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The Conceptualization of Shintō in the Western Literature

Authors: Bradna David

Year: 2015

Type of publication: ostatní - dizertace

Publisher name: Univerzita Pardubice

Place: Pardubice

Page from-to: nestránkováno

Titles:

Language	Name	Abstract	Keywords
cze	Konceptualizace šintoismu v západní literatuře	Práce se zaměřuje na otázku konceptualizace japonských náboženských tradic, zejména šintó v západní literatuře 16. až 20. století. Testuje hypotézu prof. Balagangadhary, že náboženské tradice Asie jako buddhismus, hinduismus, šintó atd. nejsou skutečnými entitami, ale produktem teoretického rámce sekularizované křesťanské teologie.	šintó; Japonsko; Asie; Západ; náboženství; teologie; orientalismus
eng	The Conceptualization of Shintō in the Western Literature	This paper intends to present the results of testing Balagangadhara’s hypothesis that Asian religions like Buddhism, Taoism, Shintō, etc. are not real entities but a product of a western, i.e. secularized theological framework. Engelbert Kaempfer fabricated the very existence of Shintō as an individual system in the late 17th century on the basis of the biblical theory: Shintō was supposedly the original Babylonian monotheism (while Buddhism the idolatry originated in Egypt). This idea was uncritically accepted by the Enlightenment intelligentsia, and secularized into a – on theology independent – ethnographical fact. The fabrication of individual systems also brought about pseudo-debates concerning the religious freedom, and combination of practices. At the end of the 19th century, Chamberlain transformed these originally intriguing questions into a neutral description of the Japanese religious life. The current debates on Shintō (i.e. the non-existence of Shintō as an independent religion in pre-modern Japan) kindled by the Japanese historian Kuroda can be perceived as a direct heir of the theologically biased conclusions.	Shintō; Japan; Asia; West; religion; theology; orientalism