Summary
There are basically two kinds of religion; firstly, a religion which unites with the governing power in a state, acts as guardian of its legitimacy and whose role is to sanctify the lineage of the ruling tribe or tribes. There is secondly the kind of religion which turns its back on the ruling elements, which permeates those tribes and classes which are ruled, rather than ruling, and those who do not possess superior status, i.e. the religion which tries to bring help to people such as these. The former kind is in many cases the servant of politics; the latter, if not actually critical of the existing system, is at least apolitical. Provided that a religion whose objective is to help the ruled is rational it will be strongly critical of the existing regime, and such religions will deny the deities espoused by the ruling groups. At the same time they will also try to bring together all the non-ruling groups and form either some new, opposing political grouping, or some new spiritual movement. This kind of political or religious cohesion is securely founded on rational principles which transcend any idea of tribe – general, universal principles to which any individual must submit, whatever his tribe; the supreme duty of religions of this kind is help to the individual, not the legitimation of power.
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- Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'?Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos, pp. 194 - 201Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1982