Citation

Davis W. Sociol. Relig. 1983; 44(2): 131-146.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Association for the Sociology of Religion)

DOI

10.2307/3711398

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Japanese are often regarded as an "inscrutable" people completely dominated by a unique group-orientation. This paper is an attempt to demystify this Group Model of Japanese society. An alternative model is constructed which combines a phenomenological analysis of motives and obligations with an elementary theory of social and economic exchange. Popular religious affiliations in Japan are analyzed in terms of their characteristic "hegemonal motives." This approach is also put forward as a way of bridging the gap between the sociology of Far Eastern religions and the standard typology of religious groups in the West.