Social Behavior and Religious Consciousness among Shin Buddhist Practitioners

Abstract

The doctrinal intricacies related to the teaching of other-power and the absence of precepts in Shin Buddhism have not traditionally prevented the development of a distinctive ethic and forms of social interaction.The data from a survey conducted by the author among a sample of Shin Buddhist practitioners show that high expectations of good social behavior are still present within the religious community, and that there is a meaningful correspondence between morals and religious consciousness.Practitioners seem to be oriented toward core Shin Buddhist values such as compassion, responding in gratitude to the Buddha's benevolence, and peace of mind; traditional Japanese values which are generally related to human relationships, and, in the case of lay followers, also ancestor veneration; and other core Shin Buddhist values such as equality and nonviolence, which may be also characterized as modern values.There are indications that the inclination toward a rich interior religious life does not preclude interesting levels of social engagement, an anti-discriminatory attitude, and support for peace and nonviolence, which also appear to be positively correlated to high standards of religious consciousness.However, the latter is also shown to affect the inclination to religious exclusivism, and to be intertwined with patriotism and ethno-cultural defense.

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