AUM SHINRIKYO: RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT OR TERRORIST GROUP?
AUM SHINRIKYO: RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT OR TERRORIST GROUP?

Summary/Abstract: After 1998, when the religious organization Aum Shinrikyo lunched the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system, the new religious movements were perceived with skepticism by the Western world. New religious movements in Japan appeared mostly after the end of World War II, when emperor Michinomiya Hirohito declared that he was not a god, which was the foundational myth giving legitimacy to the Imperial family. Many Japanese lost their faith in the traditional religions and were looking for a different belief system. The trend of new religious movements grew due to the industrial and economic development of Japan. It increased the Japanese need to believe in something, which enabled charismatic individuals to create new religious organizations. These were founded on the syncretism between traditional Asian religions and Christianity and fulfilled the need for religions different from the old traditions. The present paper tries to present the context for the establishment of new Japanese religious organizations culminating in the new religious movement, Aum Shinrikyo. Using Haruki Murakami’s book, we will emphasize the way in which Asahara Shoko created a dystopic society and a terrorist group, which led to the suffering of many people.

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