THE ROLE OF RELIGION
IN MODERN SOCIETY
HIDEKI KATO
I am neither a scholar of religions nor a
specialist in Islam, but I do give considerable thought to the major issues
facing modern society from the viewpoint of government policy and the
organization of society. So what I wish to do today is to offer a rough sketch
of what I consider to be the role of religion in modern society in the hope of
offering some food for thought. I must admit, though, that I am not a
specialist in this field, so I please pardon me if my perceptions are not
accurate.
Man
and Modern Civilization
First I would like to address the nature
of modern civilization. A scientist once commented that the defining difference
between modern and earlier civilizations is our ready access today to
mechanical power. By burning fossil fuels, an energy source that has been
stored underground for millions of years, we have been able to speed up the
pace and broaden the scope of our activities and have advanced the division of
labor and money economy to their ultimate limits. Today, the impact of our
activities can instantly reach all corners of the globe.
Modern civilization has blessed man with
many benefits, including convenience, comfort, and economic prosperity.
At the same time, it has spawned a number
of what I would call “pathological phenomena,” one of the biggest being the
crisis in the global environment. Another is the fact that trading of financial
and other products in lots hundreds and even thousands of times greater than
actual demand is being conducted on a daily basis. On the personal level, there
has been a rise in such allergies as hay fever and atopy in Japan
Even though humans have a highly
developed brain, we are still part of the animal world. It is this difference
in cerebral development, though, that has led to the creation of civilization.
The various aspects of modern civilization, such as man-made products and the
fast pace of activity, moreover, are themselves creating even larger gaps
between man and other life forms. The gaps have become so wide, in fact, that
non-human aspects have been unable to keep up with modern civilization. One
might characterize modern pathologies, then, as the manifestations of this
phenomenon.
Religion
For most people, religion provides
answers to the big questions in life, which in Buddhism revolve around the
themes of birth, aging, disease, and death. It teaches people how they should
relate to their desires, worries, and fears. It also brings them comfort and
impresses upon them the need for resignation. At the same time, based on these
teachings, it provides a system of norms regarding daily conduct. The
extensiveness of such systems will no doubt depend on whether one is talking
about a world religion or a local, indigenous faith. The most universal of such
systems, transcending time, region, and culture, are the ones that have emerged
as world religions.
In other words, most people expect
religion to fill the gap that I referred to earlier existing between man and
other life forms.
The universality of the values that
religion upholds is in the realm of abstract concepts. When they are actually
put into practice in concrete ways, though, they manifest themselves in various
forms according to place and time.
This is akin to the fact that universal
values of modern society, such as freedom, equality, fairness, and human
rights, are upheld in different ways according to country and ethnic group.
What
Modern Society Looks for in Religion
In this sense, I believe that religion
will come to play an increasingly larger role in filling the yawning gap that
modern civilization has created between man and other life forms.
Its role will be not only to comfort man
as he struggles through life but also to curb the excesses of civilization. For
example, in the microscopic world, modern civilization has gained the ability
to manipulate genetic information. Such attempts to modify the mechanisms of
life are being driven by advances in technology and man’s greed, even though
their potential future impact are not yet clear.
On a larger-scale, environmental issues have
been ignored for decades despite warnings from scientists that the problem is
really serious, largely because these issues were not immediately felt. This
has resulted in the crisis we face today.
Both of these issues involve the need to
control human greed and desire, which is a fundamental task for any religion.
What are some of the issues that religion
must confront if it is to play a larger role in curbing such excesses? I would
like to consider this point with reference to the role of Buddhism in Japan
The biggest issue religion confronts
today is the fact that it appears unable to keep up with modern civilization.
The gap between man and other life forms that religion is addressing is that
which existed about a century ago.
This is true of almost all religions, as
aptly illustrated by the fact that the condemnation of Galileo for heresy was
only recently rescinded.
How Islam deals with progress was
discussed at a previous meeting of the Dialogue among Civilizations between Japan
In order for religions to catch up with
modern civilization and effectively deal with its pathologies, I believe it is
important for religions to explain the core aspects of their teachings in a
manner that is readily understood by modern man. It is also necessary to
establish norms for daily conduct that are in keeping with modern lifestyles.
In this regard, I believe it is important to allow for diverse responses
according to region and ethnic group.
It is my conviction that the Japanese
people inherently have very strong religious feelings but that this is being
rapidly lost in modern society, especially in urban areas. As far as Buddhism
in Japan is concerned, I believe it needs to quickly catch up with modern
civilization and to make the two changes I have just mentioned if it is to
remain a viable means of bridging the gap between man and other life forms in
contemporary society.
HIDEKI KATO
