Religions Policies During the Allied Occupation of Japan, 19451952

Religion played a prominent role in the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) that followed the brutal Pacific War (1941–1945). Officially, the occupiers were to promulgate religious freedom, separate religion from the state, and encourage the Japanese people to develop a ‘desire for religious freedom’. Promulgating religious freedom was the easy part. Separating religion from the state without infringing on religious freedomwas far more challenging, and the ambiguous objective of instilling a desire for religious freedom in the Japanese populace was nearly impossible to measure. This review article provides a brief overview of trends in Occupation research, traces historical changes and paradoxes in Occupation religions policy and examines the unexpected and frequently ironic outcomes of that policy. It provides a cursory look into the postwar eff lorescence of ‘new religions’ and the politically fraught category of ‘State Shintō’. It closes with an overview of archives and records on the Occupation. Video abstract (click to view) The Allied Occupation of Japan (1945–1952; ‘the Occupation’ hereafter) that marked the close of the brutal Pacific War (1941–1945) was a pivotal moment in the history of modern Japanese religions. This was not only because Occupation reforms brought significant changes to © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd