Conventional Religious Behavior in Modern Japan: A Service Industry Perspective

Abstract

This study employs a perspective of religious behavior based largely on classic deprivation theory and on the Stark and Bainbridge theory of religion. It is proposed that religions provide services, such as eschatological explanations, and hope and comfort, and that individual religiosity will increase as desire for these services increases. Survey data on religious beliefs and behavior collected by the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Tokyo were used. Results lend partial support for the theoretical perspective. Some measures of an increased desire for these services were correlated with an increased likelihood of exhibiting related religious beliefs and behavior.