Study of the New Religious Movements (NRMs) in the Perspective of Globalization: Focusing on Japanese’ Experience

Contemporary societies are inadvertently exposed to the conditions that have emerged through the complex process of globalization, and their various areas such as economics, culture and politics are influenced by it. As glocal phenomena, New Religious Movements (NRMs) use opportunities arising from globalization to advance their goals, and are subject to the transformation of their teachings through global interactions. Thus, there is no way to talk about NRMs without considering global perspective. Many of the NRMs in Japan, in the context of IT Revolution and exposure to global information exchanges in the globalized world, have adapted themselves to globalization requirements, and even if in some cases (such as Aum Shinrikyō) have taken steps against it, they have used its capacities at the same time. Some of the emerging NRMs in the post-Aum era (such as Kagamikyō), seeking a combination of the global identity and local identity, have emerged as global super-religions, adapted to the demands of globalization. They also have focused on both the religious and the secular in both local and global arenas.