ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with two Japanese cases that can be situated at the crossroads of religion and social problems. Survey research of attitudes toward religion among the general public in contemporary Japan shows that religious groups receive little, if any, trust from the public. A substantial percentage of the population abhors forcible proselytizing and moneymaking that is supposedly attributed to religion in their minds. Religions in Japan are often seen as the cause or source of rather than a solution to social problems.1
