Author Information Pacific Lutheran University (Emeritus)
摘要
Religious acculturation is typically understood as a one‐way process by which an immigrant religious community adapts itself to the behavioral patterns, cultural standards, normative political‐social standards, and religious and ethical traditions of the dominant culture. Thus, according to the usual assumptions of scholarship in American religious history, Protestant American society is the active partner in this relationship, while a newly introduced religious tradition is a passive recipient of the dominant culture's influence. Ama's study of the early history of Jōdo Shinshū in Hawai'i and mainland United States puts this assumption to rest. Ama situates the immigrant Jōdo Shinshū communities, particularly in Hawai'i and California, within the context of Japanese and American expansionism in the Pacific and the resulting eventual conflict between Japan and the United States. Because Jōdo Shinshū was transmitted to the United States at this contested interface, Ama's thesis is that its acculturation was a dual process of “Japanization” and “Americanization.” By focusing on local immigrant Jōdo Shinshū communities, the author reveals the difficulties Japanese communities experienced through discrimination, racism, and exploitation in the United States and political and military conditions in Japan. This book is a “must read” for specialists in Buddhist Studies and undergraduate and graduate students interested in these fields.
