, contrary to previous studies, it is shown that in the early phase, Savarkar advocated an ideal of inter-religious cooperation, aligning with Gandhi's ideas. The paper then demonstrates a fundamental transformation in Savarkar's thoughts from the middle to the late phase. Specifically, despite the large-scale religious uprising by Muslim peasants (Moplahs) in Malabar during the first Non-cooperation Movement, Gandhi continued to advocate for forgiveness from the victims while only minimally condemning the aggressors. In stark contrast, Savarkar, rooted in his distinctly “rational” perspective, shifted to promote a militaristic ideology focused on “Hindu” self-defense, directly challenging Gandhi's principle of non-violence. This shift highlights a significant ideological evolution in Savarkar, marking a departure from earlier views towards a more assertive form of Hindu nationalism.