Spirit possession and cultural innovation: the case of two Japanese femane religious leaders
Revista de Antropologia July 3, 2020 DOI: 10.11606/2179-0892.ra.1995.111442 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Miki Nakayama and Nao Deguchi, two Japanese religious founders |
| Keywords | Religion Japan Possession |
| Key points | Proposes that religion can have a transformative potential, illustrated through three levels of religious experience in the lives of two Japanese founders, with special states of consciousness creating possibilities for change. |
Abstract
lt's usual to consider religion as a conservative institution. Nonetheless , this article shows that it may also have a great transfoming potential. The history of two Japanese religious founders, Miki Nakayama (1789-1887) and Nao Deguchi (1836-1918) is taken to discuss three leve is of religious experience: (I) the person' s personality reintegration level, (II) the person's social status change, and (III) this "transformed" person's chance of interfering or changing lhe sociocultural system. More than the change itself what really matters here is the possibility of change created by special states of consciousness (possession, oneiric visions, hallucinations, etc.)