Karma and Punishment

Prison Chaplaincy in Japan

Adam J. Lyons

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Hardback

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English

Harvard University, Asia Center
06 July 2021

Buddhist life & practice; Sociology & anthropology; Social services & welfare, criminology

Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs

Despite being one of the most avowedly secular nations in the world, Japan may have more prison chaplains per inmate than any other country, the majority of whom are Buddhist priests. In this groundbreaking study of prison religion in East Asia, Adam Lyons introduces a form of chaplaincy rooted in the Buddhist concept of doctrinal admonition rather than Euro-American notions of spiritual care.

Based on archival research, fieldwork inside prisons, and interviews with chaplains, Karma and Punishment reveals another dimension of Buddhist modernism that developed as Japan's religious organizations carved out a niche as defenders of society by fighting crime. Between 1868 and 2020, generations of clergy have been appointed to bring religious instruction to bear on a range of offenders, from illegal Christian heretics to Marxist political dissidents, war criminals, and death row inmates. The case of the prison chaplaincy shows that despite constitutional commitments to freedom of religion and separation of religion from state, statism remains an enduring feature of mainstream Japanese religious life in the contemporary era.

By: Adam J. Lyons
Imprint: Harvard University, Asia Center
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 771g
ISBN: 9780674260153
ISBN 10: 0674260155
Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 06 July 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Undergraduate , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Adam J. Lyons is Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions at the Université de Montréal.

Reviews for Karma and Punishment: Prison Chaplaincy in Japan

In this meticulously researched, thoughtfully composed book, Adam J. Lyons examines the relation between religion and the state in Japan through the lens of prison chaplaincy...An important contribution to a lively conversation among scholars of Japanese religions around the entanglements between religion and other spheres of social life.--Melissa Anne-Marie Curley Journal of the American Academy of Religion (1/5/2023 12:00:00 AM)