Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo

by Ian Reader

This study looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks why a religious movement ostensibly focused on yoga, meditation, asceticism, and pursuit of enlightenment became involved in violent activities. Reader places the sect in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns, discussing developments in Asahara Shoko's personality and teachings, Aum's millennialism and its developing hostility toward society, and compares Aum with other religious and political movements that turned to violence, both in Japan and elsewhere. He concludes that Aum is not unique, nor is it solely a political or criminal terror group. It must rather be analyzed as an extreme example of a religious movement which, largely due to its own religious characteristics, came into friction with the surrounding society and developed into violence.

Genres: Japan, Religion, Nonfiction, Cults, Crime, History, Asia

310 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2000

About the author

Ian Reader is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Manchester, UK.

Reviews

[Ale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned of Reader while watching a documentary on YouTube about the Tokyo sarin attack of 1995, and even while not knowing of him the knowledge he owns was clear from the first moment he spoke. I then had the chance of reading more of his publications during one of my classes in university, and now that I have finished reading this book of his, all I can say is that the image I had of him had done nothing but improve. Reader writes in a way that is easy to understand even to non-English native speakers, and all of his affirmations give context to what is being read. This book is definitely a great introduction to all who want to learn more about the Tokyo sarin attack and the group behind it.

[Jerrica · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only truly remarkable thing about this book was that it managed to take an incredibly interesting topic, a Japanese murder cult, and muddle it with dense, space-filling text that didn't seem to serve any immediate purposes.

[Prismo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gripping yet methodical study of Aum Shinrikyō which provides an extremely clear explanation for how Asahara Shōkō's group went from a small yoga congregation to a highly hierarchical organization that used chemical weapons multiple times against its perceived "enemies" in little over a decade. Reader does a great job distancing his study from the sensationalism that so often surrounds Aum, and his use of comparative analysis with other new religions & cult movements helps with avoiding the pitfall of considering Aum as a wholly unique phenomenon.

8/10 highly recommend if you want an authoritative account of Aum Shinrikyō

[Chris Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - much better than I was expecting.

Thorough and well grounded.