近代日本における「宗教間対話」：宗教概念の形成と政教分離を中心に="Interreligious dialogue" in modern Japan: focusing on the formation of "religion" and the separation of state and religion
In the modern age of Japan there were already interreligious dialogues such as the World's Parliament of Religions (1893) and the Council of the Religious Leaders (1896), which seem to be comparable with the contemporary ones. However, cooperation between religions did not always result in the tolerant Japanese society as a whole. This paper will shed light on how the coexistence of religions have been embedded into the national order and played a role of exclusive nationalism in the separation of state and religion, and will clarify the consistent structure of "interreligious dialogue" in modern Japan in a wider sense. At that time, Japanese Christianity identified itself as the "Religion" without any doubt. As a result, Christianity was utilized in the subtle national policy of state and religion and could not have a critical insight into the latent religious ideology which existed outside "religion." And Christianity was set into a complimentary and cooperative relationship with Japanese religions including Buddhism. Lastly, this paper will consider how these kinds of structural problems in modern Japan can be connected with the universal disputes over religion and secular nationalism.
