二〇二〇年初頭に始まったパンデミックでは、宗教的集会が感染爆発の震源地と見なされた。本稿は多様な事例、統計データ、学術論文をもとに、宗教と感染の関係を明らかにし、その過程で宗教がどのように変容してゆくかを論じる。基本的統計からは、西欧と南北米のキリスト教国での死亡率の高さが明白である。これは、グローバル都市への人の流入、密集して暮らす民族集団などの要因が重なっており、キリスト教そのものが原因ではない。とはいえ、米国ではニューヨーク市周辺の州を除けば、礼拝出席率と死亡率がおおよそ相関することが分かった。次に、宗教がパンデミックを通して「COVID-19の悪魔化」「宗教のスティグマ化」「宗教の再純化」の三段階の通過儀礼的プロセスをたどると論じる。この三段階のプロセスを日本に当てはめると、多くの宗教は科学的感染対策に適応し、悪魔化もスティグマ化も起こらなかった。礼拝のヴァーチュアル化や共同体でのリーダーシップなどの再純化も不十分だった。それは長期的に見た活動の停滞の兆しとも言える。

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It is worth noting that NGOs play growing roles on humanitarian/human rights issues. However, they are often in dilemmas both in donor-countries and in the fields by political situation. In this respect, North Korea is one of the outstanding cases in terms of humanitarian/human rights issues.
Since the mid 1990s, severe food shortage has stricken North Korea. But, most agencies are faced with difficulties in doing their operations. For example, NGOs sometimes get little support from the public by lack of transparency. One reason is that concerned parties such as governments and human rights groups oppose unconditional aid to North Korea. Another reason is that North Korean government restricts NGOs' activity inside the country.
Under these circumstances, this article attempts to address two questions. First, What are obstacles or dilemmas of NGOs on humanitarian/human rights issues to North Korea? And, second, how do NGOs try to overcome those dilemmas?
In answering these questions, I outline the overview and current situation of North Korea's crisis from the viewpoints of NGOs. In relation to NGOs' efforts, I focus on social networks, which often transcend sectors and national borders.
By looking at a framework of social networks, we may find how NGOs mobilize resources, and justify their activities. Moreover, we may observe the process of sharing values among different actors.
To examine these hypotheses, two NGO networks are chosen as case studies. The first network is specialized on relief and development issues. The second one is mainly focused on human rights and/or refugee issues.
In sum, through the cases on North Korea, this article attempts to examine the structural dilemmas of humanitarian actors, and to highlight the roles of NGO networks.

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Although people have some understanding of what occurs in an inter-religious dialog, the meaning of the dialog itself is rarely made clear. This study examines what exactly is an inter-religious dialog by examining its origin in the first inter-religious dialog, the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, and considering why the organizer decided to conduct a “parliament.” The study provides current reasons for the examination of interreligious dialogs, followed by an outline of previous research on the reasons and meanings of inter-religious dialogs. Furthermore, the study examines how the World’s Parliament of Religions began by focusing on the organizer of the parliament. This examination of the World’s Parliament of Religions describes the organizer’s explanation of the importance of gathering the religions of the world, considering the background of the widely-held complaints and expectations against Christianity. This examination underlies a consideration of how future inter-religious dialogs may change in its aspects.

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